CG in Anime
I talk about CG (computer generation) in anime. Agree? Disagree? Comment on it and tell me what you think.
http://youtu.be/ULZNFJeR1Rw
Best,
Phil Bohn
Survivor Series: Nintendo and the 3DS: A Comedy of Errors and Redesigns
Hey all, today I’m going to write something that I hope will cut through all the fanboy nonsense on both sides of the video game fandom surrounding the 3DS and Nintendo. I’ll probably get called a Sony hater(fanboy?) depending on your perspective, or maybe a member of the Nintendo Defense Force, whatever that is. What I’m a member of is the Truth and Fact Defense Force, and you can call me Admiral Animosity. So let us descend into the matter at hand and explore the subject content.
OK our story starts in February of this year as the 3DS was about to be released in Japan, and I was debating about whether to buy one or not. I had my DS lite since 2007, so it made sense to buy the next generation system instead of one the other DS models. Now if I was someone with a DSi or DSiXL then I don’t think I would have bought one before the price drop. The when I looked over the features of the system, the 3D without wearing glasses, dual cameras, on board software, and much better internet over the DS, it seemed a reasonable price to a person with a an old DS system.
Now its time for some straight talk, I borrowed the bus from Chris from Gundamn, if you listen to that show you might get that joke. Let’s talk about the things Nintendo did wrong with the 3DS launch. The most glaring one of them being the insanely high price set at 249.99. If you look at every other handheld systems Nintendo every released- from Gameboy to DSiXL- not one has come within at least 80 dollars of the 3DS launch price. WTF Nintendo!!! Add to that the reports I came across about the estimated production cost of the 3DS which is set at 101 U.S.$ for the raw materials for each unit, add in other costs such labour, marketing, packaging, and R&D, and I would think the cost would not be north of 150 dollars per unit. Yet they were trying to sell it for over 100 dollars more than cost. Sure it has sold millions, but they are only so many fanboys out there who blindly buy anything the company puts out. This dried up after a bit and this gives the reason for the price drop. The next thing of note is the launch titles, which are mostly third party crap and there was not one from any of the mainline Nintendo franchises, with the possible exception of Pilot Wings but that’s a bit of a stretch. Its ironic as soon as a Zelda game rolls out on the 3DS it becomes the second bestselling game so far for the system, selling over a million copies since June 16. That’s the power of beloved decades old franchises and why they should that be included in all hardware launches. This last one is kind of questionable and please tell me if you think I’m being unfair, but releasing a new system not long after you have released a new version of your current system, which is much cheaper than the brand new system, is not the smartest of business strategists.
To contract the negative things, let’s look at the things that were done right. Dropping the price was the best thing that Nintendo could have done, as the 169.99 price is more in line with the historical pricing of the past Nintendo handhelds, and in a cash scrapped world its better for the average consumers to afford. Bringing Netflixs on to the 3DS was a smart and innovative move as it makes it the first handheld with this capability. The on-board software is far and beyond what the DS had in its various forms. The addition of a dedicated virtual console for the 3DS is also attractive if your looking for a trip done nostalgia lane.
Finally, let dispel some crazy claims by Nintendo trolls and other fanboys. I have seen a number of claims, for instance that somehow the 3DS is like the Virtual Boy(if you don’t know what that is it was an attempt by Nintendo in 1995 to create a 3D system, it had a black stand which mounted a red device you put your eyes up to and that displayed the 3D graphics and the input was a controller that was some what similar to the future Gamecube controller). Now it only ever sold 770,000 units and after multiple price drops it was taken off the market after less than a year, so a by the sales comparison is completely ridiculous. Supposedly the Virtual Boy was not to be released in the form it came to market in and the creator had planned to refine the design, and this was because The higher ups at Nintendo wanted to focus all the resources of the company into the N64, so one wonders what could have been if the system had been given the resources that was earmarked for it. The other major claim that has been shouted from the forums by haters is that somehow because the 3DS hasn’t sold up to Nintendo lofty exceptions( The company wanted to sell 16 million within a year), and needed a price edit so early on that this somewhat means the end of the company itself. HAHAHA!!!!!!!! Pause, Laugh, Breathe,…..OK sorry I was just laughing out loud at that total nonsense. Nintendo is worth something like 85 billion dollars, its the third most valuable listed company in Japan, and its the majority owner of the Seattle Mariners MLB team(I know that team sucks, but still an MLB franchise). Also there is the fact Nintendo will be the first company out with its 8th generation console, the Wii U and from reports its like combining the Wii with the PS3 or XBOX 360, in other words power graphics with innovative game play. Also the Wii U is also reported to be “significantly” more powerful than PS3 or the XBOX 360. Yes, the the company’s revenue is down by a lot over last year, however this can attributable to the fact the Wii is near the end of its life cycle(the Wii U is suppose to launch in 2012 sometime) and most people who are going to buy one have done so already. The 3DS hasn’t been selling as well as they and hoped, but looking at the new sales figures it seems things are on the upswing for the system. Its also rumored the system will getting a redesign similar to the DS lite. So relax fanboys and haters alike, the sky is not falling on Nintendo, it fact I say the future looks bright.
If you want to see a gallery of two of the hottest Japanese girls ever, known as the hardware girls paste this link, I put one in the feature image:
http://www.hobbymedia.it/30477/nintendo-3ds-sexy-gallery-di-julie-watai-la-nostra-giapponesina-preferita
you will need to then go to this site and download some files that allow Windows to view .mpo files and install them and view away on your 3DS or PC: http://www.munsil.com/MPO_registry.html
Leave luck to heaven,
Devil_Survivor
It’s Not Like I Want You To Read This Post Or Anything
Before you give your abs a workout because of how silly and long the title post is, I’d just like you to continue reading this article that explains and discusses the phenomenon of otaku culture that is the “Tsundere.” Thats right its all twintails, fiery hair colors and eternal scowls today.
So what is a Tsundere, where and when did it originate? The very first Tsundere that I came across was Naru Narusegawa from the Harem anime Love Hina. Love Hina aired in the year 2000 just about the time when the term “moe” started to get thrown around more often on the internet. Tsundere is somewhat a sub category of moe, some would argue Tsundere is an essential part and possibly is what exploded the moe boom.
For any readers out there not aware with what the term Tsundere means, Wikipedia (the online being that has all the answers) defines it as ” A character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms Tsun Tsun meaning to turn away in disgust, and Dere Dere meaning to become ‘lovey dovey.” Some popular examples would be Taiga Aisaka from Toradora! and Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night, there have been some variations of the character type in recent times like the overly Indifferent Kirino or Kagami from Lucky Star that doesn’t express her lovey dovey side to any male character in particular. I will let Minoru Shiraishi explain it to us in this video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JoyuY1i9ys&feature=player_embedded
It’s hard to ignore this character type in modern anime because they are present in a lot of series. I would point to the success of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya which aired in 2006 as the catalyst to the already growing trope. Ironically, The Haruhi Suzumiya light novel reads as a clever parody of the moe culture and how it has taken over the anime industry in recent years. Watching the anime though gives a somewhat different experience. By being a parody of a Tsundere Haruhi in turn ends up being one herself, definitely not your typical tsundere but she becomes one none the less. An example of this would be when Haruhi explains what moe is and why it is important..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ux0fQPkNdMY
In this scene Haruhi is making fun of the other anime that always implement the ‘token moe characters’ into their shows, but by doing this the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Show itself implements its very own token moe character. It’s easy to dislike Haruhi as a character, but isn’t that the point of being a Tsundere? They withdraw an emotion from the viewer be it negative or otherwise making the experience memorable thus leading you to watch even more of the said show. It’s a tactic that works and it is why it will continue to be used.
It is also important to note that while this character type may seem over-used and extremely cliché, they can all be unique and complex in their own right. Take Asuka Langley Sohryu for example, she is pretty much the template for the modern day tsundere. Going too much into detial about the character of Asuka will turn this post into a why I love Evangelion article so to sum it nicely I will show you this video.
Warning: May Contain Slight Spoilers…… (why havent you seen this show yet for shame?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbvssp890Tc&feature=player_embedded
One of the more interesting things I noticed was that most anime fans that had seen Evangelion only recently often compared Asuka to ‘similar characters’ of recent shows. while you can argue and say, Kirino is just Tusundere for the sake of being Tsundere its hard to unjustify why Asuka behaves the way she does and just to emphasize just how popular her character or character type is just take a look at how many figures of her are still selling.
Another example of a unique and somewhat complex Tsundere character would be Makise Kurisu from last seasons Steins;Gate. Her character is also a clever parody of what a tsundere would be if she were real, the cast of the show are constantly calling her one and while it may seem like it’s just been implemented for laughs it turns out making her a rather unique and refreshing tsundere.
I honestly think Tsunderes’ will continue to be a staple in modern anime, when they are done right they turn out to be complex and relatable characters because they are quite honestly flawed. They aren’t as 1 dimensional as the ditzy character that’s clumsy for being dumbs sake or the characters that are silent and serve no purpose to the overall plot or characters growth or development .(just for the record Yui Hirasawa is NOT in this category she is much more complex than that)
Speaking of bad, there are a lot of things that can get quite annoying when it comes to tsunderes’ for one thing the older versions tended to be more violent than the current ones. The punching the guy sky high can be a little bit funny the first two times but it really gets annoying and can get quite tedious pretty fast.
On the Flipside the very same trope can be used strategically well if actually makes sense for the character to behave this way, take Taiga Aisaka for example.
Another awful cliché that most Tsunderes bring to anime is their type cast Seiyuu/ Voice Actor list. Now don’t get me wrong I like Ayana Taketatsu and Rie Kugumiya just as much as the next guy but hearing the same voice actors do the same type of voices for the same type of characters can really get on your nerves, its extremely repetitive and your brain immediately categorises the said characters in a box that they will never break the boundaries from.
As I mentioned earlier the tsundere character type often has a checklist of characteristics that it often adheres to just so when the Otaku take one glance at a still frame they can easily be pinpointed. For Example, Twintails, Usually Loli, Crazy hair color..compared to the rest of the cast, violent, Hyper Active, outspoken etc etc. Its the checklist mentality that has driven the creativity of anime creators to a standstill and until we can get more variations of character types we will forever be stuck with the same tried and trusted characters for years to come.
I have really come to like tsunderes and appreciate them even more, especially when they are done right, I hope they don’t continue to take over the anime scene but I don’t want them to completely die out either, they are a core part of what makes anime a unique medium and are arguably what some people may refer to as ‘strong female characters.’ Try finding a bunch of those in western media.
Review: Nichijou
Episode Reviewed In: Episode 99
Alternate Titles: My Ordinary Life
Original Japanese Release Date: Apr 2011
Episode Length/Run-time: 24 Episodes (with Specials)
Summary:
Random things happen in a seemingly “normal” school setting through a series of vignettes.
Review:
A quote from Jim Rome comes to mind about this anime, “I get it, it’s just not funny.”
The whole premise of Nichijou relies on the random nature of its absurdities. Don’t look for any kind of plot or development here, you won’t find it. One moment they’ll be in class, the next they pull out an AK47 and start shooting. People are depicted randomly with cat ears, there is a robot, and odd tangents that serve as little than extended “jokes” run rampant. Like having a whole 30 seconds devoted to finding a gun in a book, then moving on and never mentioning it again. And I get it that some of these are representational of relationships with people, emotions, or the nature of the person. That it is supposed to be a humorous representation. But, that being said, just because I get it I didn’t get any amusement out of it.
All the jokes fell so flat I was extraordinarily bored through the whole show. I did find it better than shows like A-Channel, simply because the cast was broader and flushed out better with more amusing relationships and personalities. But it was only slightly better and nowhere near the level of shows like Azumanga Daioh which really illustrate how to do this genre and do it well. And sure, I get it, humor is subjective, but just for fun I looked around the web and the sea of “blah” opinions of the show says a lot.
One praise I can give it is that for its random spells the creators do a good job of shifting the art style, character designs, and music in a way that fits the antics but still seems to go with the overall theme of the show. I liked the regular style of the show a lot too, I will admit. It’s animated with a surprising amount of detail in a deceptively simple pastel style.
Overall, I think anime in this random genre people should just give up. It’s way too easy to fall flat. Sure there were some amusing moments but out of 12 hours of content I’d sure hope there would be, statically speaking. It’d be a talent to be almost that awful. I feel this anime would’ve been much better suited as just 12 episodes, or, even better, an OVA. Pack the good ones in with the awesome animation and leave it at that.
Survivor Series: Spotlight- Legend of the Galactic Heroes
I’m a little annoyed at myself for not writing something sooner, but now I have time so I will crank out 2 or 3 entries and save the others for the coming days. Here I’m going to talk about one of the longest running anime out there and one that definitely should get more airplay, Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It spans a 110 episodes in the main series, two movies, and two side stories(one with 52 episodes). Its based on the series novels by Yoshiki Tanaka of the same name and has a cult following. So let’s a explore the extremely complex world of LOGH.
The story is set in the far off time of the 35th century in which humanity has migrated out into the galaxy and terraformed thousands of worlds. For the past 150 years, two large star empires, the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, have been at war without either side being able to gain the upper hand for very long. The story features two main characters from each side, Reinhard von Musel from the Galactic Empire, a brilliant strategist who is often looked down on by other officers because he is the brother of one the Kaiser’s concubines, and Wang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance, kind of a guy caught in the law of unintended consequences as he never wanted to a strategist and just wanted to be a military historian. The story follows the lead up to a new war between the two powers, its eventually end, the aftermath and the manipulation of the conflict by Phezzan,a neutral third power, and the shadowy and very creep Earth Cult, which is bend on having all humanity return to the nuclear war ravaged Earth.
There are several notable things about LOGH and enduring themes at play in the series. The entire franchise is either an original video animation or a film. There has never been a official English language version, sub or dub, released anywhere, but there are fansubs out there. LOGH has almost no female characters in the main cast, especially in the Empire as it appears that there is not one single women in the Empire armed forces, and because of that fact this show is often called a huge yaoi fest which is true to some extent I guess lol. Commercialization of the series is very minimal outside of VHS\DVD\Blue ray releases and only a few model kits exist. Huge battles of tens of thousands of ships are the norm and something not seen in many series. The series has a massive cast with hundreds of named characters and the show helps keep track of them all by displacing the names when the characters appear on screen. This is a ultra violent series, maybe because it started in the 1980’s, but it none the less keeps on keeping on as evidence by the numerous close quarters combat battles and death scenes during ship to ship battles. A discussion of which system of government is better, either a autocratic monarchy or a democracy, is the central theme. The merit of a person is a persistence theme as Reinhard struggles against the familial connection system of the Empire to gain the power he seeks to save his sister and overthrow the Goldenbaum dynasty. Reinhard also recruits a lot of talented castoffs throughout the series, who for one reason or another angered the establishment. Personal ambition or lack there of enters a lot into the series and the consequences it has for a person and the people around them.
I really love this show, it just maybe the best space opera out there for its complex characters and very socially and politically conscience story lines. I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of shows with political plots in them, like Code Geass for example, or anyone that is a fan of a show with good characters and good character development.
Cheers,
Devil_Survivor
Kuragehime
Alternate Titles: Jellyfish Princess, Princess Jellyfish
Original Japanese Release Date: Oct 2010
Episode Length/Run-time: 11 Episodes
Summary:
Tsukimi is a geeky girl who lives in Amizukan, an apartment complex that no men are allowed to enter, with other otaku, hikkimori, and NEETs. She has a deep love for jellyfish due to a memory of her late mother. One evening, when trying to save a jellyfish she recieves help from a beautiful girl, but this girl is a trap!
Review:
This is an anime that I was earnestly surprised at how much I enjoyed. The premise seemed a little cliché, nerdy people afraid of popular beautiful people. But the execution was awesome. I loved how the “ugly” people were, well, actually ugly. It wasn’t like a lot of series where the “ugly” ones were actually really beautiful all things considered, they were pretty homely in this one. But it worked with creating the realism of the seires.
There are two main points of conflict in the show. One with Tsukimi and her relationship not only with a boy but a cross-dressing, popular, beautiful, rich boy, and how she overcomes this within. The other conflict is the risk of the Amizukan being torn down to make room for new building projects in the city and the geeky girls loosing their home and safe-haven.
The pacing of this show is also really great, it moves well and progresses in a speedy but not hasty manner. Things seem realistic in how the emotions change from encounter to encounter.
At its core I’d say Kuragehime is a feel-good show which anyone who has ever felt slightly socially outcaste can enjoy. It was a show I enjoyed a large amount and really recommend as a worth-while watch.
[starrater]
A-Channel
Alternate Titles: None
Original Japanese Release Date: Apr 2011
Episode Length/Run-time: 12 Episodes
Summary:
Tooru who has just entered the same high school as her best best and childhood friend Run, who is now a second year, and Run’s friends Yuuko & Nagi in their daily lives.
Review:
I feel like this anime is supposed to be really funny, or, at least, a little funny. But the problem remains I found myself SO bored watching it. The characters are the normal funny formula, the young one, the bookish one, the ditz, the well-meaning screw-up, perhaps I’m jaded but it all just falls flat. The slice-of-life doesn’t really help either, because there’s no real conflict, or overarching plot, or real antagonist, just random stuff happening one thing after another. For example, there is an entire episode about sneaking into the school at night, and not even for a fun reason, they just forgot something. I had foolishly thought that there may be some semblance of a story or at least relationship building throughout the show, given the relationships at the beginning and the cute girl crush one of them had, but that was foolish thinking. The love just serves as a plot device to have one girl be all protective and have some slapstick humor as she punches people who get too close away. The style of the show is nothing to write home about either. Everything looks chili, even the adults are done in a very simplistic style… Though I suppose on the bright side they don’t look the same age as their students, so thats a pro for the show. But they have things like montages during stupid little songs, the budget is too low for a montage I tell you! Animate everything! I suppose this is one of those anime that you just have to be into to want to watch. If this is the kind of stuff you like, random acts of girl/Moe cuteness with little else than this really delivers. I suppose its not too Moe that non-Moe fans will not upchuck after a minute, but its still pretty solid Moe stuff left to right, up to down. The biggest thing I enjoyed personally was the opening, its a good song and good animation, otherwise I found myself dragging my bored feet through this show.
[starrater]
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos
Alternate Titles: Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Sei-Naru Hoshi
Original Japanese Release Date: Jul 2011
Episode Length/Run-time: 110 Minutes
Summary:
The Elric brothers are back and they are sent out to a boarder city known as tower city persuing a fugitive who escaped from prison with only a few months left on his sentence using strange alchemy. When they arrive they learn there’s more going on that meets the eye as they learn of the people who have been stripped of their ancestral lands and now live in the valley floor at the boarder of the two cities, struggling to regain their homeland by any means.
Review:
I think Kimiko said it best when she said movies like this are basically official fanfiction. This movie has no real place in the FMA saga and it is basically a mini vignette where everything returns to how it was when its done. But, that doesn’t mean it was a bad movie. The movie had excellent pacing, between the engaging characters, interesting story, and top-notch fight scenes you will not be bored. Fans of the series will be pleased in how all the fan favorites have been placed in the movie, sometimes a little forced – Winry did not need to be in there – but not bad. The original characters for the movie are also surprisingly deep and loveable for only knowing them a short time,you quickly find yourself invested in their plight and cheering for them in their struggles. One of the main criticisms is the animation in some of the fight scenes seems a little rough for an anime movie, normally the budget is so high everything is flawless. Its not bad though, just not as good as one would expect. But it is overall a very enjoyable watch no matter if you are an FMA fan or total noob.
[starrater]
Review: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Episode Reviewed In: Episode 94
Alternate Titles: The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya
Original Japanese Release Date: Feb 2010
Episode Length/Run-time: 163 Minutes
Summary:
Kyon wakes up one morning to find himself thrust in some alternate dimension where Haruhi and the S.O.S brigade does not seem to exist. No one seems to have any recollection of either and he struggles to figure out what is going on and what happened to the world he knows.
Review:
This movie is 110% for Haruhi fans out there. Otherwise I don’t know who would sit through the near 3 hours that is this movie. It is literally the longest anime movie ever made and I have no idea why because it does not merit it. Don’t get me wrong, the movie isn’t terrible. It has its amusing moments and the animation is glorious. It also has great monologues that you would expect from Haruhi. But the movie just gets boring. Without haruhi being, well, Haruhi there are little antics or crazy moments that made the show wonderful. The ending is also mediocre, you knew nothing would really happen, as is the way of such movies, but this ending is borderline bad. They use a complete cop-out ending and even say “we’ll resolve it later.” They tried being too technical with alternate dimensions and got burned by the spiral of multiples and so on. Overall, its not bad but I stick by the fact that if you’re not a big fan of the series be ready to be bored to tears by the end.
Chi’s New Address
Alternate Titles: Chi’s Sweet Home: Atarashii Ouchi, Chi’s Sweet Home: Chi’s New Address
Original Japanese Release Date: Mar 2009
Episode Length/Run-time: 104 Episodes (3 minutes an episode)
Summary:
The lovable kitten Chi has moved with her family the Yamadas to a pet friendly home. Now Chi has a yard and lots of local animals to play with and can go outside as she pleases, no longer in hiding from the landlady.
Review:
There isn’t too much to say about this show, it is basically the same premise as the season before it with the aforementioned changes. That being said the changes breathe new life in the new possibilities of the neighbors pets and her freedom to go outside. Chi is still adorable, and cat owners and lovers alike will revel in her cat antics that are innocent and lovable. This show is very simple and the four minute episodes make it easy for a shot of cuteness whenever you need it. I don’t know what else to say really, its simple and perfect in what it is and does what it set out to do, be adorable. If youre studying Japanese try watching it without subs as the language is very simple it could be good practice. I laughed, I cried – really I did, and I squealed with delight at the cuteness of this show. It only gets a low score because I try to score critically, and no its not amazing, nor does it really have a plot. But, on a personal enjoyment level I love this show so much and on a personal scale its one of my favorite anime ever, easily a 5/5.
[starrater]