He once watched an anime called MD Geist and said its the worst ever, Once he drank a Dos Equis beer and it was exceptional, and once listened to another anime podcast other than AAA and said never again…… he is the most interesting man on the AAA network.
Ok lol, so that’s going to the new intro to each blog entry because I love those commercials and the beer. In this edition of the series I’m going to talk about a musou games; Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3. I know the hack and slash genre has a lot of critics and fans at the same time which leaves it as one of the more hotly debated game genres, and I had never played any until this game, but this game has new features that set it apart from the previous entries in the series. That said, lets take a look at the game.
Background Story:
The story devised for this game is that a number of characters from the various Gundam series are transported to a location along with their mobile suits. The location is never really spell out, perhaps some alternate dimension or whatever. Some of the characters met up and form groups and began battles against other groups of characters. Some mysterious signal is being broadcast and the characters follow it, and this drives the story. Not much of a story :P, however a story isn’t really the main focus of this game.
Game Play:
The story mode of game is broken down into chapters in which two or three characters are playable at first. Each individual character is restricted to his or her signature mobile suit until you buy a license in the game shop which allows all playable characters to pilot it. Each chapter has a number of missions that all have the same end conditions, that being killing the end boss character of that mission. How you go about getting to the end of each mission is really the difference in each mission. There are over 300 different missions within the story mode in 8 different categories. The combat is much the same with other DW games, a lot pressing of the A button to create chain combos to perform different special moves and the unique signature attack of each character. A new feature is the addition of the Partner Strike, which is an attack performed by a partner character set at the start of each mission, which can used to turn the tide of battle. There are a number of other new map features that add a more strategic atmosphere. The Emergency Dash is a new option that allows players to get out of danger if timed right. There 81 different units to choose from in the game to be collected by acquiring MS plans and building them in the MS lab. The plans can gained whenever you finish a mission and you typical get 4 or 5 after each mission
In the online mode up to 4 players can play together in 15 unique missions. There are reports that more missions on the way at some point, although no date has been given.
Audio\Music:
The music in the game is average at best, not horrid and not exceptional either. The characters are voiced in certain parts of game, but not in all dialogue between the characters. The voice actors are the ones that portray the characters in both the Japanese and American versions of the shows, so that’s some good continuity between anime and game.
Artwork:
The art style is an upgrade over the previous two DW:Gundam games. The graphic artists choose to render the characters and mobile suits in a cel shaded style which is bright, well detailed, with great environmental effects, and visually pleasing. The background environments are enough in number without getting too repetitive.
Closing Comments:
DW:Gundam 3 is most importantly an improvement over the previous games in this series. It does all the things the other games have done in a better way that made the others a success. That said it still has the issues of other Dynasty Warriors games, almost completely devoid of anything resembling a story and sometime repetitive combat. This game is almost just for Gundam fans, however it may appeal to fans of the hack and slash genre, which is a viable business model in Japan and not so much in America. Not many Gundam games get released in the West, well at least not many of the good ones, leaving not much to play if your a Gundam fan in the Western world, so its a question of take it or leave it. For myself its just good to have a decent game to go and blow up things with my favorite mobile suits.
I give this game 3\5 beam sabers slashing up grunt suits
Today I’m starting a new feature which will deal with the worst of the worst of troll groups in anime fandom. The terms fanboy and troll are often used to describe devotees of a certain series, so I have decided for the sake of clarity to merge the two terms into new single one; fantroll. The definition of fantroll is a extremely devoted fanatic of a certain series or franchise to the point of delusion and who directs hatred towards fans of other series or franchises because they do not share the mindless devotion of the fantroll to the given series or franchise. For the inaugural entry I thought it would be most appropriate to start with the single greatest example of the fantroll; the Eva fantroll.
I had been aware of Neon Genesis Evangelion for some time, hearing all kinds of things about it, and when one of my friends lent me her copy of the show in 2005 and I sat down and watched it. My thoughts on the show at the time was that it was a average mech show. This was before I slowly become aware of the phenomena that is the holy status that some percentage of the Eva fandom hold the show in. As I heard more of ravings of the Eva fantrolls about how it was “the greatest anime of all time” (You can thank ADV for starting that nonsense), my enjoyment and opinion of the show went down considerably. Before I go into the things the hardcore fans of this show rant and rave about, I just want to be clear I do like this show.
Now I’m going to pick apart the show, and discuss some of the outlandish and outrageous claims that the fantrolls make about Eva. One of the most often cited aspects of this show is the use of Christian imagery and icons. While its a interesting element of the series, fans often read more into it then there is actually there. They forget that its a show made for a Japanese audience, and the presence of Christian symbols its just a weird novelty to the creators and not some deep, intertwined, and complex plot element. Moving on to the most annoying part of Eva; Shinji Ikari. Boy do the fantrolls even like to hype up Shinji , I once had someone claim to me that he was the greatest character in all of anime, wow that’s arrogance lol. Someone also wrote into Gundamn’s mailbag with badly butchered grammar and made a similar claim, but went a step further by saying that Shinji was the reason people watch mecha anime. Honestly, are you that caught up in your worship of this mediocre series that your so delusional and pretentious to try to say this guy is the single most influential character in the history of anime? I could probably think of a 100 characters that have had more of an influence on anime.Char Aznable and Lynn Minmay are just two off the top of my head, who have had much more of an impact on Japanse culture and anime than him. Shinji did nothing at all during the series to warrant being called iconic, in fact he’s just like almost every other mech lead character in recent memory. Another annoying aspect present in Eva is the disposable enemies that appear almost every episode for the first half of the show, this is also known as the monster of the week cliche. This gets old fast and really saps my enjoyment of the show during the first half. The constant remakes of Eva are also extremely annoying which serve just to devalue the series and are just a cheap way for Gainax to make money off the mindless cult that worships the series as the second coming.
What all this adds up to is a symptom of a larger ailment in the Western fandom that has to do with what shows are considered the greatest by Western fans. A lot of fans in the West only see a very limited amount of anime series from Japan and there is a tendency to automatically declare these series the best there is. When they find out about other shows they tend discount these shows and go on believing that what they hold dear is the greatest without evaluating the merits of the other shows, its cognitive dissidence at its finest.
Well that’s all for this post, I’m considering what group to profile next. It was suggested to me to talk about the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom so I might do them next.
Pretty boys, Bishounen, Bishies, call them whatever you like they are everywhere and seem to be creeping into each and every type of modern anime show being created. Why are they so popular, what makes them relevant to todays anime, why are they in all the shows I/we love and why am I writing an article that will further increase the belief that I am actually a fujoshi?
Original Demographic
For all the un-initiated Bishounen is a combination of the word Bijin which means beautiful and Shounen which means younger males, Bishounen refers to the pretty boys found in anime and manga. In western anime fandom bishonen or ‘Bishie’ for short would refer to any outrageously good-looking male character in anime. It should not come as a surprise that most of these characters are found in Shoujo manga/anime, Bishies are very popular with females and in a medium that is primarily dominated by male oriented material the addition of these characters in shows is often treated as icing on a cake for most fan-girls.
There have been a few shows that have taken a unique approach to the role of Bishies in female targeted anime. Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler is one such show, The series is a dark, Gothic, action drama with supernatural elements, the basic premise of the show is very fascinating and may seem like one that can appeal to a wide demographic but the twist comes when the humour and blatant pandering hits. The character designs are clearly meant to appeal to a female audience and the subject matter often gets lighter than the viewers may have preconceived.
Black Butler
Obviously the series as a whole is very popular, popular enough to have two seasons worth of anime and an ongoing manga series. Both males and females enjoy the series even if they may be for different reason all-together.
There have been more series that have turned this formula into a success, Hetalia and Ouran High School Host Club have had and increasing popularity and its fans are not only vocal about it, they are also loyal. The manga versions of these series is always in the top 10 best sellers list and the FUNimtion Brand Manager of Hetalia herself has announced to the public that the show has done incredibly well for them. Clearly these shows have something about them that must appeal to a wider audience than the desired niche female portion of the fandom.
However, there is always two sides to a coin and very recently there have been a few shows that have attempted to mimic the formula of the above shows and have failed terribly. No.6 was a story set in a futuristic, post apocalyptic sci-fi world and has some pretty cool action sequences and drama. They also had an ‘implied‘ Yaoi subtext that felt tacky and unnecessarily lengthy in most of the scenes that it was implemented. The writers of the show were clearly trying to reel in as wide an audience as they could and by adding some pretty boys and yaoi, they thought female fans would come flocking to this Sci-Fi Dystopia anime as well. Unfortunately for them the show as a whole just didn’t work, the story seemed to come to a screeching halt whenever the two leads had an opportunity to be together alone and to make matters worse this show aired on the noitaminA block meaning it only had 11 episodes in which to wrap itself up nicely, 11 episodes is not nearly enough for any mystery anime let alone a Sci-fi drama. The constant pandering just killed the show for me and many other viewers and proved that just having pretty boys in your anime is not a formula for isntant success no matter how hard you pander to the fujoshi.
Pretty Boys In My Manly Show??
I remember gong onto a forum to discuss this one show I had just finished watching, I thought it was amazing and assumed most other fans would as well, to my surprise the response I got was underwhelming, positive but underwhelming. I later noticed that only female fans seemed to talk about the show as much as I did and only females seemed to cosplay as these characters at conventions and such, it didn’t occur to me exactly why this was the case until I saw a Durarara!! panel at Anime Expo 2011 online. nearly 7/8 of the crowd was female and they all screamed and squeed whenever two characters were mentioned, Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima. Suddenly I got it, it was because this show, my manly show, my favourite cool characters…were actually bishies. I was a little shocked at first but soon came to terms with it, the show was successful and it definitely would not have been so well received had it not garnered such a massive female following.
Izaya Orihara PVC Figure. This line of male figures is meant to target female audiences
Another good example of such a phenomenon would be Sunrises’ super hero show Tiger and Bunny. A show meant to appeal primarily to an older male audience so much so that the protagonist was designed to be in his thirties and have a beard! ( believe it or not this is quite rare in modern anime)
Tiger and Bunny has such a Western feel to it so it came as a huge surprise when suddenly the show gained massive popularity in Japan and with its female audience. In a flash Pxiv was spammed with various fan art, fan fiction, figures, posters and all sorts of other related memorabilia soon followed, some more creepy than others.
Tiger and Bunny is one of the best selling titles of the year in Japan, with each volume selling over 25,000 copies. The Show has been licensed by VIZ in the States and Siren Visual in Australia and will undoubtedly do very well even in the west once it is released.
An Interesting article by Project Haruhis‘ Jon Snyder contained the results of a ‘most popular anime series by gender’ poll taken by an Otaku matchmaking service in Japan. The results showed that women watched more Mecha than men and men, well lets just say they liked Kyoto Animation works as a whole. In the top 5 of the Womens list were Gundam, Code Geass and Macross Frontier, on the surface these shows may not seem like they would appeal to massive female fanbase but taking a deeper look (or not so deep) into these series and we can all see why, lets take Gundam OO as an example.
Male Cast of the Gundam OO Movie
A story rife with political intrigue, war themes and lots and lots of action but it also has a predominantly good looking cast. Was this deliberate? Even if it wasn’t it worked well enough to gain itself two full anime seasons and a theatrical release. Gundam OO is not the best the franchise has to offer but it certainly has its fans no matter how convoluted the plot becomes, no matter how bad the writing gets, as long as there are pretty boys fighting in Giant sparkly robots it will sell.
Fujoshi Bait
If a formula has been tested and it succeeds why not go all the way and try to create something spectacular with it. The Producers at Sunrise must have known they were onto something special when they were penning the script for the Mecha Action Thriller Code Geass and to make sure they didn’t alienate the female fanbase from this soon-to-be-masterpiece they decided to let the artistic geniuses CLAMP create the character designs for their show. At least how it must have gone if it was planned that way.
Regardless of the fact of whether it was deliberate or not , the decision to use CLAMPs’ character designs was ingenious. Ofcourse this meant that nearly the entire cast of the show would be superficially attractive even by anime standards. The show was popular and ended up selling well, so well that the next season was big enough to air on prime time television in Japan.
A common trend in Shounen anime is to add a superficial romantic subplot in order to reel in as many female fans as possible. While this tactic has been proven to work a more effective and more common one is to add atleast one or two pretty boys in the show for the female fans to fawn over. A very good example would be Naruto Shippudens’ Sasuke Uchiha himself. After the series first time-skip the character who was already popular with the females because of his good looks was given an even more appealing look and his default costume rendered him shirtless, I’m not kidding. A more recent example would be Ichigos’ final transformation in Bleach, a design unashemadley meant to sell figurines and to pander to the female fanbase.
A Faboulous Future
With the increasing popularity of shows like Natsume Yujinchou and Tiger and Bunny and a sudden influx of more Josei anime, it will come as no surprise to me if we begin to see more and more Bishounen in anime genres that they initially were not found in. I personally don’t mind this but then again maybe that’s because I am secretly actually a fujoshi 🙂
Heya, guys and gals, it’s L Lawliet here for L Lawliet’s Movie Madness!
Hayao Miyazaki-even if you barely watch anime, you recognize the name. Miyazaki is one of the few directors to get an Academy Award for best animated picture outside of the United States, for his film Spirited Away. That’s not the only work he’s done, though. He’s made other influential films such as Princess Mononoke, a tale of nature and destruction, The Castle of Cagliostro, about Lupin the 3rd and his attempt to solve the mystery of the perfect counterfeit bills, and Howl’s Moving Castle, the story of-
Wait, what was that second one?
That’s right, the great Miyazaki worked on an anime film adaptation. That’s not all, though-this was actually the culmination of his work with Lupin the 3rd. He had previously worked on the first series, co-directing and storyboarding about half of the episodes in the show. It’s fitting that his first film is his last work with Lupin, and probably his best one for the franchise at that. In addition, it’s a damn good movie in general. It’s got action, romance, comedy; it’s got the whole shebang. It’s gotten shoutouts in everything from Batman: The Animated Series to The Simpsons Movie, and remains, to this day, one of the most classic animated films of all time. So, let’s not waste any time! Come along and let’s steal a look at The Castle of Cagliostro!
The Plot of the Century!
The story begins with a casino heist-a nice little introduction to our duo of thieves, Lupin and Jigen. Taking off after successfully completing their crime, as the police around them find their cars ineffective and falling apart, the two plot how to use their new millions…until Lupin notices a problem. The bills are fake. Every single one. And not just any fakes, but the perfect fakes-they’re called Goat Bills, and they come from a country called Cagliostro, and that’s where Lupin intends to go. So begins their latest escapade, but there’s puzzles abound. There’s more to Cagliostro, and Lupin’s experience with it, than meets the eye, and there’s an even bigger mystery lying in wait for the duo…
This review won’t be a recap-the movie’s got a couple of twists that I’d rather not spoil here, but I’m gonna give you a basic rundown of the cast, music, animation and overall entertainment value. Sound good? Good. Let’s sneak on ahead, shall we?
Crooks, Cops, Counts, and a Couple of Dames
Hold onto your wallets and keep an eye on your cash, folks, because here comes ArseneLupin the 3rd, speeding by in his signature yellow Fiat, stolen dollars abound. Lupin is a master thief, robber of countless treasures. artifacts and millions of dollars in cold hard cash. He’ll steal your heart, followed by your credit card, and you won’t notice either way. He can be anything from a smooth operator to a not-so-chivalrous pervert, but there’s one thing he consistently is-one hell of a guy.
What good’s being a thief without some partners-in-crime to back you up? Alongside him is his good old pal Daisuke Jigen, the sharpshooting marksman who’s the straight man to Lupin’s comedic foil. He’s not against a one-liner now and again, though, and he’s got some of the best lines in the movie. He’s been around the bend and knows how Lupin works, and has been his faithful companion for years upon years. Goemon Ishikawa, on the other hand, originally intended to kill Lupin, but is now one of his most valued cohorts. With sword in hand, he’ll literally cut through all obstacles, no matter how worthless they may be to his blade. Stoic and collected, he and Jigen are the voices of reason in the quartet of crime. Last, but certainly not least, we have the lovely Mine Fujiko, the object of Lupin’s affections and a deadly piece of work. She usually works with Lupin to achieve her own ends, but it’s obvious that she sees something in him, despite her repeated betrayals, and will always come to his aid in the end should he desperately need it.
What’s a robber without a cop? Hands in the air where Inspector Zenigata can see them, you punks! Hellbent on capturing Lupin and bringing him to justice, Zenigata’s hounded the gang across the world and on nearly every continent known to man, with a minimal success rate. He’s no bumbling office, however (though he has shades of it in many of the TV shows), as he’s captured many other criminals and rapscallions during his pursuit of the master thief. He and Lupin are engaged in an endless cat and mouse chase, and the film wouldn’t really work as well without his inclusion and his chemistry with Lupin.
Taking on double duty as a princess and love interest, we have Clarice, the Princess of the castle of Cagliostro. She’s no damsel in distress; she’s managed to escape confinement in the past, and is brave enough to assist others and fight back when she needs to. She’s forcibly engaged to the Count of Cagliostro, the big man in charge of the country, who wants to use her for his own nefarious needs-and that’s just one of his secrets. Both have a connection to Lupin, though less so with the Count as much as his actions, and both are interesting and engaging characters in their own rights.
Alright, we’ve met the cast, but is the world they live in just as colorful? Let’s find out!
Looking Mighty Fine (And the Pictures Ain’t Bad, Either)
Now, this is a Miyazaki movie, so you gotta expect it to look nice. But, some may be put off by how it looks compared to his other works. While films like Princess Mononoke have deftly made animation, with smooth transitions and designs, The Castle of Cagliostro is a bit more, well, cartoonish. While his other films are intended for the big screen and don’t have any set animation style to abide by, Lupin the 3rd was already a popular series, and it had one movie under its belt before this one. Plus, this was his first film, so this was one of the first times that he got to choose how things would appear. As a result, it looks less clean and more ridiculous than his other films, for the most part, as it’s intended to look that way from the get-go, to keep similar to Lupin’s first series. The scenes heavily involving the characters work well in regards to this, and improves upon the original show’s look with some slight modifications. Co-directing the series helped, to be sure.
Despite these setbacks, this film shows the beauty that would later become more apparent in his other works, via the background animation. The first shot of Lupin approaching the ruins shows intricate design, and an amazing attention to detail. Each tile, each section of grass, and each brick on the walls are given focus to, and this makes the scene a lot more effective. Even the Fiat isn’t left out, as you can see the dirt from the previous car chase scene in it. Miyazaki’s other movies may have perfected his background animation, but it was just a stone’s throw away, since The Castle of Cagliostro’s animation was already near-perfect.
Oh, and there’s the car chase scene, which to this day looks well drawn, with everything given detail, including the branch that hits Lupin in the face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGTxs2QeWJg
Gets me every time.
So, all in all, the movie looks great, with a few bumps in the road. But does it sound as good as it looks? We’re going to look at the music in this next section, so let’s get right to it!
The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Lupin~
In general, the music of Lupin the 3rd tends to fit the times. In the 70s, it was actionish, to fit with the era in which the show was made, and in the late 70s/early 80s, it had a pop/disco type feel to it, for the same reason. The Castle of Cagliostro, however, was an adventure movie, and the music suits that genre. It’s designed to make the viewer invested in whatever chase or fight sequence is going on, making sure they are hooked from the first note, while keeping the Lupin spirit. This is apparent in the first track we hear, during Lupin and Jigen’s escape from the casino they just robbed, and which makes recurring appearances throughout the film, Toward the Patrol Line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69ratTplrw
Along with this, during the film’s slower, more personal scenes, the music takes similar cues, letting the viewer float along, emphasizing the emotions on screen. This is heard through another recurring track, Fire Treasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MdKPYo0n0U
Of course, a Lupin movie wouldn’t be complete without the Lupin theme. In this variation, the theme is a jazzy, light-hearted tune used in some of the film’s best sequences, like the car chase and part of the film’s climax:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX2ci_vr8o4
All of this music, and more, are used to great effect to create an impression on the watcher, making sure that the viewer isn’t just into the pretty pictures on the screen. It can be peppy, somber, or just downright crazy, making the soundtrack not just enjoyable for fans of Lupin, but people who like music in general.
Now, I’ve said all these things about it-but is it worth watching more than once? The answer: absolutely.
All Good Things Must Come To An End…
The Castle of Cagliostro is simply wonderful. It’s got a great story, well developed and likable characters, fantastic music, and superb animation. Some may be put off by it being a film of a show, but this is something that you can watch with no knowledge of Lupin and STILL enjoy to the highest degree. Without spoiling, I can say it doesn’t have any aesop, any lesson we need to learn as Miyazaki’s other works contain. What it has-what it is-is a tale of adventure and thrills, love and romance, good and evil, and the daring thief that brings it all together . Miyazaki has made some fine works, but his first, in this reviewer’s opinion, is his downright best. This is L Lawliet, signing off of this edition of L Lawliet’s Movie Madness. Let the good times roll, and believe in your thief.
Innovation is usually seen as a good thing by most people in any given field in human endeavor, however there are always a small percentage of die hard adherents to something that cannot accept change in any form. This is nowhere more apparent then in video game fandom. So I’m going to look through some of biggest fanboy dust ups over game companies trying reinvent their franchises.
OK, these are not in any particular order, there just ones I have been made aware of. The first one is the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, of which I’m a huge fan. There have been a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh games across many game consoles, but the three that are relevant for this discussion were on the Game Boy Advance and Gamecube. The first GBA game was the Sacred Cards released in July of 2002 and it was different in a couple respects. First, unlike all the previous games in the franchise, this game actually has a story, in fact it lets you play one of the story arcs from the show. The other difference was the rules of the card game itself were different, and that’s really pissed off the fanboys of this franchise. The second GBA game was called Reshef of Destruction, was very similar although it had a completely original story. Now both of these games have flaws, like most games, but they are also good games broken the formula and because of that the fanboys labeled them as inferior, which is so short slighted. Moving to the Gamecube, in 2002 a Yi-Gi-Oh game was released called the Falsebound Kingdom that was radically different from anything seen in the franchise thus and since then. The game was a combination of the RPG and RTS genres and was not a card game at all. Instead the monsters from the cards become characters in the game to be used on RPG style teams of 3 under the command of one of the cast from the TV series. A lot of the items in the game are also cards from the card game, which shows the detail the developers put into the game. RTS element comes out in the missions in the game in which you move your teams and engage your enemies and capture bases, additionally there are other objectives to complete sometimes in a given mission. The games was received very negatively by the review community as with many games that step outside the norm. The game has some flaws, as the maps for the missions were really low rent and not very inspired, but was balanced by the great graphics of monsters and battle animations.
The next franchise that attempted to go a different way and hit a brick wall of fanboy rage was Devil May Cry. The controversy stems from the redesign of Dante, a design that wildly changes from the previous four games. This game doesn’t even have a release date yet, its suppose to come out in 2012 sometime, and the hate is already flowing from the fanboys. You would think that people at least would wait until the game came out ,and not just complain about the visuals.
Infamous is another franchise that has felt a rain of fanboy artillery fire over the design of a character, Cole, the main character in the game. The difference here is that, Sucker Punch the developer of Infamous, caved into fanboy pressure and changed Cole back to to way he was in the first Infamous, although there was still minor changes to him to better fit the new game. Again its just kinda sad that fanboys cannot get pass such trivial things like character designs.
When Transformers: War for Cybertron was announced, the main complain yet again was superficial about character designs. The G1 40 year old virgins were complaining about why wasn’t the game using the 1984 designs. Well maybe because its 25 years after the fact, and things need to change sometimes to bring in new fans to a franchise. Blinded by nostalgia glasses is a common medical problem for most Fanboys, and can be corrected by getting out of your parents basement, actually getting laid , and not watching porn all the time.
In sum, I just wish fanboys would come out of their formulaic comfort zone, and give a game with a different take on a beloved franchise a chance. Its almost like fanboys are afraid of change in and out of their game life, which is probably why they cannot get out into the world and get their lives going. If there is any group of fanboys from anime or video game fandom you look to see get owned by me, please leave a comment or pm me on the forum.
This has been pubic service message from the Truth and Fact Defense Force.
Kyoto Animation is a name you have most likely heard more than once if you keep up to date with the ins and outs of the anime fandom, they are an animation studio based in Kyoto that were founded all the way back in 1981. They began by doing in-between animation work for shows such as Cowboy Bebop, Turn A Gundam and the Doraemon movies, they even did some work on some Studio Ghibli movies at one point. ‘KyoAni’ (as they have become to be known) did not create their own full fledged TV series or Movie until the year 2003, their debut was a little known OVA called Munto. Munto was an original series with a mix of Fantasy and Slice of Life elements, the series was not bad it just wasnt great, it did well enough to get a sequel green lit down the line. The Slice of Life elements portrayed in this show would later go on to become a staple in the rest of the TV shows Kyoto Animation would animate.
The first big break the studio had was the chance to animate one whole season of the Mecha Anime Full Metal Panic, previously done by GONZO. The series they created was not a typical sequel per say it was more of a comedy/gag/ parody of the original, fans of the original Full Metal Panic loved it and some of them still proclaim it to be better. Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu was the first hit Kyoto Animation had and the producers of the show acknowledged this enough to have them animate the second season, the true second season if you will Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid in 2005.
In the same year KyoAni animated the TV adaptation of the popular Key/Visual Arts Visual Novel Air. The series was a slow-paced romantic drama that had your typical ‘moe’ looking girls, the one thing to note about this show is that despite not having any ‘action scenes’ in particular it was very nicely animated and the background art was very nicely detailed, something rare for anime of that genre. Tatsuya Ishihara was given the role of Director, the combination of Ishihara, Key and Kyoto Animation would eventually prove to be a recipe for success for all the parties involved. Air did well enough that a second Key Visual Novel was animated the following year,there was also a notable increase in visual Novel anime adaptations in the industry as a whole. This would only be the first of many major impacts KyoAni would have on the Anime Industry.
The Big League
2006 was a massive year for anime in general and it seemed like Kyoto Animation had the timing right to release their creativity upon the world. Alongside the very succesful release of the Key Visual Novel Kanon, which was the second time the show was given the anime treatment, the first being a bad Toei rendition. KyoAni unleashed the Light Novel anime adaptation The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The light novel already had a rabid following in Japan so failure was not an option. They hit ball right out of the park with it, the animation was fantastic, the writing was solid and surprisingly enough it had such a huge mainstream appeal that a lot of modern anime fans (such as myself) found the show as a great gateway into the fandom as a whole.
The Dream Team
The opening and ending sequences were very cleverly thought out and animated, the dance sequence at the end ‘Hare hare Yukai’ which quite honestly had nothing to do with the canon of the show was a massive massive hit, not surprisingly it was the brain child of outspoken Director Yutaka Yamamoto. The shows lead Director was Tatsuya Ishihara who at this point had 2 major titles already under his belt. Another key figure in this team would be rising star Naoko Yamada who was a key animator for most if not all the work KyoAni had done, she would later on play director for a game changing series down the line. The Voice actors they hired for the show consisted of then up and coming idol Aya Hirano, the inclusion of insert songs and her singing the opening and ending songs was planned to give her musical career a jump start and boy did it work. the male Seiyuu in the show were top class as well with Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Ono and Minoru Shiraishi, Shiraishi would become somewhat of an easter egg character for KyoAni shows with minor appearances in atleast every show they would produce from then on.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya went on to smash BD sales records with an average of over 40,000 BD sold with each volume. The show was both a hit in Japan and overseas, it is what many critics and analysts believe to be the main catalyst for the already growing ‘moe’ genre in the industry. After seeing haruhis; success everybody else wanted to cash in on this new fad.
In 2007 KyoAni adapted another Key/Visual Arts Visual Novel Clannad to both critical and monetary success, it was nothing new really just really well animated, really well written romantic comedy. It was the release of the self promotional comedy/parody anime Lucky Star that really propelled KyoAnis’ status in the Otaku fandom. Lucky Star was adapted from a 4-Koma (four panel) manga by Kagami Yoshimizu. That style of comedy in anime was popularised by Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star seemed to follow suit. The show had no real plot it was simply four high school girls hanging out and having fun. There were a ton of anime/manga/video game references in the show, KyoAni took the opportunity to advertise their own shows in the anime as well.
The cast was very similar to that of Haruhi Suzumiya and young upstart Yutaka Yamamoto directed the first four episodes and the opening of the show which again was a dance routine. Yamamoto had a fallout with the studio and has not yet done any other work for them, he did however leave a legacy with him, both the Hare Hare Yukai(which has over 3 Million views on youtube) and Sailor Mottekke Fukku( which has Over 7 million views on youtube!!!) Dances had become so popular that fans expected something similar from both him and the studio from then on. He went on to direct Kannagi, Black Rock Shooter OVA and Fractale which were not as big as Lucky Star or Haruhi but not too bad either, his styles were certainly present and fans continue to hope for a return to form for the talented director. Yasuhiro Takemoto was given the huge task of directing the subsequent episodes and the choice was wise because this was the same director that helmed the successful comedy/parody TV show Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu.
It’s important to note that KyoAni had continued to do what worked for them, moe character designs, romance and comedy anime, insert songs, quality animation, well known voice actors and otaku culture references. With every new show and with every year KyoAni seemed to find a new market to tap into and unlike other studios they continued to service that new market by incorparating whatever it is they seemed to like in their subsequent shows. Lucky Star and Clannad sold big, really big and the innumerable references to Haruhi Suzumiya in Lucky star had fans hoping for the continuation of the show the following year, they didn’t get what they wanted instead they got;
Clannad After Story, another Key/Visual Arts visual novel adaptation. The sequel to the very popular first series of the same name. After Story built upon what the first season had already given us and added a little more realism with less comedy and more drama. The execution was incredible and is definitely a must watch for any Harem fan or any other anime fan still skeptical about the genre. It of course had Tatsuya Ishihara as the director and this time had original creator Jun Maeda write the score for the show. The show was a huge success and is very very highly rated.
The only other show produced in 2008 was the Lucky Star OVA which unfortunately is not available legally in the west, which is a shame because it’s an hour long episode of the same Lucky Star goodness that even has an extended live action version of the very popular segment Lucky Channel.
Anime News Network Top 20 List
Trendsetters
In 2009 KyoAni decided to bring back the much anticipated much beloved sequel to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The would be broadcast on TV again but this time in chronological order and with a whole seasons worth of new episodes. Fan reaction was fever pitch and the expectations were incredibly high. The show brought back all of the original cast and crew so the production value was incredibly high and consistent. The first half of the series was magnificent but then about half way through the season KyoAni did something both revolutionary and risky.
This little segment might get a little spoilerific so Spoiler Alert I guess. The light novel had a segment called Endless Eight in which Haruhi made the summer holiday loop more than a hundred thousand times because she never felt satisfied with what she and the SOS Brigade had achieved in that time. KyoAni decided to animate eight of all of all these episodes differently and dub over them as well! This was revolutionary in the sense that each of those episodes was magnificently animated, it would have been incredibly expensive and annoying for the animators to do the same scenes a little bit differently each time, not to mention they had to pay the voice actors for each and every one of those episodes in which they pretty much said the same lines.
Did we really have to go through all of that?
It was risky in the sense that they hoped the fans would stick with the show each and every week and then go on to buy the ridiculously priced Blu ray volumes as well. Well it turned out just fine in the end, fans watched the show and raged at each episode for being ‘exactly the same’ but they also went on to buy the Blu rays of each volume as well. KyoAni had done something no other would have dared, they cashed their chips in and went all out and it payed off. The fans knew they would quality material down the line anyway and boy were they right.
In the Spring of 2009 KyoAni unleashed the Smash Hit K-on! upon the anime world. The show was slice of life comedy about a young high school girl that decided to join a high school band on a whim. It had all the ingredients that made KyoAni adaptations work; cute character designs, comedy, otaku culture references, insert songs and amazing animation. surprisingly the show was not directed by Talsiman Ishihara but by debut Director Naoko Yamada. she ofcourse had worked on storyboards and was a Key Animator in nearly everything KyoAni had done upto this point so why not give her a chance. Little did they know that she would direct their biggest selling and most successful franchise to date. It’s very rare to see a female director in anime, let alone a female director for such a huge series, KyoAni again was leading the way and setting trends for the industry.
There has been a fair number shows trying to mimic the formula that K-on! had but have quite honestly fallen short. perhaps it’s because of the female touch the show had, that’s just my personal opinion but in retrospect, the show was successful because it appealed to a very wide range of audiences. The primary target being male Otaku ofcourse but there was a fair number of young females that enjoyed the show as well. It steered clear of any fanservice and stayed as light and fluffy as ever.
K-on! sold Big and smashed BD records with each release, it sold an average of 30k with each volume (numbers for K-on courtesy of Jakes Anime Blog) and the insert songs were so popular that it even spawned J-pop group Sphere consisting of Aki Toyosaki (Yui hirasawa) and Minako Kotobuki (Tsumugi Kotobuki) their success on their own was testament to how much quality was put into the show. K-on! has somewhat become the poster for moe shows, with many fans showering both praise and hate upon it. The love outweighed the hate though and fans were excatic when a second season was announced just after the first one ended. However fans would have to wait a whole year before they could see this come to fruition.
On Top Of The World!
K-on!! finally aired in 2010 and this time had double the episodes and double the fun, it truly was a spectacle so much so that it ended up winning the Tokyo International Anime Fair Award for best TV series for that year. The show hit an incredible milestone as well by selling over 500,000 copies of Blu rays that year surpassing the likes of Bakemonogatari, Evangelion 1.0 and Gundam UC. KyoAni had really come into their own and at this point all the fans and critics alike only expected the best from them.
The sequel to the much beloved and controversial second season of Haruhi Suzumiya was unleashed upon theatres early that year as well. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya was so highly anticipated that one of the promotional bookmarks was auctioned off for over $3,000. I was one of the many fans excited for this movie so much so that I sat through that horrible horrible camrip. The Movie starts off right were season 2 left off and is INCREDIBLE, all 2 and 1/2 hours of it. The emotional impact the film has is even doubled if you sat through all of endless eight because the main plotline of the story is about Yuki Nagato and how her experiences have led to develop emotions…supposedly.
Clearly I wasnt the only one that enjoyed the film as it is highly rated by nearly everyone else (see ANN TOP 20 list) The film grossed over 100 million Yen in its opening weekend alone, that’s about US$1 million. The English versions of the Blu ray and DVD are set to be released in a couple of days for Region 1 and in november for region 4, they are without a doubt going to sell big.
This year KyoAni have given us the adaptation of the comedy/gag manga Nichijou. A lot fans have said it is one of the weaker titles they have produced in recent years but I would like to remind them of the countless times they tried to resurrect Munto. Nichijou is certainly for a particular crowd and doesn’t have as much mainstream appeal as their previous titles, it is noteworthy to mention that the animation they have in most of these episodes is phenomenal. The studio is certainly having a lot of fun with this series and why not? they sure have earned it.
The Future Has Moe…I Mean Money
December 3rd is a date firmly burnt into the minds of all Otaku because it is when the K-on! Movie will finally be screened, only in Japan ofcourse. the movie will open in over 130 screens. This is more screens that what Evangelion 2.0 and Mobile Suit Gundam OO had and about 6 times the amount that The Disappearance got as well. Pre orders for special tickets have already sold out so this movie is guaranteed to be a huge success. The entire cast is back and Naoko Yamada will be Directing this one as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMR3ORTx89I
Kyoto Animation have certainly come a long way since doing in between animation for Studio Ghibli and Sunrise, they have taken risks and along the way set trends for all the other companies to follow. They continue to deliver quality shows each and every year and while they may have had a hiccup here or there, they learn from that and work upon those very mistakes in their upcoming titles. I really like Kyoto Animation and I hope they stay successful, the industry really needs as much success as it can get right now and even if KyoAni don’t necessarily produce shows that may cater to your taste at least appreciate that there is a humble studio out there making great animation for this little niche hobby that you love so much.
Hey Anime Addicts, so I finally finished main lining the wondrously busty Catherine and now will proceed to review the game. I know that this game has a big following on this site, and I hope a lot of you will read this who are not yet fans of this game will pick it up and play it because its really a one of a kind game. This game has controversy surrounding it, not only for the mature content( when I told a friend I was playing this game she said oh the sex game :P), but also for the difficult of the game itself, I’ll address both of those points below.
Background Story:
In this game you take the role of Vincent Brooks, a 32 year old, systems engineer for technology company. He’s kind of a lazy, unorganized, and very in the moment average guy with not much of a future planned out. He has a girlfriend of 5 years(amazing I know), called Katherine. Katherine has recently began to talk about getting married and then Vincent started to have very dark nightmares. The next morning he wakes next to a hot, young, and curvy girl also named Catherine and wonders he how he will get himself out of this mess.
Game play:
Catherine is two games in one, a puzzle game and what you might call a ” moral” psychological thriller. The puzzle element of the game is pretty straight forward as it involves 9 stages with various themes and lengths. At the end of each stage there is a boss stage in which a large creature will change up the wall of blocks and will attempt to kill you. In each puzzle stage there will be various items that can used to help complete the stage. Sprinkled through the stage you find “sheep”, other guys like Vincent trying to escape the nightmare and they will try to impede your progress. As you proceed through the game there will different types of blocks you will encounter, ice blocks, spike blocks, exploding blocks, black hole blocks, etc. and learning how to manage each type of block will be integral to your completing the game. Also important is mastering the various techniques for scaling the different walls of blocks, these will be taught to you at certain points in the game.
The other element of the game, the moral psychological thriller, mostly takes place between each stage in the form of questions asked by a disembodied voice in a confessional booth and the question is usually on the subject of some issue of morality. How you answer the questions affects the ending you will get upon finishing the game, there are 8 endings in total, three for each Catherine, and two neutral endings. Some of the questions will asked at a bar called the Stray Sheep where you will interact with your friends and get messages on your phone from both Catherine. In the bar there are additional features like a mini game called Rapunzel which is also a block based puzzle game, and there is a jukebox that plays various songs from different Atlus games.
As for the game being too difficult, honestly with any game you should probably play it on lower difficult levels, learn the game,get skilled and then try to beat it on the more challenging settings. Its true this game is very challenging, in fact the develops actually created a very easy mode because people complained it was so hard. I found the game to be not as insanely difficult as people make it out to be, playing on easy I think I never dropped beyond 90 retries as there are more enough items that give retires, so on normal and hard it cannot be that impossible.
Visuals and Graphics:
The game play graphics are pretty good for this day and age, the blocks are rendered in nice detail and are as the characters. Where this game really shines in terms of visuals is in the cut scenes. There are two types, ones that are CG graphic or ones that are anime style. I really love the anime cut scenes, I have never seen such great animation in a game and Atlus really went out of their way to make those scenes so beautifully animated. The CG scenes are good as well, just a little overshadowed by the anime scenes.
Closing Comments:
I loved playing Catherine its a one of a kind gaming experience that combines two genres of games that I think no one ever thought would go together, and yet it seems to work in this incarnation. Its a special treat if your a anime fan like me, and most of you that will read this most likely are. This game asks some interesting questions about relationships and what people want out of life and I found myself rethinking a lot things I thought I had figured already about life. In sum, if you want a game that will make you think, with puzzles, and you are a fan of anime this game is for you.
Hello AAA Podcast, sorry to have been away but odd times here. I am back, and I am devouring Anime at a ravenous pace. I do believe that the hosts have succeeded in making my anime addiction worse!!!!!! Ok, so there is only one podcast that can claim the title – Best Anime Podcast Ever, and that is of course this podcast with its wonderful hosts and members. This being said, there are other podcasts I listen to and of the ones that I respect – a lot of buzz has gone on about Manyuu Hikenchou. To explain where I am going with this, I have to discuss a particular genre of anime and film for that matter and book for that matter that I enjoy. Did I say video game for that matter? You see, I suffer from Samurai Motte Oppai syndrome. Let’s take a trip back to a time far far away. Probably one of my first indications that I had developed this ailment would have been when I saw Conan the Barbarian or possibly Excalibur (FOOL!). I am laughing at this moment as you are thinking about the anime but I am talking about the movies. I am laughing at this moment because you are thinking of the new movies yet I am thinking of the original Conan with Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones as well as John Boorman’s classic Excalibur (F-O-O-L!) with Nigel Terry and Helen Mirren.
It was at this point that movies started following comic books and providing the ultimate representation of the female warrior. Yes, the Amazonian Warrior Princess!!!!! (Angelic Choir Singing Erupts) While most of you are quite used to this concept – until then, women were usually rescued. They certainly didn’t wear armor and brandish broadswords to hack guy’s faces and other irritating parts off. Ok – there was Joan of Arc long before but do we really know anything about her chest?
Around this same time, Canada released what I will always feel is the closest thing North America has ever done to anime – Heavy Metal in 1981. Even though this movie had a very american story line, the artwork was anime in style and what came out of this film? The almighty jaw dropping Taarna. So, in a span of a couple of years we had: Valeria – the sword wielding amazonian goddess who stole Conan’s heart. We had Igrayne and the classic medieval armor scene when Uther tricks her (if you have seen this movie, you KNOW what scene I am talking about). Finally, we had the 90% naked Taarna who survives all odds to behead the barbarians after she is raped by all of them.
This was an amazing time for female characters and the syndrome was born. Think of other female characters who have spawned due to this syndrome – Xena for sure (although I prefer Gabrielle – who need I say it was an Amazonian Princess). How about Sparrow from Forbidden Kingdom? Zen from Chocolate or “Fury” (You should watch this if you haven’t). Yu Shu Lien from Crouching Tiger. The OMG hot Miho from Sin City. The totally desirable Selene from Underworld. Heck, even Mulan and Elizabeth Swann from the Disney’s movies. The list goes on and on and on and of course Anime and video games are filled with these types of characters. They are the lifeblood for anime watchers who suffer from Samurai Motte Oppai Syndrome.
Wow – I have been rambling, as I tend to do and I warned you in my first podcast that I would. What was I talking about? Oh yes, warriors with swords and breasts!!!! I was hearing all of the chatter about Manyuu Hickenchou and I thought to myself – “COOL!!!!!!!!! Huh Huh Huh Huh – they said its a show about boobs – Huh Huh Huh Huh”. It’s like all of the people got together in a room and said, “you know, we skirt around this issue a lot, um can’t we just state the obvious?” Wow, what a concept!!!!!! Really, what’s the big deal? How is this any different from an anime most feel guilty watching Rurou no Senshi or the more well know title Queen’s Blade? Yes, I must say that while I don’t plan to own it, Queen’s Blade was an entertaining romp through the anime world. In the first episode, I was subjected to more wrong ideas than should ever be indulged and the main villain of the episode, dare I say it, used her breasts as weapons to try and kill the beloved heroin Leina. My eyes burned, I wanted to turn away but alas I couldn’t! Heck, there were boobs and swords – what was I supposed to do????? “Nosh – its cool, we accept that you are a perv. We shall pity you and place you over there to watch out of the corner of our eye while we continue with our discussions.”
Well, now that I have 10 episodes behind me, I cannot believe what I am going to say. Manyuu Hikenchou makes Queen’s Blade look like Princess Mononoke! Ok, maybe that’s a little over the top but wow! At least Queen’s Blade had a plot! It had drama, it had Leina wanting to follow her own path and find her on way! In Manyuu, Chifusa is not unlike Leina in that she doesn’t agree with her family’s direction and she wants to change things. She is tragic in that she doesn’t want her huge boobs and hates it when they grow larger! This story could go places. Unfortunately, the story is about boobs – no really – that’s it. Taking them away and gaining them back. Grabbing them, swaying them, everything involving the chest of a female warrior. How could my syndrome betray me in such a cruel way? I find it a very very bitter pill to jam into my retina!
In closing, I have to say that in this case new is not better. If you suffer from Samurai Motte Oppai syndrome – first, you are not alone. Second, there are plenty of wonderful anime titles that can help you with your ailment. Heck, give Queen’s Blade a try – the ending is worth the wait. And if you crave something of more substance than Manyuu Hikenchou – there are always more wholesome titles such as Ikki Tousen or Master of Martial Hearts.
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:
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
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..
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?)
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.
