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January 4, 2016

Year in Review 2015: The St@te of the Union

By omo

I feel writing about IM@S is a good way to write about my feelings in 2015 because it basically tracks with IM@S news, marketing strategies, and trends. Such is a life of a Producer in its employment.

News recap: First of all, two posts on HPT’s site explains basically some stuff. The first, just a list of announcements to give you an idea how things ramp up to IM@S 10th. The Yukumas Yurumas end-of-year nama, which we’ve had it the second time on 12/29, went over the year in a pretty succinct way.

The first part of the year, life was still coasting on the residual feels of the IM@S movie and IM@S 9th (even though I did not go…) which hits a point at the February event, the “uchiage” for all of that. Then it is about the 10th anniversary. In the middle was dying to go to ML2nd but didn’t pull the trigger, some events to distract me from that, and Asapon North.

Events: Second, this is kind of the roadmap of IM@S 10th, as Dire1 describes his plans for the three IM@S franchises. (This is the original JP interview.)

Personally? I have definitely reached a point where I am mellowing out from this fandom. I am still excited about 765pro and the entire year of CG bombardment means I now know some of the CGs well. The funny thing is besides the Cinderella Project 14, I know about the idols mostly from other Ps talking about them and the Deresute game. The anime didn’t do much besides floating that CG boat, and carried some nice sakuga moments.

I kind of want to deep dive the article so let’s briefly. First, LOL Dire1 called Rei & Yui’s Bunka Housou Home Run Radio to get some info on Seibu dome. Getting info from boots on the ground via Team Baseball Idols is hilarious. In this case I think Amiami not only had a hit seiyuu nama/radio on their hands, but who knew how far this had gone…

Then there’s the live-driven aspect of ML. I think it’s worth a post on its own so I’ll do that. Let’s just say that in the end, CG, ML, 765Pro and SideM are all pretty similar, and it’s just a matter of if that thing will get an anime or not.

I said I’m mellowing out only because I’ve reached the point where I feel like I have extended myself out far enough that I feel pulling back sounds like the right thing to do. There’s a place where I’m most efficient or comfortable at, I guess, in terms of my involvement as a fan, eventer, someone who buys IM@S stuff, who spend so much $ on mobile games this year (whatever I spent last year I probably spent 5x that).

Oh, yeah Deresute. Week 18 update–I blew a lot of money this past few days because of the double SSR rate, and on Mika SSR. That I don’t have.

Game-wise, the only real notable thing is that I switched to a Nexus 6P and there is a different input lag (not music lag) than my last phone that it took about a week for me to adjust. If I play with no sound, I have to hit the notes slight earlier on the N6P than slight later on my Moto X 3rd gen… Well, it cannot be helped.

Event-wise, I’m glad we have a dance groove because I can now star level my Vocal SRs that I don’t want to keep around for support. Also my luck has skewed a lot more on Vi and Da so I field some really strong teams in this groove event. And isn’t this event just the Deresute version of Derepa…?

Also, with the Christmas event introducing the double-stam feature, scores did go up within expectations across all the tiers on this basis. So you can kind of guess what happened.

The game is firing on all cylinders and I’m expecting things to go through without too much boat rocking for a while as there is still a lot of content to be delivered by, I think, ultimately, a content delivery mechanism that is this F2P game.

Looking back, though, this is the really the most dangerous thing out of IDOLM@STER in 2015–you can lose both your money and resistance to cute unvoiced idols who are caricatured in the most endearing way that IDOLM@STER does best.

This is on top of how Deresute came into the rhythm game F2P Socia-ge space like how WoW came on top of the MMORPG market. Considering WoW is a 2004 game and lots of people don’t MMORPG, maybe that figure of speech is lost. But never had a genre got so much of an upset by a copy than WoW, and its enduring success since plays partly due to that interruption. Deresute copied and perfected upon the LLSIF formula in a big way. It is a killer app. And unlike most it also kills people’s bank accounts if they’re not careful.

In terms of fandom, as I mentioned over time, I love the present. More newbie fans are one thing, but overall things are so much better today out west than ever. Thanks for all the shoutouts from not only the team in Japan but all the other cool cats who helped make our lives as oversea Ps better.

In 2015 we made a lot of flower stands. HPT itself is responsible for over $4000 USD worth of flowers just at 10th alone. I don’t have the exact counts because some HPTers sent their own flowers, and others participated in other stands arranged by other Ps. We got a lot of help from Akiba nerd flower start-up Hananoki Flowers so here’s a shout-out to him. We used many other shops, so just on this aspect alone “we” have advanced miles since 2014.

Well, that’s just eventer talk.

Domestically, I already listed Lantis Fest as my favorite event of the year. That served as the template of my favorite offkai of the year, which is the one in Toronto with those crazy Canadians. And yeah I will write this up but that was also a big budget event. The ballpark total (including the cake) was well north of $2500 CAD, and you still had to buy alcohol. I guess it can’t be helped.

I love how offkai and hanging out with Japanese Ps opened doors, and they returned the favor in Japan when HPT hung out in Ikebukuro for a couple hours after 10th Day1. And that was a very the-world-is-all-one moment. The bus was pimp.

I also feel the pressure of trying to one-up the JP producers and one up our own tricks in 2016. Not to say it’ll happen but who knows? It’s never too early to come up with cake ideas.

The future is bright for IDOLM@STER. And maybe for its oversea fanbase too. I don’t know, really, but I enjoy this thing, whatever you call it–fandom? Series of vidja? Going to events? What GamiP said during the Yukum@s nama was that 2015’s theme was “a step” and this just means 2016 will be yet another step. At least we are going places, and there are reasons to be excited.

What we do know now is that IM@S will get its PS4 release probably sometime 2016. PS4 is now about $300. Thank Jesus. Because spending money on IM@S is now something so conditioned in me that I just hope for the master to be kind to its koebuta farm. Looking at the near future though, ML3rd is already killing me softly.

Year-in-review 2015:

PS. Due to unforeseen events the last two posts are delayed, but it’s not even 12 days since Christmas so maybe this is OK.

Leave a comment | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Idolmaster, Modern Visual Culture

December 31, 2015

Year in Review 2015: Eventing

By omo

I have a post on the events I planned and attended for 2015. You can read it here.

Just to summarize: I have like a couple drafts of 1000 words or more on eventing this year but I feel they all misses the point. But to TL;DR them:

  • Eventing is about making memories, reducing a form of regret. It’s arguably a better use of time and money than what the otaku typically do with time and money.
  • The YOLO aspect of eventing is not the most dangerous thing. This is the “immediate” danger but is not as bad as…
  • The real danger–getting addicted.

More importantly, it’s about having the maturity to correctly prioritize what you do with your time and money (and energy). But that’s like, life fundamentals. It’s not about holding in and not go to events,  it’s not about going to events to overcome your current way of life to step into something better. It’s both ways. Sometimes you should go to some events. Sometimes you shouldn’t. And I guess when you abstract too far you get obvious conclusions here…

As for me? I went enough I think.

Thanks to a certain illustrator-san!

My favorite event in 2015 was the way Lantis Fest Vegas turned out. It doubled with Otakon Vegas. But what was great about that weekend was how a bunch of people (counting the local Liver/casual team it was well over 30 people) were able to hang out pretty much the entire time. It was the ultimate offkai, since it was like 3 days, and we were rooming in 3 suites in the same building. The P team were able to watch IM@S history in the making via nico namas and it was group watching since we were all there. There were the usual Vegas delights. We took pictures of ourselves in front of the Bellagio fountains in weird outfits. Karaoke, booze, cooking, breakfast, party suite, doing calls, you name it. Which is to say that was a great experience of hanging out because we also shared core interests. The actual Lantis Fest itself was also really good, so that completed the other half of the puzzle.

If we want to talk about actual event-events, then it might have to be I’ve Sound 15th anniversary on the strength of its set list and performers. The venue was Tokyo Dome City Hall so even where I was on the 2nd floor the view was good. It was both new and old, dream collabs and “who is this” hour with a bunch of the newer I’ve faces. Still it’s quite overdue on my end.

Third (or second, whatever) would have to be IM@S 10th. It was mind blowing in the off-kai way, in that we had an offkai and the oversea Ps visited Tokyo at around the same time, so we hung out there. It was also mind blowing in terms of scale and what happened. The only knock was the weather–burning hot on day 1, and the rain made buppan kind of miserable. I was also miserable due to physical ailment but that cannot be helped.

Honorable mentions:

  • Anime North Offkai…I still owe a post on this but I have not forgotten you!
  • WUG 2nd Osaka – Great venue and seeing old faces! Osaka is pretty cool.
  • Aisute: Zenzen Aitakatta – The music was just what the doctor ordered
  • Okui Masami Birthday Live – This tripped me way harder than I’ve 15th. I had a nice view of it all too. But the feel is just very different than the other anison lives I’ve been at.
  • AWS events: fhana & Katofuku – Both were great, just short. I’m just glad that I saw fhana live finally, because missing their first solo live while I was in Tokyo would have eat me up way too much as it did all year until then.
  • Trysail Tryangle Harmony public recording (march) – MOCHOOOOOO honto dayooooo let’s kouken MOCHOOOOO

It’s too bad I was so busy this year, I would do a stat post for 10th and ANorth… Maybe…

PS. Does celebrating birthdays at Characro count as events? LOL.

Year-in-review 2015:

Leave a comment | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Introspectives, Modern Visual Culture

December 30, 2015

Year in Review 2015: Sounding Off

By omo

eupho

I wanted to talk about Sound! Euphonium, but not exactly. It’s more about the way Kurosawa Tomoyo stole a lot of my attention this year, with her performance in this sharp coming-of-age piece from Kyoto Animation. The animation, story, direction, the handling of the adaptation, art direction and the character/inter-character drama are all very remarkable, and to me, very enjoyable. Even the salt from the oversea yuri community. It’s really symptomatic about their inability to read what’s going on, but in this case it was humorous how it turned out. I guess I am in no place to criticize other otaku for being KY.

The music is something worth talking about. Just a holidays sort of observation, while catching a glimpse of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, you see some of America’s top High School marching bands at work. The stuff they play is way more progressive than anything out of the more recital-style stiffness that delights snooty Asians and OST nerds from Eupho. And that’s what we really want.

It’s kind of like how in Your Lie in April we tortured a similar music scene for its drama, although perhaps that has the satisfaction of slamming the sledgehammer through a wall, compared to the fine-slicing of a sharp blade–the bleeding comes only after you’re done with Eupho. I don’t really know which is worth talking about more–the candle that sparks into life or the sparkle that extinguishes.

What I do know is Tanechan really needs to visit America, because when Moyochi did, she stole something precious! I don’t even know what.

For the rest of you, there’s always this ode to Kyoani I guess.

And for what it’s worth…the voice cast in Amagi, then Euphonium…then in Phantom World… I think I like this pattern. How does annoying sidekick fairy Koroazu sound like?

And I didn’t even talk about Tamaki in Love or High Speed…probably because I need to still watch them properly first.

Year-in-review 2015:

Leave a comment | posted in Introspectives, Modern Visual Culture

December 30, 2015

Year In Review 2015: Shirobako, Kurobako

By omo

I just want to leave this 2014 survey here to anchor the opinion I am about to express.

It’s rare that I can take something I watched in the year before and say “this is the best thing this year” at the end of the year. I am not really a futurist but I am casually familiar with the general concept that has been passed around the past few years, the ones that curious dudes might ask a figure like deGrasse Tyson (or whoever is popular at the time), about what is to come. “An anime about making anime that is actually remarkably good”? I think that was something long due.

Shirobako, to be fair, is not the kind of show that will engage everybody like, say, Parasyte or even Oremonogatari. But it’s the kind of show that at least, deserves critical acclaims. Especially from the people who comes to the show mostly from story/plot/character/theme perspectives. Also, I think the way people rated this show in the aggregate speaks a lot about online anime opinion echo chambers in general.

When people talk about how the people who make a ruckus online but don’t show up in stores, this is the sort of things it reminds me. People wanted mainstream narratives or mature characters (outside of a school context etc) or a non-harem thing, but it has been repeatedly shown that it is not what makes money in a very convincing sort of way. We want our SAOs, collectively speaking. Angsty teenage ninjas will always have a place in the industry’s wallet (and when set to Linkin Park, a place in AMV competitions). The sorts of shows we rep usually speak more about us than the shows themselves, because the anime industry isn’t a crapshoot. It is formulaic. Creators in general know what works, and continues to subsist via providing what the people want. This is, too, a lesson you can take away from watching Shirobako.

It’s important to always preface any Shirobako worshipping with the clear understanding that what was depicted in the anime is an idealized situation, in some sense. We have always make space for Kurobako, or the dark reality of what it means, sometimes, to work in that industry and in that context of being a contractor or employee in that capacity. It is what I think to myself after learning about Turning Girls earlier this year after reading about what Trigger did to produce it. (Oddly enough I don’t think about it when I watch Ninja Slayer…) That kickstarter to fund a dorm for animators. The lifestyle of these animators or people who worked in the front lines, at least from the real life accounts, can be something really scary. I think it’s all just baggage for talk though. What stops animators are just the hours and low average pay.

Did you know there are more scientists alive today than there were scientists ever? I think we have long gone past the point possible where more anime is created in a sliding 5-year window than there was anime that was created up to the start. That had to be around 2002-2006 or so if it had to ever happen. I could dazzle you with the math*, but there are not enough animators to create so much work within a short period of time. If we average 60 TV series a season, that’s about 240 IP a season, not counting the annual theatrical output, net shows, the LWAs of the world, what have you. We’ve been at this for over a decade, guys. Ten years ago was when the industry got asymptotic.

Which is to say, ultimately, the people like me who enjoy (or not enjoy) Shirobako are just people watching some anime. The industry belongs to creators and producers. What we say and do will only matter as much as the impact of these things. Because these things are made by human beings not so different than you or I. The human element behind anime is beyond the armchair quarterbacking practice on this blog, and I love it when we bring the artist back in the art.

I've been Hotel Moonsided

[*] Ball park: ANN Encyclopedia has 3286 TV series in the DB (checked on 12/1/2015 5:35 PM Eastern). Assuming this is complete, and assuming an average 240 IP a year, we’re approaching that point with a 7-year window and would have captured it well within the 2006 line with a 5-year window. There’s some fudging because if we discount ongoing series we’ll have a lower count on average. I tried using MAL’s DB but I can’t get it to give me data in a non-worthless manner. If we expand beyond TV anime it’s going to be more difficult because we won’t know where to draw the line between art projects and real commercial things, or how to treat movies in a franchise. ANN tags it at 7537 but that’s probably much less complete than the TV anime count.

Year-in-review 2015:

Leave a comment | posted in Modern Visual Culture, Shirobako

December 30, 2015

Year in Review 2015: Introduction

By omo

Thanks, Nekopuchi

The full-blown oversea eventer life marches on. I was able to accomplish one goal this year that I set out last year: Go to fewer anime cons. I missed AX, which sounded like a blast but the grass is always greener, as they say, on the other side of the fence. I feel I was able to get my spending in better order this year, but it’s at a cost. I also traveled to Japan more times this year than ever, at a cost.

Eventing-wise, the highlight this year has to be my July trip that ran through IM@S 10th along with WUG 2nd Osaka. Notching stuff off the bucket list in the Spring was also big. I had a blast more this year doing stuff the “HPT” way too, just generally speaking.

On the anime otaku side, not much has changed besides that having fewer hours in a day/week/month/year for anime, I watched fewer shows. Things like Gatchaman Crowds S2, the rebooted Yatterman, Gangsta., Sidonia S2… I don’t know. I was still able to wrap up Shoukugeki no Soma and keep up on Ace of the Diamond, so it was not for lack of trying or maybe even lack of time…? Anyway, 2015 was a fun year if you watched a lot of anime, because there were a good variety of shows that were pretty well done.

On the negative side, I guess my writing has taken a hit, both here and Jtor. I wish I could have better discipline doing chores and the like, be more efficient, so I have the time. But it all takes a lot of energy and work already takes a lot out of me drive-wise. In fact I think having the drive is more important than anything. If I wanted direly to get something done, I will get it done…

What else is there? Eventing is expensive and I have to cut back next year, and it was fun meeting all the old and new friends and faces, hanging out and what not.

Year-in-review 2015:

1 comment | posted in Modern Visual Culture