Ongoing Investigations: Case #050

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For some reason I have been sitting on Galaxy Railways for a while now. I finally watched the series up through episode 14. After a quite somber beginning, we follow new recruit Yuuki to the Space Defense Force crew of train Big One. When he first enters he has many idealistic ideas which cause constant conflict on missions, this continues throughout these episodes. However, there is growth on his part even if he stays rather rash. The rest of the crew provides a bevy of functions such as humor, animosity, friendship, guidance, and romance. So far most of the episodes have been individual missions with occasional looks at characters’ back stories. There is certainly a overall plot to come that is hit on now and again. Most things center around the complicated line of trains that cross the galaxy moving people and goods. Yuuki is constantly getting caught up in other people’s personal problems which makes him rather endearing if somewhat of an idiot at times. The series has a good mix of suspense, action, and character analysis combined with a unique setting and seems to have gone overlooked despite its good production values. The art style is a hybrid of Leiji Matsumoto’s classic 70’s character design with a little modernity thrown in which I really enjoy. I am looking forwarding to continuing on.

I try not to think of myself as too much of a shipper. I leave how much of this is a self disillusion to others. I will admit when I found out that the two figures from the Gundam RAH DX line for Turn A Gundam were Loran and Sochie I had to get them so I could display them together to suit my agenda. Loran is decked out in his pilot’s suit. It’s fairly form fitting so the ladies get some service with this Gundam figure. His pose is as if he is reaching out to something in the distance which is quite appropriate for the character. He comes with his helmet and his Children’s Day Carp toy. Since Loran is my favorite Gundam protagonist I’m glad to see him get an excellent figure. I would also buy a Loran figure in his Diver’s uniform or his Milita outfit but I am pretty sure you would only see those at Wonderfest. I won’t go as far as to say that Sochie is my favorite Gundam heroine because I’m not exactly sure who that is. She is my favorite female from Turn A Gundam though. She is in one of her pre-milita dresses and looking quite cute. I love her playful little finger waving motion. Another good pose that captures why I really like the character. For better or for worse (better) Sochie is wearing leotards so we don’t get a panty shot on her. Like Loran I would easy plunk down money to buy her again in a milita uniform as well.

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Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! Food for thought.

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At first Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! might seem like a odd title for us to be reviewing but it is on target for several reasons. The first and foremost is the author: Toshio Okada. Okada is one of the co-founders and the former president of Studio Gainax. He also holds the title of OtaKing or King of Otaku. Okada has had such a huge impact on the Japanese anime community as both a person who has contributed to through projects he has worked on and as commentator and scholar of otaku culture. Secondly, it is an interesting piece of Japanese culture and literature outside of its context in the otaku world. Lastly, Sayonara, Mr. Fatty is just very good. It is more than just a diet book; it is a book that shares with you a method of approaching life.

My interest in this book was my many layered curiosity more than anything else. The memoir aspect was easily the most attractive feature of this self-help book. Like our Otaku Diaries project may suggest, we have a interest in the underlying personalities, habits, and thoughts of geeks. And Toshio Okada is considered one of the most famous geeks in Japan! The book sounded like a positive look at losing weight and not changing who you actually are. A person’s personal philosophy and story should make you think or consider things that you might not have otherwise. Also as an ex-overweight geek I was just plain curious what his method was. So with all directions pointed to picking up this book, I sped through it in a mere day.

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Otaku Diaries Part 1: Lies, damn lies, and statistics

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So begins what is our most ambitious project so far, the Otaku Diaries. The Otaku Diaries is a peek into the minds and lives of a diverse selection of members of anime fandom. We asked for their stories of what makes them fans and how has their anime fandom effected their lives and loves. We asked what do anime and manga fans have in common and what makes them individuals. We have asked how they feel about anime and manga, their fellow fans , and themselves. I am sure anyone who has ever been a part of an anime club or gone to a convention has wonder what is up with that guy or what is that girl’s story. The people who responded to fill out the survey come from a wide of variety of backgrounds from all over the world. We had participants of all ages, genders, ethnicities, professions, and backgrounds. The only requirement that was a necessity was a love of anime and manga.

This idea came up quite suddenly and almost as suddenly it became a reality. Maybe we are just a curious duo, and since we paint ourselves as sleuths maybe this is no surprise, but we just plain wanted to know about the growing hordes of otaku out there. People involved heavily in a hobby have something that bonds them to their fellow connoisseurs. However, it becomes increasingly clear the more people you meet that there is no one story that is the same and many don’t seem to deem their peers as equals. But maybe, just maybe, there are more things to relate to than previously thought. In fact, one of the reasons I was curious to do this is the sweeping diversity and sometimes fracturing of anime fandom.

We asked 40 anime fans for a brief self-description along with 125 questions broken into in three categories. Questions asked about the user’s relationships, self-image, and views of otakudom. We tried to pick questions that gave us a detailed look into the lives of each of our participants. Through these answers we hopped to gain a better understanding of how each participant dealt with their friends, families, lovers, fellow anime fans, and themselves.

Any good research should start with some basic statistics of your group! So before diving in to the more telling answers in coming posts we wanted you to have any idea of just who our participants are:

 

Our goal was never to view fandom as a whole because our sample size is just too small. It would be nice to do so but we just don’t have the man power and time for that sort of experiment. We would need at least 1,000 participants to make any sort solid conclusions. Instead we focused on getting a more intimate look at a smaller sample size. So when we makes observations it is important to remember that we are only basing our observations on the people included in our survey. We are not as foolish as to assume that a sample of 40 people necessarily fully represent of all of anime fandom. If we were to do that, just by our statistics only we would conclude that there are no gays or lesbians in anime and manga fandom. Which is clearly crazy talk. Such a small sample size will also lead to some amount of skewed results due to the roulette of chance. This does not mean that there is nothing to be gained other than entertainment for the experiment. There are truths and revelations in our participants answers. They are just more likely to be personal answers rather than universal ones.

I don’t think we have aspired so high as to make any concrete observations here. Heck, we are missing the entire non-English speaking world of anime fans! But there is something to be learned from any one person, let alone having 40 telling you their stories. I was looking forward to seeing the varying degrees by which all fans live but also to see how their stories relate to my own. Perhaps that sounds incredibly self-serving but I think everyone, us included, will walk away from this venture with a bit of a better understanding of their fellow anime neighbors.

Look for a new Otaku Diaries Post
the first Monday of every month!