Category Archives: Modern Visual Culture

September 22, 2007

Previewing Seasonal Remedies

By omo

Maybe I’m just a weirdo, but somehow it’s not until I started to read j1m0ne‘s preview post that I realize this is exactly the next-season-preview I would like to read. Uh, I guess I also dig hawt and cute and cool voice actors as well?

And there’s nothing wrong to be superficial about what you like in anime. It helps to be superficial at this point in the life of an anime series because we just don’t really know much beyond the PR that we see, unless you have some insight into things that others can’t see upon first glance. While we may all be looking at book covers and judging the contents within, I found what j1mone is doing more like reading the author and telling you who’s done which work in the past, without really saying much about the show itself. It’s just less guessing and more actual useful information. It helps to go beyond this a little and connect the dots, but not quite this far.

But it also got me thinking: is my taste in anime so superficial now? I know for some time it was shallow to begin with–not only was I after the episode-by-episode experience over some satisfaction behind following a good story, I was much more concerned about acting, direction and music rather than plot, characterization and themes. Well, I talk about all six things all the time still, so I don’t know. Certainly a good story is no more important than having good acting (you’d think this ranks way higher with most people?) and direction. A fanciful setting is great but only if the show would take advantage of it. And humor is really a personal, eye-of-the-beholder thing. And of course if it’s an ugly, still-panarama, it will still get dropped. Maybe.

Sadly so few of those things can be figured out weeks in advance, unless there was an advance screening (hi CLANNAD?). I guess I’m just articulating, again, why I find seasonal previews unhelpful.

2 comments | posted in Blogging, Modern Visual Culture

September 19, 2007

Well Done, Mikan; the Mystery Continues?

By omo

Mikan loses to Konoka by 6 votes in round 2 of Saimoe 2007. She joins her crew in the heaven of lost moeliciousness, having an beerice cream.

Goodbye!

According to this post on 2ch, foreign votes affected the outcome since Konoka got an extra 59 votes, sealing the deal.

And I bet most of those 59 votes are cast by people who speak English. Or not? At first glance, that data just concludes how foreign votes (IP not originating from Japan) pan out to, as I’ll cut and paste below:
0543 0400 0143 41.17% 37.59% 56.08% 26.34% 近衛木乃香＠ネギま！？
0537 0453 0084 40.71% 42.58% 32.94% 15.64% 稲森光香（みかん）＠がくえんゆーとぴあ まなびストレート！
0239 0211 0028 18.12% 19.83% 10.98% 11.72% 沙英＠ひだまりスケッチ
In other words, out of the total 543 votes, 143 of Konoka’s votes originates outside of Japan. That could simply means people in Japan are voting from non-Japanese IPs, so it is inconclusive merely through that as to which demographic contributed to :3-chan’s loss.

A look at the by-the-hour chart of vote allocation, we get a better picture–Mikan held a comfortable lead at first, but it slowly went away until the end of polls, where she was upset. If we take the presumption of average internet usage–that Saimoe and its kin of tomfoolery take place during the night (8pm-2am) rather than during the day, we can see that Japan (and maybe Korea and Singapore and China and other locations with people interested in Saimoe) is still chiefly to blame for the downfall. It’s curious, as well, because Mikan had a demanding lead right off the bat, and it’s unlikely the same demographic had two different sways so drastically different.

Perhaps that means there are two divisive faction on 2ch when it comes to Saimoe–the people who keeps up with anime and people who do not? The latter is likely who votes early in the day (but near the end of the contest) and the former can stay up and watch those late-night shows, and vote on Saimoe as it begins the next day. But we don’t have to go that far…

The western fanbase failed–the shrinking lead during the eek hours would suggest as much. In the 12-hour gap between 5am Japan time and 5pm Japan time we see Mikan’s lead erode from 70 to 42, and that would’ve been peak hours for Europeans, all the Americans, and more.

It still smells suspicious, however. Ah well. It just means today the sun shines a little dimmer compared to tomorrow.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Manabi Straight, Modern Visual Culture

September 17, 2007

Making Rounds with Hatsune Miku

By omo

Uninstall is probably the best one I ran across.

I got a laugh out of this one. It reminded me back when people were doing a capella versions of eurobeat and DDR music. Hare Hare Yukai is no exception I suppose.

This one has Hatsune Miku harmonizing with another sound instrument running on classic Vocaloid, from Sousei no Aquarion. Or this song from Nausicaa.

Some people like this version of Tori no Uta, but I think it is seriously lacking.

Slightly less lacking is this version of Princess Mononoke theme. Or this other song from AIR.

There’s always dance-pop leek spinning. Which is probably the simplest way to use Hatsune Miku.

With Hatsune Miku, every computer-literate otaku geek is a dreamer. Or LOL.

What’s Hatsune Miku? It’s basically a synthetic instrument pack sort of thing running on the Vocaloid2 engine–a text-to-speech singing engine. In other words, it’s a software that outputs singing if you give it the notes and words. You can also fine tune it and such. It can even output in Engrish.

Just check out the links up there. And down here.

Reset.

Marisa steals the whatever. It’s a little weak, but yeah.

True My Heart. Beefed up version.

Something from Lucky Star.

One could buy into the marketing possibilities and hype about something like Hatsune Miku–and so far it’s living up to it to a degree. But will things turn out like this? Virtual idol and all that stuff. But then again, even Hatsune Miku is modeled after a real person.

Oh God not this song >_<. To get you in the mood for Eva revival?

LOL CLANNAD in 17 days.

The one to sing about.

Some Higurashi Nonsense.

This is just a fraction of what Hatsune Miku has out there–there’s a legion more on Niconico, and more and more appear by the moment. The original graphic of Hatsune Miku is sort of the new visual icon for this virtual singer slash amusing computer tool. Coincidentally the typical vocaloid sells for a few thousand copies (if it’s any good). Hatsune Miku has gone already way, way beyond that as a smashing success as far as a professional software tool goes.

Got a video you like? Please do share?

11 comments | posted in Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

September 12, 2007

Women Don’t Have A Thousand Faces in Anime

By omo

Sorry Yumi-chan, but a cat has even more.

What's the matter, cat got your tongue?

Or in this week’s case, an alien bent on destruction of the Human race.

OMG NERF BELLCROSS!

That must’ve been one of the most satisfying moment in anime that I ran in to for some time. It’s definitely one of the more satisfying thing to happen to a persistent pain-in-the-butt character (and Heroic Age‘s got its share) that I’ve seen. It’s not even karmic, because to be fair Peato Ou does have the right idea (killing DNAra will lead to the end of the Human race), even if he’s blind about the end result. (It’s like knowing not to hit a tagged rogue in Area 52 on a PvE server, but you do it anyways because you are dumb.)

In the introspection of the nature of men and women, there are some anime that take it seriously, and there are some anime that don’t. For everything else, there are high quality key animation frames that captures the essence of the human spirit expressed through the art of body language translated into pictures. The exaggerated nature of anime art style only enhances the enjoyment of its audience when we see the actors on stage, normally being serious, break out in a show-and-tell of how badass something that may have just happened to them.

And this treatment is gender-neutral! Dropping your jaw is not a sexist behavior in anime.

Leave a comment | posted in Darker than Black, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Modern Visual Culture, The Heoric Age

September 11, 2007

The Last Generation of Haruhi Suzumiya

By omo

Back in ’95-96 Akiyuki Shinbo directed a project called Soreyuke! Uchuusenkan Yamamoto Yohko. It was an adaptation of a series of teenage-level science fiction novels written by Takashi Shouji. The project resulted in two OAV series, and later in 1997 a 26-episode TV series retelling the expanded novel story was aired.

Perhaps it’s just how people looked at TV shows and movies back in the 90s, but Yamamoto Yohko didn’t make a big splash. Unavoidably, Akiyuki Shinbo’s … signature directorial style is somewhat hit-and-miss with the crowd, and I think the Yamamoto Yohko TV series is one of the earliest example of this signature style.

(In some ways looking at Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, you can tell that its rather-two-dimensional look works much more successfully with the punches Shinbo pulls–in fact I believe that’s why Pani Poni Dash did so much better with the fans yet Soul Taker was just way out in the left field with a cold but critically acclaimed reception. Yamamoto Yohko shared that 3D feel. All to stretch the animation budget?)

Well the point here, I hope, is to remind or introduce you –I sure do need to rewatch it–to this actually really above average but rarely-heard-of anime series to you. Yamamoto Yohko is twelve years old now, but its faded-out color palette and seeing kids hanging out at arcades are the only things showing its age. The direction is sublime (and resourceful), the OAV episodes are fun, energetic, and charming. The TV series suffers, I think, from being 26 episodes long, but it delivers a solid story about someone much like Suzumiya Haruhi…sans the romantic/Kyon angle.

Maybe that’s where the magic is missing? I don’t know. (Is that just the difference between 90s TV shows and today’s?) But I do know that it’s a fairly timeless TV anime, and is worth watching beyond mere sentimentality. It’s smart, humorous, it keeps you surprised, and the voice acting is top notch.

It’s even got time travelers, aliens, and ESPer-like computers. It is even licensed–at least the two OAV series. The TV series is in limbo–RightStuf has an option which they have not exercised because the sales were subpar. The US release was back in 2001, and it was on both DVD and VHS. You can probably find the DVD super cheap now, if at all.

8 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Modern Visual Culture, Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko, Suzumiya Haruhi no Uuutsu