Mistakes of Youth: The Blog (Powered by EXCELLENCE!)

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I hate doing “plot” comics, but I need to establish them going to Japan somehow. There is however a real joke, but it’s not entirely obvious from the strip itself. The joke is that the DVD that Rets is holding is the first season of Gossip Girl. And no, Brad didn’t own Gossip Girl. He went out and bought it especially when Rets asked him for a random US TV show to watch on the plane. Because Brad holds a wicked grudge. Oh, and the other joke is the stupidly over-the-top intro.

That opening crawl was going to make explicit reference to comic 117 originally by the way, but I kind of got off track. I instead tacked a little note right at the beginning of the comic to get people back on track. It’s funnier that way, anyway.

Now for more news on the doujin. I just got word from my buddy that the doujinshi order has come in, and he’ll be shipping out all the domestic orders with all due haste. Expect them in a week or so. Overseas orders should take longer, but hang tight.

Another bit of site news is that the Otaku USA article I mentioned way back when has finally been published, after quite literally a year of delays. I write a piece which is part of a bigger feature on moé. I kind of wish they brought more guys like me in to balance out all the other somewhat negative opinions, but it’s all good.

I haven’t done much anime ranting in this space for a while, so I’ll do a bit now. Michiko and Hatchin recently ended, and it came together in just that way that I thought it would. The big thing that took me about this show was how it betrayed my expectations time and time again, but was still extremely good. It did loose some focus near the end, but the last four episodes were really solid, so it didn’t especially matter. I’ll do a more thorough review on the blog, if I get time.

Anyways, I’m going to cut it short for now. Next time I make a comic update, I’ll be doing it from Japan. With that in mind, expect a week or so of delays between comics as I get settled into my new living space. Later!

Here’s the short version: There’s a Star Wars artbook set to come out soon which will feature the work of a variety of international artists. One of the artists representing Neo Tokyo is none other Nishimata Aoi–famed doujin-ka, erotic game illustrator, and–as of late–food-packaging artist. This has set off some degree of controversy.

First off, there is a camp of people who think an erotic game artist has no business with a franchise such as Star Wars. These people should go fly a kite.

Secondly, there is a camp of people who are getting on Nishimata’s case because they don’t think she’s worthy of such an honour. I can sympathize with this position to some degree. I am a fan of Ms. Nishimata’s work, but I am aware of her flaws. However, her work getting selected for this collection makes sense, and she said it the best herself–”My art appears to be mainly popular with the younger generation, people that are not too much into anime yet, or people who don’t know much about the industry yet” (from here). I doubt George Lucas watches much anime, so he probably saw her contribution, was really taken by it, and decided to have her in the book. Her style is quite striking.

One of these days I’ll do a proper write up on Nishimata and all of my other favourite artists, but for now I’ll just say that she draws absolutely adorable and huggable girls, even if they do all look the same and at times are awkwardly proportioned. As for Star Wars, I only like the original trilogy, but I’m not one of the super hardcore fans who knows the universe in and out.

At any rate, I’m quite proud of Nishimata and think that she is fully deserving of this honour.

One of my resolutions for 2009 was to make an honest attempt at not being negative about every single thing–it’s not good for me, and it’s not good for the people around me. Whether or not I’ve been successful is your call, but one thing I’ve been completely not successful at not hating are anime blogs.

I don’t hate all anime blogs. In fact, I don’t even hate most anime blogs. In general, I am indifferent to the obscene number of anime blogs out there–they don’t bother me and I don’t bother them. As a concept, I love the anime blog– it’s a medium by which fans can share theories, information and analyses on the variety of media that encompass modern 2D visual culture.

However, somewhere it’s all gone terribly wrong.

The types of blogs that do what I’ve outlined above tend to be complete and utter bullshit. There is no nicer way to phrase it–that’s just how it is. And no, this isn’t a case of me getting mad at people over the internet for having different opinions than I do. It’s me getting mad at people on the internet who pass their opinions off as important, while having little grounding in what they’re pontificating about atop their soapbox composed of zeros and ones. To put it simply, there is a large contingent of people who just have no idea what they’re talking about.

This alone doesn’t enrage me. On their own, blogs like these are just annoyances–like flies. What really pushes me into bouts of head-banging frustration are when these bloggers come together and debate over their pseudo-academic hogwash. The comments on these blogs are the worst internet circlejerk you could ever subject yourself to–inane comparisons are made, wrong facts are thrown about, and assumption after assumption is made; resulting in everyone involved looking like a total ass.

I am not asking all anime bloggers to have been anime fans for 10 years, watch every single classic show out there, or even learn Japanese. I don’t think these are requirements for one to be an anime blogger, but–and this is a rather large but–if you lack grounding in the field you’re writing about, don’t pretend that you have it. You can be a perfectly fine blogger that has just started watching Japanese cartoons and have something of merit to say about them, but don’t for a second take a high and mighty tone. This is my other issue with the blogs at hand–tone–they act is if they actually know what they’re talking about.

Of course, there are a small number of serious anime blogs that do what they do quite well. Their writers have either been fans for a number of years, have seen a wide variety of shows, or posses a deep knowledge of Japanese culture. Sometimes they have all of the above. They are however sadly overshadowed by the dark, looming and evil collective of pseudo-intellectual bloggers that all wank to their own misguided bullshit.

Now, don’t think for a second that I consider myself above these guys–I’m just a rambling kid vomiting up years of pent-up rage. That said, I’d like for some of these individuals (you know who you are) to think about this for a minute–does watching every show made after 2006 automatically make you an expert on this medium? No. Please realize this, and we’ll all be better for it.

Thanks!

I don’t remember when, but at one point when I was reading Matt Alt’s blog, I noticed that I hadn’t read any of the man’s books! I quickly rectified this by breaking out my old dusty copy of Hello, Please! that I’ve had lying about since the Christmas of ’07, and immediately got a hold of his newest book, Yokai Attack!. Now here’s some reviews to show for it!

I’d just like to note that normally I’d spell yokai as “youkai” but for the sake of this review I’ll be spelling it without a “u” to avoid confusion.

Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan, by Matt Alt and Yoda Hiroko

While some Americans may be familiar with Japan’s obsession with all things cute by way of characters such as Hello Kitty and the Pokémon, most probably aren’t aware of how embedded cuteness is in modern Japanese culture. Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan aims to enlighten by introducing us to the wide variety of Japanese “working characters” that populate street signs, instructional booklets, food packaging and the like all over Japan.

Hello, Please! is composed primarily of photos, each separated into different sections, with each section opening with a short introduction as to what the characters in that part of the book are meant to do. The photos are accompanied by witty commentary, which adds another shade of colour to the already colourful characters on display in the book.

While very small (pocket sized, actually) Hello, Please! is filled with hundreds of vibrant photographs all printed on top quality paper. The design aesthetic throughout is clean and colourful, not unlike the characters that populate the approximately 200 pages. As expected, this book is not a terribly deep or involving read, and instead opts to let the photos do the talking. One can be done with it in about an hour or so, but it also works as a fun item to share with your friends. I’d recommend it.

Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, by Matt Alt and Yoda Hiroko, with illustrations by Morino Tatsuya

…or 外国人のための妖怪サバイバルガイド. Instead of kindly getting one acquainted with the adorable mascot characters that populate modern-day Japanese culture, Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide provides one with detailed information about traditional Japanese creepy crawlies that still have a foothold in modern popculture today.

Much like Hello, Please!, Yokai Attack! groups its characters into multiple sections, but instead of acting as a photo album, Yokai Attack! is more fact-heavy–filled with various legends, descriptions and charts about these old-school spooks. The most impressive part of this books is the sheer amount of research that went into it. One glance at the bibliography shows that a wide range of sources were consulted, and I’m going to assume that there was also a lot of research done by way of interviews and in-the-field exploration. It all comes together in a nice, well-written package, that is both informative and entertaining.

In addition to pages upon pages of information, Yokai Attack! features illustrations of each and every monster by manga artist Morino Tatsuya, assistant to the legendary Mizuki Shigeru. His style is very unique, and suits the tone of the book splendidly. In addition to Morino’s illustrations, Yokai Attack! features the work of other yokai masters along with various photos taken throughout Japan, all arranged to look like a scrapbook of sorts, complete with fake highlighting, paper clips, torn pages and written-in corrections.

Yokai Attack! is a great starting point for anybody interested in yokai. It’s both fun and informative, as well as nice to look at. If you’re already well acquainted with yokai by way of–I don’t know–playing a bunch of Touhou games, you may not find this book as informative as I found it, but it’s still an entertaining read, and much like Hello, Please! it’s a neat thing to share with your friends. Recommended.

I can’t believe it’s almost April! In addition to me being flown off to Japan in just seven days, a bunch of Japanese TV CARTOONS are set to air as well. As is typical with the spring season, there’s a lot of stuff to choose from, but surprisingly I managed to make my way out with only eleven titles–a number that will then be whittled down to about six or seven.

Since I’ll be in Japan when these air, I’ll try my best to catch some of them live. However, most of them are late night entires, so watching them on TV may not be worth it. Also, whether or not I’ll even have a TV is a matter shrouded in some degree of mystery.

But anyway, on to the cartoons.

Absolute Must See!!!

• Hayate no Gotoku!!: J.C. Staff’s OVA didn’t inspire much hope of them improving this already spectacular franchise, but hopefully they’ll bring their Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemy experience to the table, while also turning the fanservice up a notch, resulting in a series even more dangerous than the last. I still wish Synergy SP was on production duty, though.
• K-ON!: I’m going to assume that this show will be Haruhi’s Live A Live for 12 episodes. KyoAni has proved they can pull off incredibly realistic and impressive band sequences, so I’m looking forward to at least one or two of those across the show. Cute girls help, too.
  
• Natsu no Arashi!: While this doesn’t look quite as promising as Bakemonogatari, Natsu no Arashi! does seem like a little bit of a break from the types of things SHAFTXSHINBO have been tackling lately. Rather than taking place during the school year, it takes place during summer break. Furthermore, the plot doesn’t seem entirely centered around comedy. I doubt much directorial weirdness will come of it, but SHAFT stuff tends to be top-tier otaku entertainment.
• Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-hen on televison: I can’t actually get much HYPE for this, since the original Mazinger Z series is allegedly quite lame, and Mazinkaiser wasn’t really all that wonderful. However, this is another robot show directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, and this holy fusion has produced true works of greatness.

Must See!!

• Higashi no Eden: Production IG hasn’t done much to impress me since Ghost in the Shell SAC: 2nd GIG, but this show has a touch of promise. The available English-language story summary doesn’t provide one with much to go on, but Production IG production values combined with Chika Umino designs should be a sight to behond at the very least. I should note that while Chika Umino’s style is incredibly shoujo-flavoured, I don’t mind it because her girls are pretty, and her guys aren’t total yaoi fodder. That said, the trailer does feature a naked dude, but it’s played for laughs more than anything else.
• Hige Piyo: I’m always in the mood for a good comedy, and this wacky entry from the Ebichu author has potential to be quite great. That said, I haven’t actually seen or read Ebichu, but it seems right up my alley.
• Shangri-la: I can’t see anything exciting happening with this show’s premise, but the setting looks good, and Range Murata designs are enough to sell me on anything. The only real volatile part of this equation is Gonzo on animation duty.

Must See… One Episode Or So

• Asura Cryin’: I don’t know much about this beyond a vague story summary and some promotional art, but it could potentially be something I’m interested in.
• Saki: Cute lolitas playing Mahjong is a formula for success in my eyes, but I’m guessing production of this show will be delegated to Gonzo’s D-team. I’m probably better off reading the manga, but I’ll give it a shot.
• Hatsukoi Gentei: I can get behind a romance show by J.C. Staff, but I can’t get behind it enough to put it in a category any higher than this.
• Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan!!: This has potential to be a very crazy a fanservice laden romp, and the designs are very much to my liking. However, I’m not familiar with Studio Hibari’s work save for Nerima Daikon Brothers and some episodes of Happy Seven. Beyond that, their résumé doesn’t seem terribly stellar.

Despite what I’ve said about Haragen in the past, I may watch some of the remake, and I’ll also try to catch some of Dragon Ball Kai on TV before I stop and realize that it’s all terribly homoerotic. There’s some OVAs I’m interested in, but most of them are based off of existing shows. The only original one I have some interest in is Denpa Teki Na Kanojo, which seems like my kind of show.

Original Post

I’m still changing around styles to see what works. I know I was sticking with one way for a few weeks, but I’ve grown a bit tired of it. I’ve also redesigned Tina’s hair a bit so it actually makes sense–at first it looked the same at any angle, which is of course very wrong, but I did it anyway. After observing the hairstyles of characters such as Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches and Shishidou Akiha from Sora Kake Girl, I adjusted my method of drawing Tina’s hair accordingly. Notice how I went out of my way to do profile shots in the last two comics–that was so I could get a hang for drawing her hair like that.

This comic is better than the last one, but there are elements that are still a little off. The real important part about this comic is that the third panel is 100% truth. I saw that EXACT GUY in the Porter Exchange Mall one day when I was walking around, Naruto headband and all. It may have also been the same I guy I saw wandering around Harvard Square dressed as the Joker on the day after Halloween. I’m not sure if he had a girl with him or not at this point, but I added one anyway to make the picture all the more frightening.

In just ten days I’ll be on a plane to Japan. Comic making will still happen while I’m in Japan, and the comics made there will probably take advantage of my experiences being in Japan. Hopefully this trip will give me more to work with as far as the comic goes, since I’ve been treading the same ground–for better or for worse–for a while, so this trip will probably breathe new life into the following comics. Hopefully.

I have a bunch of final episodes/next to final episodes sitting on my desktop that I haven’t watched, so I can’t really waffle on about anime at the moment. Instead, please watch this amazing Idolm@s MAD. Later!

As a fan of director Shinbo Akiyuki and studio SHAFT, I tend to look forward to programs they’re slated to produce with some degree of excitement. However, I’ve grown a little disheartened with the combo as of late–ever since Tsukuyomi -MOON PHASE- this dynamic duo has done nothing but school-related comedies. This isn’t a bad thing. Titles like Pani Poni Dash, Hidamari Sketch, and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei are all brilliant in their own ways, but after a while this setting becomes redundant. Shinbo and SHAFT have a very bold and distinctive style, so seeing such a style lavished upon school comedies almost seems like a waste, especially when one has seen how it shines in darker pieces like Tsukuyomi and The Soultaker (which is Tatsunoko Pro, by the way.) This isn’t to say that having this dangerous combo’s aesthetic tastes applied to such settings doesn’t make for interesting cartoons, but it’s starting to feel very phoned in with this current season’s offering of Maria†Holic.

But now we have Bakemonogatari. It doesn’t stray from the highschool setting (what otaku-centric anime doesn’t?) but rather than being concerned with making one laugh, it seems to have another goal in mind. Based off of Wikipedia entries and testimonials from individuals familiar with the original work, Bakemonogatari looks to be more along the lines of the aforementioned Tsukuyomi -MOON PHASE- and Soultaker. So, less walls-of-text and visual gags, and more hard shadows and unique colour palettes. This is a Good Thing.

The trailer itself is typical SHAFT–cheap, but extremely effective. It runs at just around one minute long, and is primarily composed of text, a handful of nicely framed still images, and closes with about a few seconds of actual animation. The visual style applied to the text shares the same deadly serious style found in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but this time it’s used less for parody and more to set a wonderfully creepy tone. The character shots (with designs by Akio Watanabe) are set in Soultaker lighting, which tickles my heart, since I miss Shinbo’s striking use of lighting.

It starts in July. Hopefully it’ll be good!

What follows is a list of items I intend to buy in Japan come hell or high water. I will most certainly buy a lot more things, but these are top priority.

• The Rest Of Chocotto Sister: Despite the misguided cries of naysayers, the Chocotto Sister anime is a fine adaptation of the heart-warming manga by the same name. I bought volumes 1 and 5–because they came with artboxes–and now I’m looking to get the rest. Used is the best way to go, I suspect. I’ll probably be hitting Liberty and various other Akiba shops, but if that fails I’ll have to make do with Amazon market place.
• Choco Dakimakura Cover: While still on the Chocosis vein, I figure I may as well pick up this nice little trinket, since it seems to finally be back in stock. I may pick up her cute little friend, too.
• Really? Really! visual fanbook: I love Kaede, I loved her game (that I could hardly understand) and I’d love to own more hard copies of Nishimata Aoi’s work, so this is more or less a given.
• IQ FINAL PERFECT MUSIC FILE: Even though I was a dirty little pirate and downloaded this album, I’d like very much to own it. IQ has one of the most amazing soundtracks I’ve ever heard, and it’s just a puzzle game!
• Max Factory’s Asahina Mikuru Gekisou Version: Mikuru-chan is amazingly cute, and my most favourite Haruhi girl. That being the case, I have quite a sizable collection of 3D PVC depictions of her, so another one can’t hurt, right?
• Max Factory’s Asahina Mikuru Adult Version: See above.
• KOTOBUKIYA’s Sanzenin Nagi Bikini Version: Sweet, another figure I can’t display in my parent’s home!
• Otaku no Musume-san: This is a great manga that has unfortunately been marred by not-so-stellar translation work as of late. I have the raws, but I’d rather squint at tiny furigana on a page, as opposed to tiny furigana on my monitor. It’s probably healthier.
  
• Some Zero no Tsukaima dakimakura: I kind of want the Tifa one.
• Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~ Best Collection: Tsukuyomi has a most beautiful and haunting soundtrack, and I’ve always been sad that I don’t actually own it. The CD has gone out of print, but with hope I can find it used somewhere.

There will be a lot of impulse purchases, as well–most probably of doujinshi and rare items that I can only find at Mandarake. I can’t wait!

While going to Japan seems like fun and games, one mustn’t forget the serious aspects about traveling to another country. Especially a country like Japan, where the culture is wildly different from the culture here in the US, not to mention the sizable language barrier.

I suspect the language barrier shouldn’t be much of an issue–I’m nowhere near fluent in Japanese, but I think I have enough under my belt to feel my way around. I’ve been going back and doing some revision over the past couple of weeks, which has mostly been composed of writing all the kanji I know multiple times, but I have also gone back to review vocabulary I should know, and grammar bits I’ve forgotten. I naturally haven’t had much practice speaking, but that’ll all change once I touch down in Narita.

The large cultural gap is more of an issue. I’ll admit: My knowledge of Japanese culture is limited to what I’ve taken in by way of speaking with my Japanese friends, and what I’ve seen in Japanese media. I’ve done no real extensive research, so I get the feeling that no matter how many entries on Gaijin Smash I read, there will be surprises. But instead of being shackled by the unknown, I choose to be liberated by it. Some things will undoubtedly come off as annoying, and at times I will probably miss things I can only acquire back at home, but if that happens I will do my best to not fall into despair and instead take it easy. This is an opportunity to embrace a new culture–I should be totally accepting and take whatever comes my way with a good attitude.

I have no idea how my time in Japan will change me, and if it’ll change me at all. What I do know is that I’m looking forward to an interesting and enlightening learning experience, and I’m pretty sure Japan won’t disappoint in that respect.