Otaku Diaries Part 9: Anime in the year 21XX.

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#0091
Anime has been a part of my life for this long; I can’t imagine not being entranced by anime.

Speculating on the future can be very tricky and the more complex the system you are trying to predict the harder it becomes to be accurate as anyone who understands chaos theory and the butterfly effect will attest. But as anime fans we continually try to speculate on the future of our hobby. What shows will come out next season, what trends will become prominent, what fads will fade away, what will get licensed outside of Japan, who will be voice actors on what shows, and a multitude of other topics are constantly a part of otaku conversations. We may be wrong and we may be right in varying amounts but we are always trying to see if we can guess where this crazy train called anime and manga is going.

In an surprising turn of events everyone said they’d more than likely still be watching anime in 10 years.  . . . well, I should hope so! This is the OTAKU Dairies afterall. But beyond the initial response, I found something interesting and possibly (unintentionally) pessimistic. A number of fans responded in the conditional form of  “yes, . . . if there are still good shows.” or something similar to that effect. At first it seems like an obvious response, but at the same time it makes me think “what makes you unsure there will be good shows?” However, it must be said that many more people said plainly “yes,” “absolutely,” and “why wouldn’t I?” And then there were a few in the affirmative but with a theory that they would be a more casual fan in the distant future. So while the short answer was a resounding aye, the things ticking below the surface were still diverse.

#0094
Even if I get married, have kids, move, get a new job, or the such there will always be room in my life for anime.

I suppose that anyone willing to fill out a survey this long is in it to win it. Therefore everyone seeing themselves watching anime in the future should be unsurprising. I see this hesitancy to say anything without caveat being partially to do with the chicken little syndrome that tends to be a part of anime culture. There is always someone going around saying that anime as we know it is dying forever. Compounded with a weak economy and some turmoil in anime production companies in the present, it can be easy to make people wonder in 10 years down the line will they still be making shows that will interest them. F0r most people taking the survey there will always be something from them to watch but I understand where this fear comes from.

#0019
The people who are kids now don’t really seem to be growing up into fans like me over time. They seem to just grow out of it entirely, replaced by new kids just like they were.

#0034
Once the current recession passes and they figure out how to [make] money out of online distribution, I think the industry will stabilize at a level where there’s still plenty of good stuff being produced.

#0080
I think fandom will continue for all of eternity . . . there will always be a new generation to pick [up] where the last one left off. It may be possible that the “older” anime fans will dwindle but there will be people like me to pick up for them.

#0060
The advent of a generation that is internet savvy will only lead to more access to anime with less appreciation for it.

#0045
It will be a little less the “in thing to do” that it seems to be now, and fall back into the hands of the fans who loved and supported it from day one.

Asking what the future of anime fandom is is a very broad question to put to people because it partially depends on where you think anime fandom currently is; whether it is health or not or what that even means; and how you yourself fit into the whole scheme of things. I actually learned a lot from the answers in this section. One sentiment that really got me thinking was this theory that the gap between older fans and newer fans would continue go widen, age-wise. There was a prevalent idea that young fans are coming into anime fandom and then instead of becoming older fans they are becoming non-fans; they stick with it for a while but drop out soon after college. So while I didn’t myself think of this, I really found myself following the logic behind it and was able to apply it to what I’ve seen and experienced.

#0079
As long as acceptable strategies are found for legal distribution for new series shortly after their broadcast in Japan, fandom might contract for some time but never lose its appeal. Maybe.

#0029
. . . then in fifty years our fandom will die of old age like sci-fi fandom is about to do.

#0049
I think there’s going to be a point where things all balance out. The moe fans will have stuff to watch, and the not-moe fans will have plenty to chew on, too.

#0011
Some of the short term fans who liked it because it was trendy are starting to drop off from what I’ve seen, and the popularity is starting to diminish slightly.

#0021
. . . a majority of these young fans will eventually grow to become financially independent and upwardly mobile adults who will have children of their own creating a generation of people that are more receptive to anime and more likely to disseminate anime throughout the culture.

An important question is how long do most people stay in any hobby when push comes to shove.  All hobbies will have fans who come in and leave due to a wide variety of factors. Is the ebb and flow of anime fans any different than fans of stamp collection, basketball, or even American comics? I can’t say what if any the difference is but I would be curious to see the numbers. As long as there is a steady stream of new fans there will always be some people who stick around to mature and expand their tastes. Opinions on the future of anime fandom ranged in optimism. There were predictions of everything from growth to utter collapse. Most of the participants felt that the bubble of anime and manga had burst and that there was still some normalization in the market to take place. Everyone seem to agree that anime adapting to online distribution was the key. How effective that would be and how quickly and effectively it could be profitable was a major point of contention. Most participants agree that the casual viewers would ebb and flow but there would always be a dedicated fans base that always carry the torch.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #076

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We got a copy of Foiled from First Second Books last week, I was rather excited because it was penned by Jane Yolen! Her imagination and description would surely lend itself to being made into a comic. Just as I hoped, Mike Cavallaro achieved it wonderfully. The art style is this wonderful hybrid between comics and American cartoons. Aleria isn’t a typical teen-aged girl with her kind of rye look at the world, but she is quite relateable in her semi-awkwardness, slightly odd parents, and geeky slant but no real place to fit in. In fact, all of these make her more alive than some exaggerated contemporaries, nothing is totally normal but nothing is too off the wall in her life. But what sets her apart (even more?), besides her attitude, is that she is a fencer and a very good one at that. And of course that is where the story really begins and ends as her latest fencing sword (or as she would yell WEAPON!) was a thrift store find with a weird jewel on the hilt. Throw in a new boy at school, some table top role-playing, and the appearance of a world that rests on top of NYC chockful of mystical creatures and you have a wonderful, fun, and magically little book. The magical world is such a strong element, but it doesn’t really come to the forefront till more than half way through. This was really my only complaint, yes it is important to establish Aleria’s (what she would call) mundane, every day life but with only one book you really want to have the fun of the other world sooner. So this should be remedied by making a sequel!

The first thing that popped into my mind when I read Foiled was Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (and I loved Neverwhere). Not that the average but slightly extraordinary person who learns that there is magical world underneath the mundane world is a utterly unused storyline but the allure is one that makes it an evergreen concept. Jane Yolen takes this old framework and writes an excellent story for young girls as well as a good fantasy story in general. Aliera is a great protagonist who is a strong female character but vulnerable and awkward enough to be easily identifiable. Her passion for fencing and the way it integrates into the story on both a storyline level and a symbolic level give it a smart feeling while also giving it a cool energy. I especially liked how each of the chapter titles used a fencing term with accompanying art that set the tone for the chapter. I will agree with Narutaki that for a single book story they could have picked up the pace in introducing us to the magical world. It’s not that the beginning should be cut short but I too would have liked to see the fantasy elements pop-up earlier. If nothing else it proves that the story is begging to be turned into something longer.

I received the first book of My Darling! Miss Bancho from CMX this week. The story revolves around the ridiculous (which the manga-ka freely admits) reverse harem that occurs when Souka transfers into a tech school filled with nothing but male delinquents. On one of her first days she accidentally takes down the bancho (boss/gang leader) of the school and by their rules that now makes her the new bancho. Cue wacky antics. The story so far is a fairly amusing series of sillyness mixed with some shojo cliches. I felt he pacing was a little off, especially getting the whole ball rolling, maybe it’s just personal taste but it would probably serve the story, and the humor better, to have her take out the school’s bancho right in the first few pages. Just about every guy in her class is enamored with her (and the entire school is pretty much bowing down to her and hoping for her favor) so she gains a couple of minions who act equal parts crazy and devoted. The main love interest is the leader of the sophomores, Katou, who is sort of a mother hen to the rest of the guys and vows to protect Souka. Souka is kind of a middle-ground heroine so she isn’t too engaging unfortunately. Despite the fact that she takes out the previous bancho, she isn’t particularly tough or feisty, if she were this story might be pushed to more funny heights. So really, while amusing and having its good moments, My Darling! Miss Bancho doesn’t really push its silly premise far enough to make it a rip-roaring good time.

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REPOST: Con Survival for a new year!

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With the convention season coming up, and us hard at work on Otakon plans, we decided to to re-post our Con Survival Guide for everyone to use! While the full blown con season does not start for a little while yet, you must remember that planning months in advance is the most important thing you can do if you are in charge of a group going to any anime con (even if your group consists of only one person). So if you are thinking of attending any cons this year you should look over the posts because you just might learn a thing or two and avoid some common convention mistakes we all make.

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder is famous for saying that, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” This is especially true of any and all planning done for cons. I have yet to go to an anime con where everything went exactly as planned. Something or someone will always fall through often at the worst possible time. Vital items will be forgotten or left behind. The posted schedule almost always changes day to day sometimes hour to hour. Oddly enough though even though this is a truth you are doomed if you don’t have a plan for going to a con. A small amount of planning can turn a disastrous or boring anime convention into one of the highlights of your year.

But therein lies the problem, if there is no plan nothing will get accomplished. The plan will inevitably change. No matter what. The only way a plan can run perfectly is for only one person to be involved, so unless the con is just you in your basement it will involve others. If you are going alone you still have to worry about traveling (which involves all manner of other people) and the con itself may not run smoothly so your plan even less so.

I will tell you that Narutaki is correct. I was the only person at Hisui Con 2007 last year in my basement and it went off without a hitch but I found that it had no atmosphere what so ever. Roald Amundsen said that adventure is just bad planning. My friend Ben’s infamous road trips always stick out in my mind as to what happens when you take no care to plan you trips in advance. Ben is famous in my little circle of friends for spontaneously planning road trips at the last second and having many a horror story because of it. Tales of him driving half asleep in misty unknown parts of North East while trying to find somewhere to stay for the night before falling asleep at a rest stop to find people rather creepily staring at him when he awoke immediately spring to mind. So much of Ben’s interesting little “adventures” could have been avoided by some planning before setting out.

Disaster can be averted! The first thing you do, is decide to go. So let’s start now! Okay, so the first step has been taken and you haven’t broken a sweat. So why not take the bull by the horns and plan your trip yourself, leave it to no one else!

I myself have up until recently have been more of a passive participant in convention planning. I have always been fortune enough to either have anime conventions near me or to have someone in charge of planning things for me. Narutaki is usually our group’s main chief of planning. But when CLAMP was at Anime Expo 2006 Kohaku and I were forced to make plans for ourselves. It turned out fine but it was the first time I had to fend for myself. I’m also had to plan out my solo journey to the Providence Anime Conference. I will say the the less people you have to plan for the easier it is but the more good friends you bring the more likely you will have a good time.

I have worked with people to plan for 20 and to plan for 2. I’m slowly but surely becoming a seasoned organizer for these types of excursions. Every year something new is learned and every year something unexpected happens. So our guide will be a multiple post, ongoing series initially coming out once a month (the last Monday of the month).

The Con Survival Series:

Why are we doing this? As the average age of the typical anime fan gets younger and younger while the number of people going to anime conventions increase it means that many con goers are totally green to the con going experience. Just look at any message board for you local con and you will invariably see a thread asking for advice and suggestions. Having the battle scars of years of mistakes, failures, learning experiences, and triumphs we have decided to pass along our wisdom in hopes of teaching first time con attendees what to do and what to avoid in planning their first con experience. Heck old timers might pick up a new trick or two as well.

Okay, yeah, we are going to tell you the mostly overly detailed way of doing things. To the point of madness at times, but this is just a guide not a set of laws. Heck, we may even forget to do some of the things we’re going to tip you off to. The goal is to remember all the great stuff about the convention, not the screw-ups. So hopefully a little help from us you can accomplish just that!