Why the economic environment in Japan ensures that manga remains Awesome

I like manga more than American comic books. This is in general, of course, for some comic books (particularly ones from non-mainstream companys) manage to break free of the convoluted mess that American comics love and just write a plot. However, an advantage of manga is that they are like samurai.

Alas, the comic market in Japan is very different than the American comic book market. In Japan, manga gets published in magazines before collected volumes get produced. This increases the competition to force people to work harder. Also it enforces the samurai philosophy of “remember that you will die.” Since all manga artists accept that their work is going to die at some point, they are able to make a series unhindered by trying to prevent their work from dying.

Alas, there are exceptions, such as Dragonball Z. These series manage to break the mold, and in doing so remove that inevitable death that the author’s work will receive. This is like the issue that American comics have: stagnation. This is where the author receives money based on writing a longer story rather than a better one. This causes problems like status quo. This usually means that characters will go on and on to an apparent “goal” that the author will drag out until sales drop. This is that oh so ugly point when sales are dictating the direction that a story goes. Like in American comics

Now then, a big issue is that a good portion of American comics suffer from this problem. I’m not talking something like Watchmen or V for Vendetta. Those wrap up everything in the context of their universes quite nicely. On the other hand, we have the DC and Marvel universes, which are still ongoing, and do crazy stuff like explain why Batman stories exist with him in both the 1950’s and in the modern world. This is because Batman artists realize that they are not going to die, and hence do not write as if they will. This continued existence spreads on over to Batman’s enemies, who also don’t need to fear dying. However, since they have no chance of dying, they instead live in an existence ruled by status quo and retcons. Ruins the suspense, because even if somebody does die, they’ll probably be back from the dead.

Because most American comics are not like the Samurai, they are destined to live lives of stagnation and complacency. A few brave souls, such as those at Image or DarkHorse, make their comics follow the samurai philosophy. Alas, our industry is ruled by businessmen that have lost their warrior spirit, and have removed that fight that ensures that comic books maintain a solid edge.

Anime in Focus: K-ON episode 2

This Moe image brought to you by Yui

Previous Episode

Yui’s epic journey to acquire a guitar. In this episode, we learn that the members of the Lite music club all share a very high degree of incompetence. Also, the possess the female equivalent to bromance (Problem is, bro doesn’t have a feminine term, so it causes problems)

Anyhoo, this episode revolves around the fact that the band’s main guitarist is lacking in a guitair. The band must then battle their shared Attention deficit disorder in a attempt to acquire one. Upon shopping, they all realize they are too broke to get a decent guitar. To top it all off, they have no applicable job skills. Alas, they manage to find a job, that involves little skill at all, but competes with their group ADD.

Wasn’t as interesting as the first episode, but was definitely packed with lots of moe. I hope that the group gets their band together, because the opening and ending credits seem to imply more rock than has been shown. Next episode overview will be up…..

Next Episode->

Why I like Anime

Hm, I’ve realized that when I think about why I like anime, I always go straight to things I hate about American comics. Strange, I know. My favorite thing about anime is probably the fact that I know that this is going to end at some point.

Sure, I’m having a good time, so a part of me does NOT want it to end. Alas, I know that the end must come, so I have a concluding point that gives everything a reason for happening. Brings the whole journey into perspective, and makes everything that has transpired appear to have a point. Alas, this is probably why you almost never hear me talking about Naruto, Bleach, or DragonBall. Alas, you could hear me complain about that here  so I’ll talk about the positive features of anime

1.)    Culture shock. Okay, I actually despise modern Japans culture. Alas, watching anime does give me a bit of insight into other people’s cultures (don’t get me wrong, everything is exaggerated, but some truth slips through the cracks) making for a unique experience. Also, it prompts some research, which prompts you to learn… stuff

2.)    Entertainment: Primary reason right here. Not everything is entertaining, but a lot of the stuff I find is. Should be an advantage to any medium really.

3.)    Lack of limitations: A problem with live action movies is the budgeting to create crazy effects. Not an actual problem with anime, since limitations are not set by actors and pesky safety violations. You can have Godzilla smash Tokyo all you want. This allows for giant robots smashing things to warrant it’s own genre.

4.)    Different Genres: This is a actual legitimate advantage over American animation. Anime encompasses a large variety of genres, besides action an comedy. Anime has drama and slice of life stuff too.

I kinda like the anime community sometimes. The philosophical types are kinda interesting, until you meet one that insists Japan is a great place to live. Those guys really grind my gears (why yes I am writing a report on that.) A proper community makes the experience seem more fruitful, as you’re socializing prevents you’re soul from rotting away into a garbling pile of gook attached to a PC. Alas, I think I’ll watch some stuff to do a new Anime in focus section to post tomorrow.

Shin Megami Tensei : Nocturne Review

It’s like Pokemon, but every bit as Satanic as Christian fundamentalists make it out to be.

Well, I haven’t had much time on my hands to play video games with. Alas, a while ago, I managed to scrounge up enough spare time to play that one game I’ve been meaning to play, see title. Nocturne is another game in the Megaten series, that Persona spinned off of, hence meaning I HAD to play it. Overall, I actually found it to be the polar opposite of Persona, where every character is fully developed and you life in a mostly peaceful world. Not in this game though, haha.

This game takes place in a post apocalyptic Tokyo overrun by demons (further referred to as “mons.” Don’t ask me why most the angels from Judeo-Christianity are listed as demons >_>) where the main character must fight his way through hordes of demons to find a meaning to his existence in this bleak and barren world. Will he recreate a newer, better world? Will he bring back the old one? Will he let it remain the way it is? Will he team up with the forces of hell to slaughter the last pathetic remnants of creation? (why yes, this is an option) Who knows, it’s entirely up to you to decide! I absolutely love the setting of this game, as it gives you a huge world to explore, and you get to see wrecked landmarks from Tokyo in reality. The world itself is massive and beautiful, but….

It’s inhabitants are disgustingly one-dimensional. Really, they say a few lines, then vanish. You’re best bud from the old world? He comes up to you, says hi, tells you where he’s going, then ditches you. Never mind that he’s a normal human wandering out into a demon infested wasteland. Nope, he’s definitely not asking YOU for help, you half demon half human with a gang of big tough demons. Why would YOU be able to help him? The only people who decide to up and join you are already big tough demons, who don’t really need you for protection. Such as the cameo character, Dante (yes, the one from Devil May Cry) who’s sole purpose is to kick ass and take names. HE joins you, (based on circumstances) but you’re high school friends with no superpowers? Nope.

Plot is actually kinda dumb. Well, conceptually it is really neat. Also, it is very epic. Alas, the execution is really dumb. A few times during the plot, I’m asking myself why I’m fighting these guys. Heck, at one point I wanted to betray the person who sent me for the person he told me to attack. Alas, I was not given an option to do that. Despite having multiple endings, there isn’t much um… freedom in the plot. At some points I wanted to smack the main character silly for his apathy. Although you are given a lot of dialogue options in the game, a lot of them don’t seem to matter that much until the last minute.

Gameplay is pretty neat. Despite plot characters having the personality of a cardboard box, you’re allowed to negotiate with you’re enemies to have them join you’re party (gotta catch em’ all) and you can level them up, and some even evolve (like Pokemon) Alas, mons level up slowly, so the trick is to fuse you’re demons into bigger, tougher demons. You can have three demons fighting alongside the main character, from varios mythologies, leading to some… interesting combinations (Michael, Beelzebub, and Thor team up to conquer earth!) Of course, if you DON’T do this, you’ll be slaughtered by one of the games stupid hard bosses.

Ah yes, the difficulty. This game seems to enjoy kicking you’re ass. It even got its picture on this TV Tropes page. Bosses usually have some weird trick that if you don’t counter it immediately, you’re DEAD. I strangely enjoyed this, because unlike Final Fantasy, you REALLY get to learn a lot of tricks to fight enemies. It pushes you’re limits as a game. And the battle system…. Like the Persona series, it’s all or nothing. You get a critical on an enemy? You get to attack again. Hit their weakness? Go again. Get an attack reflected back at you? You’re whole party’s turn is over and you get you’re ass kicked. Fortunately this applies to the enemy too, so random fights are all or nothing. Then there’s death magic. Both light and darkness cause instant death. However, raising resistance to one often gives you a weakness to another. Hence, it is mandatory that you be cautious while applying you’re resistances.

So, if you want an epic plot with cardboard characters and a battle system that enjoys killing you, pick this game up. If you wanted Pokemon to be more mature and have an actual danger element, this might be the game for you. If you want a challenge, pick this game up. It’s pretty solid, despite its flaws

Summary
+fun
+challenging
+EPIC

-frustrating at points
-bland characters

Related Games:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

Recent rerelease of this game has driven the price WAY down. Great time to buy

Anime in Focus: K-ON episode 1

Alright, I’m starting a new section in this blog called Anime in Focus (as per the title).

In this section, I’ll watch an episode from an anime and post my thoughts about it, giving readers an idea of what I think before I review an actual series as a whole. Also, it lets you feel like you’re watching an anime with me…. Kinda.

Today I’m discussing episode 1 of K-ON, an anime I thought seemed pretty cool, but the rest of my local anime club didn’t like it. Hence, I’m watching it without those guys.

Episode 1 introduces the main cast, a group of high school girls who are trying to organize a club, trying to join a club, and one that is just bored and aimless. Despite having very little musical talent between them, they decide to form a band, because of a promise one made to the other.

Overall, I’m more interested in it than the rest of the anime club at my school, on the simple principal that it combines Moe AND a Rock band. This is clearly a solid combination that needs to be explored, and I am quite interested in seeing what transpires between these characters.

Next Episode:
K-ON episode 2

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Is the First episode really that important?

I’m gonna go on out on a limb and say, yeah, first epidsode really is important. Sure, you can come and yell at me about shows that have a lame first episode, but get better as they go along….

And I don’t care, because if you come and give me some solid recommendations, I win anyway, don’t I? Alas, a first episode is the viewer’s first impression of a series. If the viewer gets a bad first impressions, they won’t be as enthusiastic as they go in. Really, why spend MORE time watching something you didn’t enjoy?

My favorite anime, for example, “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya” has a solid first episode, establishing how ridiculous and wacky this series is going to be. Also, it pretty much sums everything up in the whole series in an incredibly convoluted manner. Another solid first goes to Fruits basket, a Shoujo that while, it looks like generic coming in, gets a few giggles, while leading in to the series main hook. Ninja Nonsense, a fine comedy, starts making you ROFL from the get go. It doesn’t stop in the second episode either. Code Geass, although mostly a boring first, has a pretty awesome ending, setting up a hook. Overall, a lot of my favorite anime start out solid, and build from that foundation. Cowboy Bebop? Starts with a solid episode that tells you next to nothing about the character’s origin, and you like it anyway.

Can a series with a bad first episode be good? Absolutely, I’m usually just more hesitant to show that series to a friend. There’s always room for redemption, but really, when you show up for a job interview, do you wear the same thing you wore to bed or do you wear you’re best suit?

Why Anime Martial artists really grind my gears

As you can tell by the topic title, I am about to start discussing martial arts in fiction. HOWEVER, I am not here to discuss how martial arts allow people to shoot fireballs from their hands. I am perfectly fine with that, as while that is not going to happen in reality, the series USUALLY does not pretend to be realistic when this happens. No, what really grinds my gears is when anime that pretends to take place in reality tries to portray martial arts.

Why is that you say? This is because martial arts are always presented as making you INVINCIBLE. I’ve taken Karate classes, and it didn’t make me toughest guy on the block. Yet, if a character in an anime has taken martial arts, they can take down an army of minions. Take for example, a scene during Key: The Metal Idol when a guy knocks a mob enforcer on his face, and mentions he was able to do it because he took some Karate in college. What, do bodyguards not have to learn to fight these days?

But do you know who REALLY grinds my gears? Ai Tokiwa from Great Teacher Onizuka. Really, a high school student who can beat the crap out of several people just because she’s taken Tai Kwon do? How long has she been taking it? Of course, she gets beaten up by the local computer nerd, who also is apparently a karate master (yeah, sure, probably took the same weekend class as Ai), but that doesn’t explain why she can take down several people… but apparently nobody in that universe believes it either.

Now then, I’ve taken some martial arts classes, and I was highly disappointed that the three months of training that I took did not allow me to take down five henchmen at once. In fact, when I discuss it with people, I’ve found that a surprising amount of people know martial arts themselves. So if I were to try to take down a bunch of people, I’d get my ass kicked. And yet, in fiction, about a month of martial arts training makes you as tough as a real person gets with 10 years training.