Category: Fandom

Secret Yuri Conspiracy?

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In shadowy smoke-filled rooms the darkly illuminated masterminds of fandom plot the tastes of otaku worldwide. They slowly have infiltrated all levels of anime and manga production with their sleeper agents. Over time they have insidiously increased the potential for fanboys to ship their favorite girls together.  Some crazy people might have written fan-fictions about the girls from Azumanga Daioh or been Juri Arisugawa fans less for her complex personality and more for her doujinshi potential but they were the minority. But now the sleeper has awoken and shows like K-On!, Lucky Star, and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun have brought their unified vision of a yuri-wonderland to the forefront. Their war was won before anyone realized a shot had been fired. OK. That is me being silly plus that it ignores the fact that guys have been liking girl on girl action since time immemorial. But I have noticed a strangely silent but extremely aggravating male fandom appearing that is bolder and bolder while at the same time remaining largely unnoticed.

There needs to be a word for fans who see yuri everywhere. This goes beyond just liking seeing girls together, that is not where the interest lies because quite frankly that is unsurprising to anyone. It is more about people who see yuri in every friendship, in every show, and believe there is always an underlying context from the creator. This mirrors the extreme fujoshi (we talked about it a while ago) but I don’t really see anyone complaining that these yuri fans are “ruining” anime as is thrown at the yaoi community. Perhaps it is who I talk to on the internet, perhaps people don’t recognize them, or perhaps it is a classic double-standard.

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Character Building Exercises

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I would like to proudly announce that recently I finished off two video games in one day. Although I started them on different days  coincidence made it so I finished Galaxy Angel and Radiant Historia at the same time. Finishing both games back to back made me realize one thing. I would easily recommend both games so the next statement comes from someone who was thoroughly satisfied with his gaming experience (although if the last mission of Galaxy Angel were not an escort mission I would be happier.) Both games are sort of thin when it comes to their characters. They were enjoyable but in realized that had these character been from an anime or manga I would have considered them much weaker.  We simply accept a smaller amount of characterization in video games than we do from any other medium of entertainment.

We all know that video games have changed and evolved quite a bit over the years, but its been in many different directions. Even excluding the change in graphics capability and the potential length of games, plenty of growth in how people perceive games and how the creators make them has happened. They are a new and special type of storytelling, they are art to some and entertainment to many, and by any standard they have become integrated into the fabric of people’s lives on some level. But let’s go back to the storytelling element, certainly there have always been goals and structures for games, but we’ve seen epic stories come to life, too. And things just seem to grow more complex, with bigger ideas, and greater casts. But how characters develop in the story and through the player is still another idea all together.

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Blogging, Podcasting, and Playing for Japan

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Relief efforts are in high gear from all over the world while Japan holds its breath as they watch the nuclear reactor and brace for continued aftershocks throughout the country. The fan communities of anime, manga, and video games have been coming out in droves to give back. More and more causes are popping up all the time.

The newly started Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan page is a gathering place for encouraging donations to Doctors Without Borders and Shelter Box. They are about 70% towards their goals and hopefully can exceed them. We are joining the call and you can too by simply posting to get the word out on your own blog. Over at IGN they are taking pledges for their 24-hour marathon of Japanese video games taking place right now. And The 24-hour Anime Fans Give Back to Japan podcast has already raised more than $7000 before the show begins on Saturday. We will be at 8:30AM on Sunday chatting it up and showing our support.

Remember, every little bit helps!