Category: Fandom

Giveaway + Otaku no Video: Messages from the Past

9 Comments

hisuiconEvery year Otaku no Video is used to kick off Otakon. It has had that spot on the programming schedule ever year since 1994 because it was one of the first and most well know anime that looks into the heart of otaku culture. It encapsulates the spirit of any anime convention and the otaku lifestyle. It simultaneously sings the praises of the otaku while hanging its head in shame at the same time. Otaku no Video does this dichotomy in storytelling with two different narratives taking place. One story is told with animation and one story is told through a live action mockumentary. Each path takes its own look at anime fandom and pushes past is logical extreme for comedic effect. In between these two extremes is where Gainax and maybe even anime fandom’s true opinion of itself lies.

Otaku no Video is a show that I remember from my early fandom. I don’t know how it is exactly, probably just the internet, but it seems as soon as you start watching anime, as soon as you enter fandom, you find out about the word “otaku.” It is like magically you just know this word and whether you use it right or wrong, and who says what the right and wrong is, becomes a part of your fandom. Nowadays you can find any number of shows featuring otaku, but when Otaku no Video hit the streets it wasn’t often otaku were main characters. But despite the prevalence of such things now, Otaku no Video is still a unique work without equal.

Continue reading →

Scott Pilgrim Fans Vs. The World

11 Comments

hisuiconThe fandom around the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was a fascinating phenomenon to me. I saw a dozen of news articles, blog posts, podcasts, forum debates, twitter discussion, and Facebook rants after the movie’s first weekend in theaters about the question: “Why did Scott Pilgrim Bomb?” The best analysis of why the movie did not do well the theaters was the article on Cinema Blend as its five reason were pretty much spot on. But what interested me more than the fallout at the box office was the strange cult of Scott Pilgrim fans that made the movie into a line in the sand on which the future of entertainment was based.

Continue reading →

This just in: Comics okay, Anime still for pervs.

14 Comments

So I have this habit of checking out the site AskMen.com (affiliated with Cosmpolitan.com which I also check) every month or so. I have an interest in how others behave and in the sector of romance and sex these sites are like fountains of information both good and bad (mostly bad) as they distribute advice to the “average man/woman.” In my latest quest, I found a list of perverted behaviors that guys should really keep in check if they want success with the ladies.

Feel free to click that image to read the small text which goes on to say, or rather tell you, that your love of anime is all for perverse reasons though comics have made it into the acceptable realm. This is all so inane first, and most obvious, because of the utter disregard for the medium out of ignorance. And the prods at anime girl depictions is somewhat amusing when compared to the same accusations once being hurled at comics in the past (and still in the present). This seems to reflect how anime is still viewed as so fringe even when it has made inroads. Comics have gained ground in the last decade, thanks in most part to all the film adaptations probably, so is that what it will take for anime? Or does the fact that comic characters are recognizable as such, whereas any upcoming anime adaptions won’t be connected to anything in the minds of the general public not change a thing?  And lastly, they think the majority of readers on their site would relate to such behavior? I don’t know if that is true or not, but it seems unlikely that the “average man” is accustomed to getting his kicks from anime or cosplay.

I have to say in all my browsing this is the first time I came across something anime related. I don’t know if I was really shocked at how it was presented, as I was shocked it was even thought of at all.