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With Anime Weekend Atlanta mere DAYS away, we managed to get this one edited in between the time spent scrambling to get our panels all put together. Clarissa’s reviewing the BL manga Dog Style, Gerald reviews the terrible wannabe cyberpunk OAV Burn Up! which unfortunately got multiple sequels, and Daryl reviews the awesome non-wannabe cyberpunk OAV Cyber City Oedo 808 which unfortunately got no sequels at all.
Full show notes with pictures and stuff to be posted later. Maybe.
Introduction (0:00 – 29:58)
After lamenting our inability to play children’s videogames, we answer a voicemail about “real giant robot shows,” which slightly confuses us. Hopefully we answered the question. We also read an email about our experience with seeing anime in theaters, which isn’t all that much. For those curious, here’s the IMDB page for the 2006 Danish animated movie “Princess.” Since this was recorded, we did actually get a copy of this movie, and you have our assurances that although there are some moments in it with live-action, it’s not another Rock-a-Doodle. We wrap things up with a quick overview of all the panels we’ll be doing at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2008. Spread the word!
Let’s News! (29:58 – 54:44)
So there was this MSNBC article about anime that has the Internet in a buzz right now, and rather than just say what everyone everywhere’s already said, we decided to interview TV’s Patrick Macias, who was [mis]quoted in the article, to get to the bottom of how it came about, what got misrepresented, and even what it got right. The audio quality on this segment isn’t very good, we know. We blame Patrick for pounding on the table constantly. Just like we blame him for everything. Here’s “The Incredibly Strange Mutant Creatures who Rule the Universe of Alienated Japanese Zombie Computer Nerds (Otaku to You),” the article we mentioned from the March/April 1993 issue of Wired (the first issue) as being where the “otaku = techno-geek” notion came about. Though as Lawrence Eng astutely notes in the comments, it is preceded by this December 1990 article entitled “I’m Alone But Not Lonely: Japanese Otaku-Kids colonize the Realm of Information and Media, A Tale of Sex and Crime from a Faraway Place.”
Review: Dog Style (54:44 – 1:13:10)
Mara from the Providence Anime Conference sent us a voicemail in response to the podcast from “the 25th, which was yesterday.” What that actually means is that it’s a voicemail in response to the podcast from July 25th, which was not yesterday. In fact, it was the podcast from July 25th, 2007. We just forgot to play the message. For a year. PAC’s actually happening in about two weeks, so we figured this was the absolute latest time to actually put this thing into the show. Mara sincerely hopes the con doesn’t end up being nothing but sleaze and porn, so it’s only natural that we relay that sentiment right before Clarissa reviews one of Modoru Motoni’s BL manga offerings. Like Poison Cherry Drive, Dog Style was released by Media Blasters through their Kitty Media label. So far Volume 1 and Volume 2 are out, with the third volume to be released in the future. This review’s a little short, so if you want more Clarissa, check out the latest episode of Destroy All Podcasts DX where they reviewed Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. Granted, it should have been Daryl on this one as he’s the one who’s seen the movie the most times, but Jeremy really wanted a girl on the show. Does that make Jeremy the John McCain of anime podcasting? We’re pretty sure the answer is yes.
Review: Burn Up! (1:13:10 – 1:36:05)
Gerald plunges into the depths of the “the world should’ve forgotten about this” pit to bring us this 1991 OAV that was somehow so popular in the US, we got three followups made to it. And two of those were TV series. In our entire lives, we have never seen anyone who genuinely LIKES Burn Up!, so it is a complete mystery as to how this came about. Pay special attention to the dub of this one, as it was one of the first dubs made by AD Vision, as they were known at the time. Don’t worry: we’ve got sound bites! Due to some level balance mishaps, Clarissa’s audio on this portion is much lower than everyone else’s, but you should still be able to hear her if you BELIEVE IN THE FUTURE:
Promo: OSMcast (1:36:05 – 1:36:52)
Five months this podcast has been out and they have not one, not two, but THREE serviceable promos? And we’ve been around what, almost three years now and we still have the one crummy one? CURSE YOU, REED RICHARDS! [shakes fist] At least, we assume he’s to blame as this is run by a fantastic four! True to the name, this show’s about everything “awesome,” and then some. I say “and then some” since they did episodes about Smash Brothers Brawl, Rock Band, and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Also, Indy IV. Still, give them a shot since their show actually comes out each week. Whatta concept!
Review: Cyber City Oedo 808 (1:36:52 – 2:18:36)
Daryl tried to shorten this review. Really, he did. But he didn’t have it in him to make this one single segment shorter than your typical entire episode of Fast Karate for the Gentleman, especially not where Yoshiaki Kawajiri is concerned. But unlike all the previous Kawajiri-related AWO segments, this one’s not actually a scene-by-scene description of what happens in it. In fact, it might just be Kawajiri’s best work, which is why it’s odd that hardly anybody ever remembers it. Not even us, until we did the review! That is a damn crime for which we should be locked up in orbital space prison for three centuries, but fortunately we’re all out on parole doing podcasts in exchange for reduced time. For every minute of edited podcast we release, we get time off our sentences. Now you know why the episodes run so long!
This is Shunsuke Sengoku. That’s a jitte he’s holding. I don’t remember if you could pick up jitte in the Neo-Geo side-scrolling beat-em-up that was also named Sengoku, where ninja and cowboys fought side by side. I played a lot of Shogun: Total War back in the day, and so I know the word “sengoku” refers to “the country at war” when all those daimyo were fighting over control of Japan. We need a sequel to that game.
This is his gun. You mean to tell me they can make TWO TV shows out of Burn Up!, but nothing for Cyber City Oedo? This is already all the premise one needs!
This is Gabimaru Rikiya, but nobody ever calls him that in the show itself. He’s just “Goggles” or “Go-gl” or what have you. In addition to being a cyber hacker, he’s also a former boxer. Or at least I assume that since he decides the best way to defeat evil robots is to PUNCH THEM.
Put your peen away: THAT’S A DUDE. Merrill Yanagawa aka Benten does not ride a space motorbike and have a chain wrapped around his chest, but he wields MONOFILAMENT WIRE~! which automatically makes him the best character. On second thought, take your peen back out.
For a cop, you sure don’t know much; those are Cyberjunkies! Oh wait, this isn’t the Streamline dub of 8 Man After. This is a fine representation of what the cyber criminals look like. Notice the Hokuto no Ken thug motif present throughout this cartoon. Further proof of its quality, I tell you.
Wait a second, is that…Donna Troy?!
Nothing better exhibits Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s unmatched talent for character and fashion design than this Brigitte Nielsen lookalike, but giving the Shoryuken to the robot won out for being the embedded image in the MP3.
There is no “witty” caption I can offer to this picture of a cyborg sabertoothed tiger chargin’ his laser. Either you instantly want to see this anime or you do not.Amazon has a few copies of the DVD left in their zShops. If you’re wondering why they never wore those uniforms they’re sporting on the cover ever again after the first episode, it’s because Kawajiri decided they looked stupid after all.
Closing (2:18:36 – 2:22:15)
The next episode of AWO hopefully shouldn’t take TOO long since after AWA we’re just about done as far as anime con season goes. Gerald’s going to be reviewing the Witchblade anime, and despite having bought every volume of this series as FUNimation released it, he was able to mentally block out the Gonzo logo that’s on all the packaging and is displayed at the start of each disc. Perhaps he was looking at something else! Daryl’s reviewing the 3-part OAV Strait Jacket, soon to be released by Manga Video, and Clarissa’s reviewing the highly infectious Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture, which for incomprehensible reasons has been licensed by absolutely nobody. It’s all about bacteria, so see you next “decultured”!
I’m probably the only person in the universe that will even attempt to defend the original Burn-Up! OAV, but that’s only because of the inclusion of Banba, a black man with a Mohawk and a visor whose super powers apparently include the ability to withstand taking three elbow drops in rapid succession directly on his larynx without suffering ill effect, and also the ability to cock-block (vagina-block?) the main character whenever she’s about to get laid.
Come to think of it, I’m also partial to Cyber City Oedo: 808, which also contains a black man with a Mohawk and a visor, although some may argue that Goggles is in fact a nondescript gray in pigmentation.
I also own Plastic Little. I make no apologies for extremely shiny breasts and Brillo-pad pubic hair. Urushihara is as Urushihara does.
But I am also a terrible person that likes horrible things, and will recommend them to unsuspecting listeners in a continued effort to sow misery and dissension in the name of my overlords in the Robo / Dino Empire.
Burn-Up: Scramble was co-produced by Geneon, by the way. We all see how well that worked out for them. It’s also the only Burn-Up sequel I couldn’t bring myself to watch. I got the first DVD for FREE and I still wanted my money back.
I started to leave a comment, but it turned into something much longer, so I posted it on my blog instead. Here’s the intro:
–
Hey guys,
Lawrence Eng here. By the way, I live in San Diego now. I just wanted to comment on the MSNBC article discussion.
After all the protests about Patrick being misquoted and things being taken out of context, how about a little benefit of the doubt regarding the other quotes/interviewees?
I stand by my quotes in the article (and feel they contributed positively), but I wasn’t paraphrased completely accurately regarding the demographic of people attending early anime cons in the US.
continued here
While the question whether Miyazaki is as much a one trick pony as Kawajiri could be debated (and if debating on that level, could such a comparison be made between Satoshi Kon and Kawajiri, or Oshii, or whatever,) I did like Daryl’s observation about the “half Japanese female” archetype in anime. I’ll admit that I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it Daryl, but now it is quite clear: there is a definite taboo about Japanese men being interested in non-Japanese women. That and the surprise appearance of Patrick Macias (oh no, SPOILERS) were the highlights of yet another great episode. As far as the article in question, as soon as I saw Gurren Lagann and Overfiend used in the same sentence (and while perhaps rightly so as pointed out in the discussion) I decided not to read further. Well, that and “lolicom” as “lolita and comic.” Either way, I wish Patrick had touched on the fact that the reason people freak out when sex is combined with comics has more to do with their comfort levels discussing sex rather than discussing comics, or maybe it’s the other way around?
Yes, all these aspects of otaku culture do have a sexual undertone, but isn’t that true of all the Tex Avery cartoons of long ago and all the cross dressing in Looney Tunes as well? Where’s the difference in perversion, if that is what is being discussed. Again, I definitely liked Patrick’s appearance, and while he may just be preaching to the choir for fans of his writings like myself, it garnered some well thought discussion on this episode.
Ré
Surprised at the amount of relatively new titles in store for us in next episode’s reviews. I err…forgot to finish Strait Jacket actually.
AIC was probably king of the mountain when it came to awesome OVA’s in the 80’s/early 90’s but then became fucking garbage when the Burn Up /Tenchi Muyo conveyor belt was activated.
I like the first Burn Up! Not a great OVA but certainly watchable. Never actually listened to the dub.
Also you should really review Plastic Little some day. Story HAHAHA, like you watch that for a story.
Urushihara’s one of my top character designers (overdone pubes not withstanding.)
I like that you touched upon the notion that OVA’s weren’t so much made for a specific market but that they just released them and then find their audience on their own. Again, just a product of their time. They’re have been more straight to OVA’s again though, but it’ll never be the amount they were in the 80’s/90’s.
A possible failing of this edited interview that lies squarely on our shoulders is that while one can tell that Patrick was misquoted in the article, exactly how is not fully outlined. The reason for this is that so the episode could be released in a manner more expedient than usual, we stopped the news recording at about the 25-30 minute mark. Normally we sacrifice speed of release for the sake of being somewhat more thorough in our discussion, but as it stands Show 71 was released well over a month ago and we didn’t want to delay this one any longer by having to edit 60-90 minutes down to 30-45 one syllable at a time, as is our standard policy. Especially now that this week we have no time to do anything podcast-related since we’re getting our AWA panels in order.
Lawrence: Don’t get the wrong idea. We aren’t saying that you weren’t misquoted or that you were not also taken out of context. Rather, the “what about Lawrence Eng?” comment was in reference to the fact that on many of the major message board discussions that resulted from this article, such as this one on Anime on DVD, this one on Anime News Network, or the comments for the article itself all at the time of recording as well as the writing of this reply specifically object to Patrick’s quotes without mentioning yours at all. I did however note Steve’s objection to your statement regarding the anime fandom demographic of the early 90s primarily consisting of Asian males in their 20s-30s, even though I happen to agree with your assessment. My own experience from the time suggests that Computer Science and Electrical Engineering majors used to be the predominant attendee demographic.
Thanks for the link to Grassmuck’s article from 1990. Interesting stuff; I’ll edit this post to add links to it along with the Wired article I alluded to. I don’t dispute that this is indeed how many used the term “otaku” at the time, but I’m with Gilles Poitras on this one.
reggaenights: I wouldn’t disagree that Kon, Miyazaki, Kawajiri, and maybe even Oshii are effectively making the same thing over and over. That’s not necesarily a knock on them, as it so happens that I like their stuff, but you also can’t deny it. Although lacking in other fields, Kawajiri is top-notch at doing character designs and action scenes. Since Cyber City Oedo 808 is all about stylish action anyway, it plays to his strengths. Mephisto kicking that cue ball is equally as superfluous as Benten throwing that elevator access card, but it’s the little things that matter.
Clarrisa, have you ever read the works of Miyamoto Kano? She’s one of my favourite BL authors for alot of same reasons you seem to like Modoru Motoni. Her stories aren’t overly melodramatic and none of her characters could be mistaken for girls. Her sex scenes are kinda bland but I’d say the writing makes up for it.
I’ll have to look into some of Modoru Motoni’s stuff, though some of that sexual violence sounds kinda horrific.
Also, I was surpised to hear Oedo descibed as “often overlooked” by Daryl. It seems to have somewhat of a cult following, atleast in British anime fandom. Its also a dub which gets alots of accolades but those clips you played were kinda…
Also, kinda unrelated, but any plans for some more Yuri reviews? Its a genre I’m interested in but not sure where to start…
Daryl: I guess my rhetorical question was suppose to serve as a distinction that I think Kawajiri makes the same movie over and over again much more than the other directors mentioned, not because I like some of their films, but because of their more varied repertoire, and yes, even perhaps subject matter. In other words, the stereotypes for Miyazaki doing cute girls and Kon doing fast cutting suspense thrillers just don’t hold up as much as the Kawajiri stereotype of “cool characters and action” which I think he only reiterates much more than the other directors.
I don’t remember this conversation about you “offering” me Oedo taking place, and as you said I “didn’t even remember it” I have to assume that you’re speaking TRASH FROM YOUR MOUTH BECAUSE YOU’RE A TRASH MAN AND THERE’S A TRASH TRUCK OF TRASH DRIVING RIGHT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH DARYL SURAT (TOOT TOOT!)
Shit man, I am down with the clown. And the clown is Oedo (maybe Benten). When I heard you say you were going to talk about it, indeed I thought I was being POLITE in holding back when we could’ve easily sniped that shit. I’ve rubbed my penis all sexy-like over more Kawajiri VHS tapes than you’ve even SEEN. SO THERE.
Also, Gerald you hurt my feelings. 🙁
Well I know it’s astounding that I am defending Oshii… I’m defending Oshii. While he has his pet themes and even images that consistently show up in his work, I think there is a huge difference between say Only You and Ghost in the Shell. Fast Food Grifters is really, really dissimilar to Patlabor.
Goddammit Daryl, you have now convinced me, with your Mike-Dent-as-Wesley-Willis impersonation, of what I have suspected for a while now: you have fallen from grace to become the odious comic relief of Anime World Order, who’d spend most of his time trying to make the other hosts laugh. What happened to you man?! IT USED TO BE ABOUT THE ANIME.
At least I’m convinced to seek out Cyber City Oedo.
Any day that I get a podcast with old Norio Wakamoto samples is a glorious day, indeed.
Check ya’ down in Atlanta.
As a token unemployed American cub journalist, I’ll try to provide some constructive commentary about the MSNBC article and why articles of its sort pop up every so often.
The reality of the mainstream journalism industry in the U.S. today is that less and less staff writers are required to produce more and more stories on ever-shrinking deadlines. While I’m not sure of Alexander’s job status with MSNBC– “contributor” is a pretty vague term, contributing editor? Semi-regular freelancer?– it’s a reality that every mainstream journalist has a strict quota on how many articles they need to pump out. These “cultural” pieces are easy to do, usually sound really good and have pre-established sets of sources that you don’t even need to leave your desk to call up and interview. After that you can call it a day, easy bump to your story count. I know this for a fact, on my college newspaper we secreted fandom/subculture “Woah-check-this-out!” pieces all the time.
Secondly, since my assumption is that MSNBC essentially functions like a daily news source, I’m guessing there was little to zero fact checking that went into this article. Another American journalism reality: only monthly magazines and publications with longer production times have the luxury of dedicated fact-checking staff. A daily newspaper makes the assumption that the reporter will fact check his or her own article, on risk of losing reputation for not doing so and being outed. Ostensibly, when the department editor(s) and copy editor make their passes over the article they are supposed to be making checks for factual accuracy as well. But how many copy editors at MSNBC do you think are read up on the deep thematic undertones of Legend of the Overfiend and Gurren Lagaan?
In this episode, Macias mentions that he offered to fact check the article for Alexander. Placed in the same situation I would have made the same offer, but I would never have expected any real response in the affirmative. As a rule of thumb, the journalist never, ever accepts any offers of checks from “the outside,” especially if that offer came from someone who is a source in the actual article. It’s a bias thing. Simply mentioning to your editor that such an offer was made to you would likely get you in trouble (you’re supposed to totally ignore them)– taking up the offer and telling your editor after the fact and/or not telling them at all is usually grounds for instant dismissal, should your editor find out.
Of course, I don’t think these points totally redeem Alexander’s article. The misconceptions put forth as fact in it are bad enough, but what really gets me is the simple sloppiness. It is blatantly obvious to anyone who has taken an introductory news writing class that Alexander used the absolute minimum amount of sources: three. None of this is a slag on Kinsella, Eng or Macias, obviously all three are valid sources despite whatever marring of voice may have been done via misquotation etc. The fact is, however, that three sources is pitifully few to provide a holistic, unbiased view of such an expansive subject. Where are the interviews with book sellers? With local, ground-level fan clubs and artists? The fact that Kinsella, an anthropologist, is quoted a grand total of once and in a fashion suggesting an interview, when the attribution clearly indicates all Alexander did was read part of a book, is particularly lame.
I understand Alexander may not be a true-blue reporter per se and that Sexploration is in the column format. I can point you to the long, dry media law briefs from the Supreme Court that clearly state that opinion-based columns in any mainstream journalistic venue are beholden to the same basic requirements of factuality and non defamation that straight news articles follow.
In case anyone is suspicious about my own familiarity with this subject, I’ll have you know I typed out this entire response listening to Silent Survivor from the Fist of the North Star OST on loop.
The afro is gone now, unfortunately. I cut it so I didn’t have to hide it with a dumb hat all the time.
All I know about Burn Up was the dumb trailers for Burn Up W on all of my old ADV DVDs and pictures of the blonde chick in a thong on those “Anime Babes” galleries that I looked at when I was 13 and curious. Oh yeah, and one time I considered renting the original on VHS with my friend when I was something 12 or 13, too. It must have been the dubbed version. I guess I dodged that bullet, but made up for it by renting Angel Cop dubbed…
p. good ep this time around. Best part was TV’s Patrick Macias, but Daryl’s review /almost/ makes me want to watch Oedo. The only thing putting me off of it is the fact that Paul “Otaking” Johnson endorses it 100% for its amazing 15-tone shading or something :V (that and I don’t especially care for Kawajiri. Demon City Shinjuku was merely ok)
bonus: I was drawing a comic that featured a naked little girl while listening to this show! Doesn’t that make you feel good, Daryl??
iamzim –
I am, indeed, familiar with Miyamoto Kano. I’ve only read a couple of her books, but I really enjoyed them, especially Not/Love.
My biggest fault with her is that her character designs are rather too similar to one another. I remember reading something after Not/Love with different characters, and I almost couldn’t tell them apart from the Not/Love guys (their names escape me at the moment). I do like her art style overall though, it’s a bit sketchy but without looking unfinished.
As long as you avoid Rika, Motoni doesn’t have too much sexual violence. There’s maybe a bit in Bluecat, and a plot point in Dog Style does relate to rape, but Rika’s really the only one that really gets into it since it is somewhat of a horror story.
I think my highest recommended of her works is Koi ga Bokura wo Yurusu Hani, which really doesn’t have anything disturbing. It’s probably the worst in terms of Motoni’s weird conversational writing though; thank god it was scanlated because my attempts to read it in Japanese ended it bitter failure.
Yeah, I actually checked out Rika after before reading your comment and was… Pretty freaked out to say the least. I’m not used to BL being so disturbing.
I’ll probably wait awhile before reading anymore of her works
I really need to get off my butt and buy Dog Style already. I love Motoni Modoru, and the first thing I read was Koi ga Bokura wo Yurusu Hani. Rika can be a disturbing read, but it’s still extremely good if you can take all the difficult aspects of it.
Waiting on your review of Moyashimon. I saw the first three episodes (I think it was three), and while I liked the first episode, the others were a let down, so I’m curious as to how the rest of the show progressed.
The audio sounded like doo doo leaking from ears. Like when you got the runs and its really warm and grainy and feels spicy on your butt hole. Like that. FIX IT.
Hot off the heels of a great post, I’m going to go back to Paul’s post about Banba. I shame you Gerald for not working in the haaalllooooo of my childhood.
Further shame for not mentioning the saving grace of this anime: its anti-racism stance. I mean, it’s totally obvious when Remi is given a stern talking to after delivering said triple elbow drops to Banba with said talking to amounting to “You shouldn’t hit Banba”. Also, at the end she totally gives him the “I’m gonna bang you” face.
I honestly wouldn’t recommend Macross Plus as an intro to Macross. It’s very much the Cowboy Bebop of Macross (for obvious reasons) and isn’t very indicative of the rest of the series.
I honestly wouldn’t recommend Macross Plus as an intro to Macross. It’s very much the Cowboy Bebop of Macross (for obvious reasons) and isn’t very indicative of the rest of the series.
Describing something as “the Cowboy Bebop” of its domain as a reason NOT to watch it isn’t going to sway very many people.
I contend that Macross Plus is very indicative of the series. Jet planes that fly in space, transform into robots, and fire swarms of missiles: check. Love triangle: check. Prominent idol singer: check. Memorable soundtrack: check. Very detailed animated action scenes courtesy of Ichiro Itano: check. Is not Macross Zero: check and double check. There’s the true essentials right there.
Furthermore, it wins by elimination. Much as I enjoy DYRL, you can’t just show that to people as an introduction because it doesn’t really make much sense on its own unless you can already mentally fill in the blanks. It can still work, but I think its effectiveness as a “Macross gateway” is a little diminished. True story: one of the most diehard Robotech fans I know has still never seen DYRL to this day.
You can’t show the original Macross TV series because it really has not aged well in a lot of ways. You can’t show someone Macross II because it’s not stellar or memorable in the slightest. You can’t show someone Macross 7 because it’s too long, too different in tone, too different in focus, and looks excessively cheap compared to all the rest. Zero’s no good because it’s too referential and also awful other than the parts Ichiro Itano worked on [the action scenes].
That leaves Plus and Frontier, and with two episodes left my opinion of Frontier is probably not going to change: it didn’t suck outright like so many subsequent Macross offerings did, but it wasn’t on the level that I’d hoped. So Macross Plus wins by elimination, though I’d put DYRL at a second. You know the most important factor to consider as far as value as an introduction goes? They’re short.
I haven’t read listened to the podcast yet, but here we go anyway…
Come on, man. You know it doesn’t work that way. I’m not going to permanently delete your comment (I’ve still got it), but hear us out before you reply, OK?
I’m going to hear it of course, but this is sort of what I think. Fact of the matter is, I completely agree with whole idea that this article basically is full of wind, this guy took everything and twisted it. I don’t dispute that at all. He has no excuse if he’s going to publish something public and doesn’t do it properly.
What I’m trying to say here is that there are more sides to this issue than ours and I guess that we sort of need to take a real hard look at what we’re dealing with here. You yourself often state on how we, as anime fans, have not completely escaped the stigma of the 1980’s(?). For example, look at the word otaku. There are people IN MY OWN ANIME CLUB that aren’t completely aware of what otaku means. They think it’s only anime/manga related. You’d think they know, but they don’t. The problem here is that new generation isn’t do it’s research properly. When I mentioned the word otaku to another podcast, they HAD TO LOOK IT UP! I really believe that people such as yourself and Patrick Macias are facing an uphill battle here, one that can definitely be resolved by getting more people to listen on the “true” anime perspective, which is what this podcast is for, right?
Like I said, I’m not defending him. But then, people outside of anime are going to read this, and what are they going to think? Probably what I’ve stated. I think everyone has to somewhat grudgingly agree with that. I’m here pissed off at the whole situation, but I look around me, and this is what I see.
Not the just “true” anime perspective, but THE TRUTH! Daryl, I miss The Truth! Bring it back!
Going back to the discussion of the MSNBC article, I think Patrick made a good point about there being a lot of people who were uncomfortable with the article’s assertion that there is a sexual component in anime and manga pop culture.
Granted, nobody wants to be labeled a freak who’s into freaky, freaky fetishes, but I know with certainty that the violence and sexuality present in some anime and manga is one of the components that attracted me to them in the first place. The first manga I ever saw was one of Viz’s original “perfect collection” compilations of Crying Freeman, and the first manga I ever owned was a copy of Sanctuary that my Mom bought me for Christmas because she “thought the art was beautiful”.
My mom is pretty cool.
I wasn’t offended by the article, as slap-dash as it was. But I think it’s possible that a lot of people were, because they don’t want to be lumped in with the body-pillow huggers and vinyl kit girlfriend crowd. I think there’s a genuine sense of denial there, though. It’s like the whole “moe” thing. Many proponents claim that there’s no sexual component there, and on an individual basis there might not be. But it’s harder for me to enjoy Strawberry Marshmallow when I know that somewhere, someone is beating off to it.
@ Clarissa-If you do plan to review a yuri title, PLEASE do Simoun.
I’d still argue that showing someone Macross Plus first as a gateway may produce some sort of “culture shock” when trying to introduce someone to the other shows. It’s like showing someone 08th MS Team, which is about Romeo and Juliet plus space AIDS where’s Gundam is really about death and space psychics.
On the real robot front, what are AWO crew’s opinions on Ryosuke Takahashi’s Flag?
In terms of a recommendation for someone getting their feet wet in real robots, it has the benefits of being fairly recent, commercially available and representative of the utilitarian principles of robot design.
Personally, I’ve only seen half-three quarters. So far, it seems like a more graspable Gasaraki, sans the Noh mysticism. I was a bit bothered by the exoticism of the death cult baddies and the fact that the journalist characters kept expousing what to think rather than exploring the conflict and the culture around them. However, I thought that the photojournalism gimmick was an interesting platform for some creative character animation.
When you guys were talking about the taglines of ADV’s early days, I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the Sonic the Hedgehog movie (Which also has a review-worthy dub), which didn’t even make sense:
“Scrape your knuckles. Catch some tails.”
I couldn’t stand FLAG. Points for trying something original but the dialogue just felt so unnatural and the mecha felt out of place. I didn’t watch the whole thing though, just the first 4 eps, so it might be interesting if AWO reviewed it.
Cybercity Odeo, man I remember this on Action Network 5 or 6 years ago then I watched it again recently. Thanks for reviewing this one.
>>But it's harder for me to enjoy Strawberry Marshmallow when I know that somewhere, someone is beating off to it.
The chances of that are probably low, considering most Ichigo Mashimaro porn (what little there is) is pretty much on the bleh side. There's some good stuff, but for the most part it's pictures of That Old Man doing terrible things to the girls.
Now Minami-ke, on the other hand…
Whoa! That Burn Up dub sound fucking awful! You should do show of anime with really retarded dubs, like Macron 1 (Which I own 4 tapes of. got them for a buck a piece) The other Anime i’m waiting for a review of is Violence Jack! I bet Daryl would review this on…
Or Plastic Little! XD
I remember buying the old Burn up VHS tapes for 99 cents for two. For that shitty of a dub, I was quite content with my purchase.
Cyber City is another one of those titles I remember watching as a 5 year old in korean. While a lot of things were edited, I can proudly remember the cyborg laser cats, and can recall thinking they were potentially one of the stupidest ideas ever. And yet now, I see them as being the high mark of any good anime. Funny how things go full circle.
So AWA’s coming up soon, and I’m stoked that you guys’ll be there along with Patrick Macias. Should be fun, and hope to catch you guys over there!
A trivia note on Benten.
This particular trap has a long a respectable history going back to the cross dressing Benten in the kabuki play Aoto-Z?shi Hana no Nishiki in the early 1860s.
http://www.koyagi.com/ACPages/aca.html#Aotozoshi
Thanks for the episode. I loved the look back at the cyberpunk adventure, Cyber City Oedo 808. I took a look at some of the video samples from youtube, and it looks like there’s a decent amount of influence from Hideo Kojima’s pre-MGS masterpiece Snatcher. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean!
I’m going to add my two cents here and say I also feel that Odeo is a title that many people don’t think of any more. Which is sad when you consider that Wicked City and Demon City Shinjuku were both one shot deals whereas Odeo got three parts. As for the dub, well to be perfectly honest I watched the dub way before I learned of “15-ing” on the part of Manga. So when Bruce Martin starts giving Varsus grief on the bridge I was laughing. I think they went overboard with the cursing on that but then I hadn’t watched Angel Cop at that point so what did I know.
One thing that has always bothered my about that dub is the clip that Daryl played where Sengoku say “Hey Benten, don’t crap your pants…” blah blah blah. The delivery of that line in English is the weakest line I’ve ever heard. I mean for the whole three parts Sengoku sounds like a real hard ass and then sounds like a 12 year old for that one line. Huh!?!
It’s my personal belief that Kawajiri started to lose his mind working on this project. Starting with a psychic skeleton(huh?), he then treats us to armless, legless, sexless warriors in psychic armor (what!?) and finally in a psychic vampire who can repair injuries, jump from point to point with the power of his EVIL mind but still need to carry a gun for protection! (WTF!?!)
Why, oh, why Daryl didn’t you talk about the OTHER awesome thing that Manga did with the series when they got their hands on it?
Burn Up sounds like that kinda thing I should put on at my local convention. ADV will, I think, long after it’s gone be remembered not for EVA but for the hours of unintentional laughs they unleashed upon the earth. We should be proud of the fact that an army of fans had to trawl through such a river of s$%t so that we could come out clean on the other side.
Finally:
Mr Poitras, I thank you for the link. I might check this DVD out.
Goob, yes your M.O.M. really is cool. But not as cool as mine. She actually paid attention to what I watched when I was growing up and thats why, at age ten, she decided I should watch The Terminator but fast forwarding through the nude bits.
Dave Riley, umm. That comment. Yeah, I’m going to leave that on the ground as I slowly back away from it.
One of the interesting things about many OVA’s at that time was just how much they were influenced by American action movies of the 80’s. I have to agree here with Daryl that the OVA’s were probably the best format for anime as being experimental and higher budget that TV and even some movies.
At Gerald, I ordered that manga Project X Nisson Cup Noodle. I rarely buy manga but I wanted to check this one out.
“it looks like there’s a decent amount of influence from Hideo Kojima’s pre-MGS masterpiece Snatcher.”
Oh, you mean “I Wish I Was Blade Runner: The Video Game”?
(off-topic)
Just for those who are semi-following or haven’t gotten around to it, Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star), has finally been translated in its entirety by HeartOfMadness [HoM]. 152 episodes in total (including the second season).
A batch torrent is available if you just search the group’s name in teh Google. (I don’t remember the policy for this on this blog) There are 97 seeders at the moment–so you might be able to marathon it by the weekend if you’re crazy enough!
As much as I love you guys, I have been fiendin’ for another episode with TV’s Patrick Macias. Thank you for satiating this need.
Karaoke said…
“it looks like there’s a decent amount of influence from Hideo Kojima’s pre-MGS masterpiece Snatcher.”
Oh, you mean “I Wish I Was Blade Runner: The Video Game”?
No, that would be Rise of the Dragon. Good guess though!
As Vz mentioned, there was a lot of influence from 80s action movies in many anime titles of the time. I would also add games and anime of the time were also influencing eachother as well.
I did like Daryl’s observation about the “half Japanese female” archetype in anime. I’ll admit that I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it Daryl, but now it is quite clear: there is a definite taboo about Japanese men being interested in non-Japanese women.
I’m not sure I’m seeing what you’re seeing. Showing Japanese characters with hair colors outside of racial norms isn’t really an indication of anything other than a desire to have some visual diversity in designs, isn’t it? What few Japanese males I’ve met have shown no indications of there being a taboo against foreign women. And there are many examples of clearly non-Japanese female characters in anime being intended as objects of lust (e.g. Sonoda’s entire body of work).
Well, overall it seems like in most shows “foreign females” are either:
1. Fully foreign and have horrible accents or
2. Half foreign/Half Japanese and completely fluent.
I have no clue if this is in any indication of an taboos or anything, just what I noticed in anime. Also this tends to be more prevalent in shows that are designed more as fan service than as actual shows.
I can’t believe Daryl poo-poo’d Peach Girl. I’m going to go weep with a flower diffused Zipatone background and sparkles for tears. 😛
All joking aside I really enjoyed the Peach Girl manga, but whatever you also boost Gaogaigar and the Wachowski Speed Racer so you’re okay in my book!
Speaking of which I also purchased the latest Otaku USA – onward! Spread the word and love of GGG! 😀
Oh, also ordered Cyber City Oedo today.
Mr. Surat sounded a bit like a girl when shrieked out his Peach Girl outburst. I guess that what indignation will do you hormone levels.
Seriously, I hope you guys had a good con. I accidentally got into the dealers room about ten minutes before it opened on Saturday. Sasuga Books and ADV were ready to go, so I blew more money than I have in years. Normally, the crowds irritate enough that I don’t browse thoroughly. Later, while strolling through the same room with my husband and some friends who are into EGL, C.B. entertained us by commenting on the workmanship and design of the various lacey dresses on sale. God, I want to dress like a princess.
Also, the clear winner of the four way war was the Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno. Any person of taste would agree.
Back from NYAF. Not much to note. I went to Media Blasters panel. Did you know they wanted to get Dragonar and Turn A Gundam? So cloase but due to them being Bandai properties, it makes sense for Bandai Ent. to release it (but But you know, Code Gayass Ledouche of the Rebellion is more marketable and popular).
I bought Outlanders and the Humanoid (cue the DUUUUUUUUUUN sound byte). Taste, what’s that?
Dunno if you guys have seen this yet but Hulu.com (which is network television’s surprisingly good response to Youtube) now has an “anime channel” with Astro Boy and Speed Racer but also Mushi Shi and Deathnote. The few commercials are a worthwhile tradeoff for the crystal clear picture. Likely they will continue to add more.
They also have Jonny Socko for true Japanese bad tv show afficionados.
So, after moving into college, losing my iPod, and going without internet for several days, I finally finished listening to the new episode. Welcome back; going for a month without a new AWO was painful.
Here’s a Kawajiri-related question: has any of you guys ever seen the X TV Series? I’ve never seen it, but I know that Kawajiri directed it, so I’m curious as to whether or not he actually did the story justice or if it was another huge disappointment like the X movie Rintaro directed in the 90s.
The Harmony Gold VP’s panel on anime in China was pretty fascinating. Techincally, it was all about one gigantic animation convention in China, with four-hundred-thousand-plus attendees, and production values that exceed the good (bad) old days of E3. It wasn’t exclusively Japanese anime, but anime was a huge part of it, and pretty much everything that wasn’t Japanese was Japanese influenced.
Even with the issue of piracy, the guy giving the panel (Kevin McKeever?) was very bullish about the financial opportunities there. According to him, Robotech has a mainstream following there and does very well on Chinese TV.
It’d be interesting to see how the Japanese anime industry will try to tap this market.