Category: Anime

Now I can certainly get behind sparkles and bishonen!

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There are lots of sub-genres of shojo manga but romance is hands down the biggest of them all. Even when the main plot isn’t just a love story, more often than not there is still a romance in it. So it comes as no real shock that most people relate the pursuit of love to shojo manga. There are certain things that come to mind when thinking of romance, like most people it comes from what we see in the media, at least the immediate things. This is greatly reflected in romance written for women. There is a kind of strange conversation that goes around in my head about it. It goes something like this: the perception of how woman want to be treated comes from what we see in movies, TV, and books but are those images merely what society tells us? Or do they really exist because women like that, they watch and read it so some of those ideas must resonate within them as desirable. Cliches exist for a reason.

Feminists and psychologists have argued about the answer to that question for years. For a long time, people have wondered how much of our taste is dictated by our biological sex and how much of it is learned from our physiological gender. The main problem is they are so intrinsically linked; that it is quite possible why we will never be able to separate what contributes to what and how much it contributes. Sufficed to say a majority of women are not going to stop asking for romance in their literature anytime soon. However, the particulars of how those romantic stories are told will change from year to year as it always has.

One might also say to themselves, well there are a certain type of women that like to read romance. While I grant you that not all women like romance in their reading, a good portion do and it doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason to who they are in real life. Like many types of fiction, a lot of it is escapist literature and who can’t really put a label on who wants to escape or not.

I have yet to really meet any women who are anti-romance, but I know they exists. I suppose that speaks to how many women like romantic literature. Certain tomboys and nerdy girls will have a preference for more masculine literature but I would say even most of them will still willingly and even eagerly read something with a romantic bent. The only thing that will turn people off will be pure romance, Harlequin-style novels.

I totally agree. Even something like fantasy novels, which has a wide male readership, has a lot of romance in them. I also think some females insert romance, even when it may not be there. That is a whole other discussion though. But I think we can agree that woman like romance in their stories at varying degrees. This might even be doubly so for manga. I don’t know why that is, but it seems to be. It works with its own set of rules for romance!

The ever present confession, although this is a staple across the board, this is really prominent in shojo manga. I always find this very intriguing, it is almost as if you can’t actually pursue someone without it! Sometimes there is a lot of outside pressure to confess. You often see other females insisting that a girl confess her feelings because it isn’t “fair” to be around the guy without it being said. Example, Prafait Tic! our main character has a crush on Daiya. They become friends and hang out a lot. So all the girls gang up and and basically bully her into prematurely telling him she likes him. The reasoning was: all the other girls that like him aren’t friends with him and can’t be around him all the time, but she gets to because she hasn’t confessed and that isn’t right. There seems to be some sort of split on being friends first.

I remember a conversation we had about the fact that most people we knew just sort of fell into relationships. Most of the time there was no formal courtship and grand romance. Both people just sort of realize they liked each other and the next thing they know they are dating. In most shojo titles, the courtship ritual is usually very stylized. In anime you always see people meeting and talking on top of the roof of the school. From what I understand this is much less common than it really is in Japan. Anime likes to exaggerate things for flavor and effect.

I think this also creates a more awkward situation than say being friends first. The feelings are out there and they know it, so every little move has meaning. Of course, with all things there are extremes. So sometimes it goes the completely other direction till what you get is a girl thrown into a relationship with random guy that she has met for 5 minutes.

I think to put it in manly terms, the difference between shojo dating and real life courtship is the difference between a real street brawl and a manga fight sequence. A real fight tends to be clumsy, awkward, brutal, and sometimes even embarrassing. Manga fight sequences tend to be stylized, clean, and artistic. Think about the differences between the fights in the movie Rashomon. Shojo romance is the same way. Heck, it’s not much of an exaggeration to take the lines I said about fight and merely replace the word courtship for fight.

In general, it wouldn’t be a love story in manga without multiple guys falling for our heroine. Typically they like the perfect shape, the triangle, but that doesn’t stop them from throwing 3, 4 or even more our main character’s way. But the triangle is most popular and within that triangle you usually have an angsty boy with dark hair and a funny, spirited boy with light hair. I guess they want both sides of the coin. And up until recently, I always thought the angsty boy won. However, I dunno if writers are changing, taste is changing, or I have just picked up the right manga for me, but it seems to be 50/50 on who our girl ends up with.

Manga like any other form of literature will have unending waves of trends and then backlash to those trends. I think certain manga artists tend to have a preference in the dark-haired angsty guy vs. light-haired funny guy war. Certain manga artists are guaranteed to have the heroine fall in love with the stock character model boy that she uses in every manga. I’m looking right at you Yuu Watase and Rumiko Takahashi.

Wait, wait in Absolute Boyfriend our main heroine falls for a blond, who is funny! Of course he is a robot…and there is the other guy who does look like Taka-clone (aka Takahome from Fushigi Yuugi). Essentially, the writer is guaranteeing the reader will like someone and hopefully enough to follow the story till the end. I have to think on that one. But that easily leads to want I wanted to talk about next: Pretty Boys. One of the most important things that shojo writers have given us! And this is certainly something very unique to Japan, well Asia really. It actually has roots in very historical arenas and isn’t merely a phenomenon of the age.

Pretty boys and shojo manga are pretty much synonymous. You show me a shojo manga without a bishonen and I will show you a shojo manga that did not make it past 2 volumes. Bishonen are one of those odd things that it takes some people a little getting used to when they first start reading manga. But once most girls accept it they eat up bishonen with spoon and a side order of BL. Even shonen manga will always throw in a bishonen to attract a cross gender readership. Even as early as Saint Seiya they have been throwing pretty boys in fighting manga to get a female readership. I mean if girls did not at least glance at shonen manga because of the bishonen guys then why is there so much Renji x Byakuya fanart.

Anyway! In a lot of josei manga, I see this approached a little differently (I wish I could read more josei). There is often many suitors but most times there is no real doubt about who the character is going to be with. Take Saiunkoku, while there are other characters in love with both Shuurei and Ryuuki, we know the story is about them and the growth of their relationship rather than a battle to see who wins their hearts.

Josei manga also tends to have a more realistic view of love and romance where as shojo tends to have a more idealized view of love. There is hardly a hard and fast rule but definitely a trend. I assume this comes from the fact that the average josei reader has gone through one or two relationships. There by it more easily relate to a more realistic relationship. In Nodame Cantabile I don’t ever think we are ever unsure if Nodame and Chiaki will end up together. Nodame is more about how their relationship progresses as they try to graduate music school and find their place in the world of professional music. If an older reader wishes to read about a more idealistic relationship they can still pick from a wide variety of more stylized shojo manga.

And really, there is also lots of so cute and sweet youcouldrotyourteeth shojo manga. Like you have to take a break between chapters from the sparkles! These the ultimate in perfect boy fantasies. If a boy appears without sparkles and/or flowers he is soooo not worth the time. I love the sparkles if only to give me a minute of laughter. This is also one of the most commonly parodied things in comedy anime and manga.

You forgot my favorite part of shojo manga. The hand hold. In many shojo manga aimed at a slightly younger or more conservative audience, you will still have sex but it can’t be as graphic as magazines aimed at older readers. So, if they want you to know a couple is having sex but can’t show it, they will insert the Shojo Hand Hold. Any experienced shojo reader will recognize it right away. It is when they cut away from a couple in a rather intimate embrace and only show the two characters holding hands with their fingers intertwined. Then they cut back to them in bed after the act. For some reason, I just find it hysterical.

I think the most grounded shojo manga really comes from the comedy-romance which makes up a big portion of shojo love stories. It has enough drama to keep you interested but it also makes you laugh and feel happy with the outcomes without using too much angst to do it. These also seem the most real to me, but that is just my personal view on life. Most relationships are a good part comedy. These types of stories seem to gain the largest fan followings, i.e. Fruits Basket, Love*Com, Ouran High School Host Club, etc. Then there is a whole other sector of overly dramatic stories. Which sometimes jump into comedy from being so ridiculous. But these are somewhat more mature stories with dramatic plots, angst, and often times sex.

I tend to see most relationships as tragedy and heartbreak. I suppose this is one of those things that very easily show the difference in our world views. But for exactly the opposite reason, I tend to like romantic comedies as well. I like the fact that they put a healthy dose of comedy in what is otherwise angst and tension that is in a normal relationship. It can be argued either way but I would put Fruits Basket in the mostly drama category. It certainly has a healthy amount of comedy but I feel Fruits Basket focus is on the drama. Love*Com and Host Club seem more comedy based with Love*Com having a healthy dose of drama.

Well, I would put Fruits Basket in the same section as Kare Kano which starts with a strong dose of comedy which tapers as the series goes on.

Aggression plays a big role all around. This one is always the hardest for me to understand because of my own views. The completely wilted flower heroine (I say that with spite) is ever present making zero decisions for herself while simultaneously being desired by ever boy on the block. This has both to do with societal standards and also the fantasy. Just because a girl might read some manga with very aggressive men in it, doesn’t necessarily reflect on how she would want to be treated.

Well in both Eastern and Western culture we generally assume that it is the man who peruses the woman and the man who asks out the woman. It is not uncommon or shocking to see a woman chase a man in today’s society but it is still seen as against the norm.

I guess I should say not just aggression then but dominance and control. There are varying degrees, from the guy being the pursuer; to a guy forcing himself on a girl. What the hell is with the rape/almost rape!? I mean seriously if we put our stock on manga you would think there are like rapist hiding behind every lamppost in Japan. And not just rapist, but totally hot rapists who will rape you and you will secretly like it. And then you might be saved, you might not be, but you have a good chance you will meet a decent guy later on but you won’t find him as great as your rapist. I wish I was joking. I’m gonna go cry now.

Well, I always find it odd that there are a good number of women who have rape fantasies so I’m sure that little fact feeds into it’s prevalence in manga. The Japanese seem to have little to no compulsion against playing with certain taboo or uncomfortable topics in manga. Rape is understandably a sensitive hot topic so it can easily make any discussion about it sensitive and difficult.

It certainly is with me. I don’t find sexual violence in any way, shape, or form enjoyable. But as I said before, judging people’s actual taste based on what they watch and read is sort of making a leap.

That is definitely true. I just can’t find any good reason why rape has become such a tremendously popular plot device. I’m sure there are several reasons why it has popped up as a theme, but I can’t easily point to any. They will even use it in shonen and seinen manga. I guess my only other theory is on a certain level rape is one of the easiest and simply illustrated villainies. A rapist is a clearly identified villain and therefore anyone who steps in to save you from such a fiend is a hero. As for why a rapist would ever been seen a sympathetic or easily forgiven character I really can’t explain that. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen characters attempt to rape someone in a series and then be forgiven a little while later. It happens in Rose of Versailles, Sakura Dairies, and the Wings of Honneamise. It’s just a mystery to me. I don’t have that sort of easily forgiving nature.

I also find it interesting that most stories deal with the chase and once the guy is gotten the story ends. This definitely is switched up in josei manga, so that is refreshing. But for most younger shojo titles we see pursuit and not much afterward. There are a few exceptions of course! This is just human nature I suppose. I mean don’t most people find the chase the best part of the relationship. I have certainly heard it said often enough. I think it is natural to want the happily ever after ideal at the end of a story. So if we don’t see the course of the relationship we can just say “…and they were together forever.”

I think it comes back to shojo being often a more idealized romance; where as josei incorporates a more realistic view. I feel that a younger more naive person would tend to believe that if you fall in love and do it right then everything will fall into place and you’ll live happily ever after. Those more experienced in the ways of love realize that it is often harder to maintain a relationship. Plus, an older reader is more likely to be trying to or have already tried to maintain several relationships. A younger reader is sometimes more interested in the exciting prospect of falling in love because it is what they are craving. The older reader wants the story of not only how does one find someone but who they keep it all together.

If we look at literature we see similar trends across cultures and generations. Clearly there will be differences, a trend here or there, but romance seems to be a universal language. I think shojo has many unique qualities to its ideas of love, relationships, and heartbreak. So through many titles it can bring many things to the table, some ring true and some are pure fantasy but I think we need both of those things for a true love story to be told.

Narutaki Currently!
Watching Shigofumi
Reading NANA
Listening to Abingdon Boys School

Hisui (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Denno Coil
Reading Slayers
Listening to An Ordinary Sunday by Tomohiko Kikuta

Top 5 canon couples
5. Meroko & Izumi (Full Moon wo Sagashite)
4. Tokine & Yoshimori (Kekkaishi)
3. Shuurei & Ryuuki (Story of Saiunkoku)
2. Cagalli & Athrun (Gundam SEED)
1. Tohru & Kyo (Fruits Basket)

The Rose of Versailles, the manliest man is really a woman!

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I will refrain from just writing, “I love this show!”a 100 times over. But seriously, I do. It combines so many of my favorite elements: history, royalty, court intrigue, and cross-dressing sword swingers! You ever wonder why shojo shows have sparkles around characters? This show is why. So many shojo creators mention this show in their influences. It ‘s historically important to the anime time-line. And that alone seems like a good reason to check it out.

I remember that each member of CLAMP mentioned that Rose of Versailles and Candy Candy were two of the biggest influences on them as children. One side note, neither of those shows got licensed in the U.S. but were breakout hits in other parts of the world besides Japan. If I remember correctly, it was rather popular in France. They did co-produce that Live-Action movie with the Japanese back in 1979. I guess that speaks volumes on how well it was done. If the French liked something that foreigners did about them it must be good. :)

By the way, I am calling this a spoiler-free discussion because nothing about Oscar is spoiled, but that doesn’t mean things known in history aren’t mentioned here. If you know nothing about the French Revolution and the things leading up to it, learn some!

You mean Marie Antoinette does not get a happy ending? I am shocked!

Rose of Versailles in one sentence is: the story of an imaginary cross-dresser who is assigned to guard a spoiled princess, whose antics kill most of the cast.

After having nothing but girls, General Jarjayes decides to to raise his 6th daughter as a boy so he can have someone to carry on the family legacy. General Jarjayes raises his “son” Oscar so well that she is chose to become the body guard for Louis the XVI’s new wife, Maire Antoinette. Since Marie Antoinette is both naive and self absorbed she frequently makes powerful enemies and horrible choices in friends. In fact most of her friends are, if not more, dangerous than her enemies. Oscar spends most of her time foiling the plots of those around her to ruin Marie Antoinette while trying to prevent Marie Antoinette from destroying herself on her own. Overtime Oscar becomes disillusioned with the royalty of France as she sees that their petty schemes and extravagance is slowly killing the French peasantry and France itself.

I think the one sentence description fits perfectly.

I really liked Rose of Versailles for two reason, even before I saw it. The first is that it was major influence on my favorite anime, Utena. Anything that helped make Utena has to be good. It’s a fact. The second reason is a secret reason. Known only to me (or anyone who knows me well enough). Other than that, Rose of Versailles is good for a number of reasons. It has beautiful animation for it’s time and beautiful animation in general. Secondly, it has iconic historical characters that are well adapted to a fictional story, while incorporating solid fictional characters. It also takes characters of minor historical importance and gives them some interesting fictional back stories. I like all of the fictional characters added to the story. A solid cast is vital to a show filled with drama, and melodrama, like this one.

The animation of this series incorporates a lot of different elements. I don’t normally bring these things up but since it is an older show I think it is worth mentioning. There are so many detailed backgrounds and period costumes that it is very daunting to think about hand drawing each and every thing. They use watercolor stills also. It also incorporates dramatic lighting, such as only certain characters being in full color. And I feel they also give you decent combat scenes. While they certainly use the flashes of light or quick cuts, you still see a sword fight. I don’t feel like they skimp on it.

It’s very clear that quite a bit of research went into making this. From what I can tell Riyoko Ikeda has done lots of research for all her historical series. There are some historical inaccuracies but most of them seem to be made for ease of plot or dramatic power rather than any lack of research.

Minus Oscar’s household, almost everyone else who appears, that has an importance to the story, is actually from history. Although, I have read her father is a real General but can find zippo about him. That isn’t to say their plots and whatnot are right out of history, but their personalities are pretty on target. Obviously, some things may be exaggerated for the convenience of storytelling. The Wikipedia character listing does a nice job of linking to the actual historical figures.

I’m sure if we were French or either of us had studied French history some of these more minor characters might be more familiar to us. Well, a lot of liberty is taken with Rosalie Lamorlière because as far as I can tell there is not that much known about her historically. Historically she was a peasant woman who looked after Marie Antoinette before she was executed. In the show she becomes Oscar’s student, and by doing so she plays a part in several rather important events. The real-life Rosalie probably had little to nothing to do with. She is also written to be secretly related to quite a number of major historical characters.

Well, the thing about history and historical fiction is since no one knows everyone and everything involved or that contributed to something, you can make things up without it seeming too unreasonable. So liberties are taken with what went on in their private lives but also in the events of the time. This is why I love historical fiction. The romances are of serious importance (because this is a shojo series), such as the one between Marie Antoinette and Hans Axel von Fersen, which has historically been a point of contingency among scholars. I was also quite surprised that the scandal of Marie being thought to be a lesbian (although untrue) wasn’t more prominent. There is some exploration of shojo-ai in the series, and this would have been an good opportunity for it, especially between Marie and Oscar.

I feel it comes up enough for a kids manga. During Jeane’s trail for her involvement in the affair of the necklace she mentions that her, Oscar, and Duchess Julie de Polignac were Maire Antoinette’s lovers and when she is on the run she writes memories that surely bring up their fictional affair. Marie Antoinette does dote on Oscar enough that it seems like a good avenue for shojo-ai but they mainly stick to the traditional love triangle with Fersen. Rosalie and her sister seem to have less than platonic feelings for Oscar throughout the series.

I think the view of Marie Antoinette is interesting. They really play up the innocence of her actions and also how naive and childlike she is. She becomes a sympathetic character who actual history hasn’t been too kind to. However, when you watch you can trace just about everything that happens back to her selfishness. But that is what happens when a spoiled child becomes the queen of a country.

They don’t pull punches in making you occasionally want to slap some good sense into Marie Antoinette. If anyone gets the short end of the stick, it’s definitely Louis XVI. He appears often enough at the very beginning of the series but soon disappears to the occasional guest appearance.

But Oscar is our main character and a very good one at that. Raised as a boy since birth, and taught the art of fencing and other combat, she comes to a crossroads at the age of 14. She can guard the new princess or she turn back to womanhood (although I don’t think Oscar actually feels that is an option). The only thing I feel is thoroughly unbelievable, is how readily everyone accepts this woman acting like a man. And taking a position as captain of the royal guard. But suspension of disbelief for the stories sake.

Well, I think it was best summed up with the line, “Oscar you more manly than a man.” Oscar is manlier than every shonen fighting lead combined and at least as mainly as Kenshiro or Hiko Seijuro, and that is some pretty high praise. Guts is manlier than Oscar but NO ONE is manlier than Guts.

Yes she is rather amazing. Always chivalrous and brave and beautiful and intelligent and valiant and strong and talented and and and! She puts every male character in this series (and possibly all other shows) to shame. And all of the side characters are enamored with it: Andre, Rosaile, all the ladies at court. That is okay though because I think everyone watching the series is rather in love with her, too.

I did not notice it at first, but you also mentioned several times throughout the series that Andre seem to be able to come, go, and do pretty much what ever he wants despite being a servant unless the story requires him to be restricted in some way. At the same time, they make a big deal about Rosaile having to pretend she is noble to get away with certain things whenever she is around.

The Duke du Orleans is a brilliant villain, never scene without that evil glint in his eye. Historically he was known to always be sticking his nose in everything, always in the thick of it as it were. And this story is no different, you’d think he started the French Revolution completely on his own! Robespierre who? And Jeane, whoa, that woman is crazy! But to be fair, history paints a very similar picture of her. And lets not forget Saint Just, who doesn’t appear till much later. In Rose of Versailles, people who are evil are like the most evilest people ever. Although, they only seem to pop up randomly and then never appear for years at a time.

It’s not like Duke Evil moustache shoots children in the back…oh wait he does. And one bit of advice to anyone living in Rose of Versailles France, don’t ever take on a secret job assignment. The minute you finish a secret job someone pops out of nowhere and kills you to make sure you never talk. Just place a sign in the front of your store stating that you only take public contracts. I feel that the author is a little kinder to the female villains. She tends to try to humanize them and give reasons for the female villains of the show like Jeane and Madame du Barry being as horrible people as they are. The women in Rose of Versailles are just as horribly evil as the men (if not more so) but they are given some sort of motivation for their horrible behavior. The bad men in Rose of Versailles are just bad to the bone because they are bad dudes. She never tries to humanize the Duke Orleans and the Duke Guemenee.

Rose of Versailles doesn’t expect you to be a history buff to enjoy it either. I think you can tell the show was made for a mixed audience, so you won’t feel left behind by anything if your French history isn’t up to snuff. Although, the incredibly obvious foreshadowing can be laughable at times. The is serious time skipping going on, clearly you can’t fit everything that ever happen leading to the French Revolution into a 40 episode series, so a lot of the middle years are cut out. Like when Marie is having children and what not. Also I feel the series has a shift in view from the first to the second half. The first half really has a lot of Marie and Oscar but the second half focuses solely on Oscar.

I feel the first half deals a lot with the politics of the time in the forefront and they make the relationships run in the background; although, they are intimately tied to what is going on. After the affair of the necklace it gets turned on its head and the relationships are brought to the forefront where as the politics are moved to the background. Oscar making a lot of decision involving how she feels about the court and nobles has a lot to do with it. I wonder if Riyoko Ikeda had Oscar drop out of the politics because it was the natural progression of the character or because she just tired of writing about the court.

This show is one of the few really old titles that people constantly call for to be licensed. At every convention, if you go to industry panels, you will hear it asked for at least one time. Japan loves it and so does everyone else! It is really unfortunate that it doesn’t seem very likely to happen or it would have by now. Until someone wrestles the rights away from the manga-ka we don’t have a prayer.

Well, I have the feeling it’s one of those problems where if you could throw enough money at it it would go away. The problem is the amount of money you would need throw at Rose of Versailles to get the licence would probably make it totally unprofitable. It has it’s fans in the U.S. but I’m thinking they want mainstream new show prices for a show that is old and carters to what is a niche audience in the U.S.

Narutaki & Hisui VS. 2007

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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.