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Due to overwhelming demand–well, it was more like one person–Daryl has posted some more audio of himself that can charitably be described as “filler” while the next episode proper of Anime World Order is prepared. Contains a “hopefully people consider this evaluation fair” overview of Sakura-con 2012 as well as A BRAND NEW DISCIPLINE READING~!
Until the next REAL episode is out, consider funding DMP’s Unico manga Kickstarter. It’s actually already 100% funded, which means you’re pretty much guaranteed to actually get whatever reward tier you pledge at.
The Otaku USA article Daryl wrote about Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine can be read here.
While Daryl was at Sakura-con, Gerald was at Anime Boston. Here’s his con report of that (oh, and I guess the Ninja Consultants, Mike Toole, and Ed Chavez have something to do with it too).
Great bonus episode, I really enjoy these types of episodes every now and again. One of the other ones where you went off on a rant about Gundam is one of my most favorite things ever. Discotek is really kicking ass and taking names this last little bit. I am super excited about the Lupin III DVDs. I saw on their Facebook page that they are putting out Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo and I know now I can die happy. Discotek: they got way too much high power man.
Besides Kawajiri himself and the Ninja Scroll 2 teaser (and Urobuchi covertly sneaking in after his flamboyant Madoka panel), the best part of the Kawajiri panel was the guy from South America who got up and waxed ecstatic about Ninja Scroll and Kawajiri’s work in much the same way I suppose someone from the Philippines would about Voltes V.
Seriously, the guy’s tone of voice made it sound like he was close to having a religious experience just from being able to talk directly to Kawajiri. I couldn’t see the guy’s face during the NS2 teaser, but I can only hope that he was making the same expressions of childlike delight that I was.
Fine bonus episode. Sates the appetite for AWO-esque content when there is no new AWO content.
Agree with your opinions on Discotek and RightStuf. I’ve ordered just about everything that Discotek has released with the exception of DNAngel and LoveCom. As it is, Discotek provides a large percentage of the content for my Classics room at AnimeNEXT. I did my heart good to see people enjoying Lupin Season 1 & Unico. It’s good to see someone release stuff that isn’t the latest ‘wiggle/giggle’ show.
Your point about how fewer and fewer fans want to own physical media. Due to the fact that most fans just stream and download the media they consume. I’m curious on your take on other forms of merchandise. Examples being toys, posters, and life size hug pillows. Why isn’t there a push to market that type of merch from the US license holders? I mean could that not be a strong source of a revenue for them? A lot of anime is legally being streamed for free so why not push those figurines and what not as well. Great solo show by the way next time you do it maybe you try a live Google Hangout and have some possible audience interaction. Just a thought.
Haven’t listened yet so I’ll reserve comments on the whole physical media tip for now, but other merchandise…
Aside from the harsh reality of just where does one sell such merchandise, what retailers would carry such items (answer: NOT DAMN MANY) it’s a multiheaded problem.
Licensing, for one. Companies looking to shave as much cost from their license may opt to NOT buy the rights to make and sell their own merchandise (in reality-sublicense to another company).
Saying that, I have seen that Funi does license some small items for some of their shows- the usual cheap trinkets like keychains, wrist bands, wallets, etc.
But not the “good stuff”. No Funi-generated fetish figures of the Strike Witch gals. No spooge-resistant hug-pillows.
Aside from the pervey nature of the hug pillow, who would MAKE the figures? And could they be halfway as well designed as what the Japanese companies crank out?
“well, what I MEAN is why don’t they just import what’s made by the Japanese?” right? Because of cost, mostly. As long as the Dollar/Yen exchange rate stays as crazy stupid upside down as it currently is, there’s just no profit (or so it is believed) to importing that stuff, because at best they’ll only move a couple hundred pieces. Tops. And EVERYBODY has their eyes on that BIG MONEY SALES that just doesn’t exist anymore.
And again, who carries this stuff? It’s FYE or nothing. Oh, you can get cultish Tees at Hot Topic but their stores just aren’t built to carry a large line of anime stuff. No profit in it. The market is just too mayfly in nature.
Remember when FLCL was hot? Who cares about it now? Oh, some, and it has the advantage of somehow being forever running on Cartoon Network, but do you see Sailor Moon size demand? I don’t.
We’ll go back even further. Bubblegum Crisis. The original. It was INSANE how much heat that OAV series had back in the day. Couldn’t escape it. Hobbylink Japan has some of the recent model kits from the series and nobody is buying, even deeply discounted. It’s a damn shame.
I could go on and on. From the Powers That Be in the shrinking American anime industry there’s just no profit in doing ANYTHING, or so it seems. They can’t even be arsed enough to keep manga in print in the face of sell-thrus of some volume numbers. Everybody seems to be actually WANTING the death of physical media.
And now I’m drifting into talking about something I haven’t listened to yet so I stop now. 🙂
This is why I stopped being a fan, it’s not worth it.
I for one love these bonus content episodes. I don’t mind listening to over an hour of just one of the hosts, especially if it’s Daryl. I wish you guys would do more episodes like this where you just cover the backlog of emails you guys have.
I didn’t encounter the picket line, but perhaps they weren’t there on Saturday. I’m not sure why West Coast anime cons tend to draw more protesters (by now people design cosplay routines at Fanime around their counter-protest) but it could be because we have better weather.
There’s a chilling sign you can see only a few blocks from Sakura-Con, at Pike Place Market, one of the city’s landmark attractions, explaining that before the war, most of the merchants selling there were Japanese-American. If people ever wonder why there are more Chinatowns than Japantowns in America, the answer is, of course, Executive Order 9066. Today only California is considered to have any Japantowns proper left–that is, multi-generational business and residential communities that maintain an ethnic identity (since Japanese are such a prominent ethnic group anyway in Hawaii, the concept doesn’t quite apply there). Nevertheless, Washington State has the third largest community of Japanese-Americans in the U.S., after California and Hawaii. Some families had been farmers before the war and still are–you can see nurseries with Japanese names on the drive to Sakura-Con. The West Coast does a fair amount of agribusiness with Japan (just as it does with China and Vietnam).
Having Japantowns around made it easier to realize that Japanese society does not revolve around otaku culture, and (like most societies) is not even that glamorous on average. J-Town in San Francisco was still a romantic place to me as a kid, but nothing about it suggested Shibuya or Shinjuku–it was a prosaic place of concrete pagodas and hardware stores, designed to suit the needs of the local community. Viz’s “New People” building in SF’s J-Town is really the first attempt to consciously bring the sophisticated Tokyo look to the area.
Great bonus episode, Daryl!
DVDs and Blu-Rays are selling badly so the industry is going bad, and streaming is just a little pocket money for the Japanese producers. Thus my conclusion is that over a few years, anime will be gone forever.
@ criis : No, anime for kids will still be there because there is a market for it in Japan. As for the rest, especially late night anime for perverted pedophile otaku, who knows?
If I wanted to be mean, I’d say anime has being going steadily downhill since the early eighties. In any case what is that quote from The Right Stuff that perfectly suits the state of the anime industry nowadays? “No bucks, no Buck Rogers”? 99.9% of anime shows nowadays are done on shoestring budgets and you see it. From tens of episodes we’ve gone to 20 episodes on average to now 13 episodes or even less for your run-of-the-mill TV series. It’s a joke. You can’t have any kind of characterization in 13 episodes, and quality suffers. The saving grace of anime nowadays are the films, and even then most of them are crap.
One thing is for sure: the Japanese have been intent on destroying their anime industry for decades, and the future will belong to China. I’d guess that in 10-20 years time we will start seeing state of the art animation coming from China and not “copied” from the Japanese. Even now, Western animation is slapping Japanese animation in the face. Witness the new animation of Tron.
Fixing Japanese animation goes way beyond people buying overpriced BDs or DVDs. It means overhauling how the industry works. And nothing screams “more conservative type” than a Japanese businessman. He who would prefer to perform seppuku rather than changing his business model to suit new market realities.
The problem of anime that you describe is true. But it is also a blessing. Because anime is unique to the Japanese only, story-wise anime it may be embedded with its rich culture and history.
No arguments here. That’s really all it is these days.
Anyone mind explaining to me what is Haruhi’s appeal? Really, I watched the show and all and it bored me. At least I can see how people can like other shows that I didn’t like. Everything except Haruhi. [Start here, perhaps? –Daryl]
Daryl, please what is your opinion on The Legend of Korra. I know it’s not a real anime from Japan but I’d like to know your thoughts on this cartoon.
[I have never seen it or the original series. Reaction to Korra’s ending among people I know is either extreme dislike or like, with no in-between. –Daryl]
Sounds like a very polarizing show then.
I’d be content if you uploaded a show like this everyday.
I’m glad when a new episode shows up in a few months, I guess I’ve learned to accept it’s twilight time perfectly.
The show was pretty good. I would love to hear any of the AWO crew just shoot the breeze and tackle some e-mails. So Gerald and Clarissa feel free to do your own bonus episodes (that aren’t about ponies).
In regards to your talk about Toonami Daryl, let’s be honest at the fact that there will probably never be a really successful anime block on television ever again. The first reasons I have is that anime isn’t “new” anymore. In the heyday of Toonami this was an important fact. All those cartoons they showed weren’t like anything that most American kids/teens had seen before with the art and character designs being somewhat different from what they had seen before. The content felt more mature in having a continuous story and the fact that death was on the table for most of those stories. Now, anime isn’t new, and has come to mean a certain art style and storytelling techniques where some people will actively avoid a show for exhibiting any of those traits. My second reason has to do with the fact is that there is no incentive for any major cable network to run an anime. It makes more sense for them to run shit where they can make money off DVD and merchandising rights. Also, there’s the fact that if someone flipping through the channels finds and likes a show, they can pretty much find and watch future episodes online, or find an up-to-date summary of show on Wikipedia. I think anime will always be some anime on TV, it will just be toy/card game commercial stuff aimed at the young kiddies. The fact that there are Bakugan t-shirts in the boys section at Target is testament to the show’s popularity.
It all comes back to money, and I’ve pretty much learned that lesson over and over again.
This is another one of those episodes that leaves me feeling rather bitter personally for where it has headed (and the people who are deciding never to leave their house again as the result). I bother to go out at all and I will continue to do so!
That “nostalgia kick” is certainly what drives some networks to cater to those of us who have watched those shows way back when and simply stick to that without proper representation where others may be interested in seeing these for the first time (a good example of this can be “The ’90s Are All That” block on TeenNick, though I find it pathetic the limited amount of shows covered in such a short time frame they have for it’s late-night gig). They really aren’t trying to hook new viewers into these things or to go after more viable time slots when they seem fit to stick to what works anyway. It’s never about what we may want at all.
Just reminded myself of the “Discipline” reading. God, that takes me back (and I’m sure for most, 2006 was a LONG TIME AGO).
Mr Surat, you are not unlike molten steel. Intense as you are, you might sometimes need Gerald and Clarissa to temper and cool you into a more viable product. Sadly, I’ll be missing that Lupin III panel at Otakon this year due to employment conflicts. This would have been my 4th year too. I’m sure it will be splendid. Good luck.
While Daryl and I have HUGELY different viewpoints on moe, I have to agree with many of the points he has brought up on the show.
But for the other’s comments: it’s not anime’s problem, but the jadedness of the Western fandom (which I outright loathe at this moment) and the lack of enthusiasm for it. Excuse me for liking Japan’s output now. Anime is NOT going to die anytime soon despite the claims, and DVDs (and some BDs) are still coming out here so stop complaining and be glad for what you do have.
Also, as I’ve said about things having indicative eras, Toonami had its time. Now people need to let go of it.
I disagree that Toonami has had its time. Cutting off anime from broadcast TV is never a good solution. In the short term, you can count on the generation of fans that was brought up on–you guessed it–Toonami. But in 10 years, or 20 years time? Those fans will in a large majority abandon anime because they will have grown up, have families, and new responsibilities. That’s why most of them will not identify anymore with what will then be current anime. So you need new blood. Where are you going to get it?
Not from people on the Internet. The reason being that you must already have an idea of what you want. People don’t want to watch 99% crap to then get the 1% interesting anime. That is why getting anime on broadcast TV is so important. The broadcasters function as a filter, and you as a viewer are shielded from a lot of crap anime. It is then that you start being a fan, and only after you can progress on to the Internet, develop a culture, a sense on what is good and what is not etc… But without the exposure that broadcast TV gives you, forget about having a viable industry it.
Nostalgia only gets you so far.
Sorry but if people aren’t willing to watch more anime than what’s on TV then they weren’t really fans to begin with. CN isn’t willing to put anime on TV unless it’s action and late at night.
[The entire point of what I was talking about centered on reaching people who are not fans to begin with. –Daryl]
But the point that you seem to be missing is that nobody, nobody at all is born being a fan.
You become a fan by being exposed to anime. Being exposed to anime (filtered through the broadcaster’s TVs of course) is fundamental in making you interested in anime, and therefore becoming a fan of anime. People that watch late-time anime ARE ALREADY FANS. But you don’t attract new fans with this kind of programming. It doesn’t work in Japan and it sure as hell doesn’t work in the US.
New fans are Joe and Sarah Sixpack. 6-7-8-9-10 year old kids that grow up watching what’s on TV. In the nineties it was Sailor Moon and co. Nowadays its Pretty Cure or something like that. But if you take away a programming block aimed at kids you will lose a generation of future fans, and therefore future paying consumers, of anime.
And by the way, putting the same old content on TV and say “watch it” doesn’t fly. You need new anime for new viewers. Nostalgia only pinches the heart of old fans. This is a crucial point. But the way things are going in the U.S there is no reason, no reason at all for TV broadcasters to invest in anime. And the anime industry seems all too happy to milk the existing fan base to think medium/long term. But sooner or later, something will give away and it will all come down crashing and burning.
I’d probably be classified as the insanely bored, but I enjoyed having this bonus episode on in the background while doing other things (which is how I usually listen). I wouldn’t mind more episodes like this, from any of the three. I’m not involved in any sort of anime community, so I enjoy listening to the three of you conversing about anime-related things, even shows or manga I’ve never heard of.
As for streaming becoming more popular, I am so glad everyone seems to be going this route, because I can neither afford nor particularly care for cable or collecting a ton of DVDs. I just don’t have the space. I would rather own a digital copy on an external hard drive than a DVD or rights to watch something online. I’m hoping they continue to move towards that, rather than “subscription” type services like Netflix.
The subscription route isn’t my thing either.
Just so you know, I have reported you to the Internet’s #1 Zettai Ichiban K.O.R. fan. 😉
[Oh, he already knows. Not like what I’d say would matter; he got his custom sketch and everything! –Daryl]
In regards to both MADHOUSE and talent drain, am I the only one who practically wore black for a month after the death of Toyoo Ashida?
2009’s “Souten Kouro” (One of the best Anime of the last 5 years in my opinion) was directed with the panache as Ashida’s earlier directorial efforts like Hokuto No Ken or Vampire Hunter D; the man never mellowed out like so many great (action) directors do. We do still have Kawajiri, at least. Unfortunately, Japan seems to have absolutely no interest in him.
Daryl, for your upcoming “Anime’s Craziest Deaths” panel will you be including anything from the work known as Blood-C?
As Colony Drop’s Dave notes here, in his semi-review, the show is extremely crazy but, due to the (deliberately) boring opening episodes few people every managed to experience the full power of Blood-C. I haven’t even felt the need to go back and watch the uncensored BD release because the censored TV airing was strong enough for me.
[I don’t know. Maybe? The picks I select are stuff that is comical or exhilarating when taken out of context, as opposed to something that makes you feel kind of bad watching it. –Daryl]
So is there any chance of you reviewing all of the new Lupin on the podcast now that it is finished? I would really like to hear your opinion of it. and I look forward to hearing the JoJo’s nerdsplosions that will be sure to inhabit the next episode.
[As noted in the episode, there isn’t much else I would say about the new Lupin TV series now that it’s ended which I didn’t already saw in my Otaku USA article written when it began. The complaints I’m hearing about the ending don’t have much merit to me. –Daryl]
Hi Daryl, FYI the union you saw picketing the con was the local carpenters union. Their beef was with a local contractor, DWA, hired by Sakura-Con and the standard contractor hired by most of the cons held at that convention center. More specifically they were protesting the carpenters DWA hires aren’t being paid enough and haven’t joined their union.
Here’s an article about the ongoing dispute between the union and the contractors and another article containing a statement by Sakura-Con It was purely a publicity stunt because the union wasn’t even trying communicate with Sakura-Con.
They also have picketed PAX Prime held in the same convention center in previous years, and I don’t know why they weren’t picketing ECC the weekend before Sakura-Con but they hold lots of protests around the area of various businesses that have nothing to do with the convention center or Sakura-Con.
Thank you Daryl, the AWO is the only anime podcast I care about. Dave and Joel’s podcast is not an anime podcast, right?
Hey Daryl. I’m a big fan of the ZETMAN manga and the anime was not good, save for the animation and voice choices. They couldn’t do the manga any justice with those 13 episodes. It would be too much work to list out all the gripes.
And yes, I’m a huge Guyver nut. Good call on that one. Loved this episode.
Your podcast is great and you’ve got a GREAT voice. Really fun to listen to.
Keep it up. 😀
Hey Daryl,
Would you happen to know the background music to the Discipline reading? Love the podcast! Thanks.
[Alas, I don’t know anything about music unless perhaps it was played during something I happen to have watched. –Daryl]
I just wanted to pop in and say that I’m looking forward to the “Unico” episode! I’ve been itching to hear some real discussion about those movies for a while now. Sanrio movies in the 70s-80s were outrageous stuff, and “Unico” is no exception… You can really see some of the pessimism of “Ringing Bell” and “Sirius” leaking in, and at the same time, the films possess a belief in peoples’ inherent goodness that makes the scenes of betrayal and abuse even more shocking! The things that happen to Chao in the first film are especially scary.
So I’m definitely looking forward to the review and hope to hear it real soon!
Hey. The background music to the Discipline reading was “Stink Bomb” by Brian de Mercia. I thought it was appropriate music for a Discipline reading.