Omonomono

December 23, 2013

Wrapping Up the Story You Didn’t Even Know: Animusic Tourney Ends

By omo

It’s pretty long, the Anime Music Tournament.

I ran a bracket. There was a winner. I actually want to give presents to not just the winner, but also the person who came in second, because the winner won by way too much due to the way the bracket is set up and the way, well, the bracket is set up on my end. It’s complicated but let’s just say congrats to not just the loot-winning person(s) but also the song that won it all.

It’s not as rock as their latest album, which features this piece to open things up. It’s also more about Koeda (and maybe Chelly too).

In that sense, the post-Nagi Yanagi era of supercell as studio album publishing entity has taken somewhat of a turn. It’s welcomed because it does feel kind of played out during their second full blown album in which that winning song came from. It speaks more to the strange way supercell went from indie to pro than their creative powers. Well, maybe it always does speak to ryo or supercell’s ability to make music, its melodic arrangements, those drawing sounds of strings that peaks with the vocals and punctuated with rhythmic piano. But since Nagi Yanagi has already release her own studio solo album even before ZigaexperientiaÂ came out, thinking back, Today Is a Beautiful Day simply came out too late? Is this just how it rolls for the tie-in driven, mixed media engine that is supercell?

I guess none of that matters, because in the Anime Music Tournament it sure didn’t feel like people were really deliberating on songs within their finer details. They just voted, because that’s all it matters.

In that sense, the tournament is kind of a sinkhole of information; a lot of it went in, but it didn’t seem to give a result that reflects the information provided. You learn more about the voters and the songs from merely the nomination exercise. There were of course some dark horses or outliers, but in a tournament with 256 entries I don’t think there were even 2.56 dark horses? Maybe just 3? or 2? Certainly none of the top 4 were ranked lower than 10 so it’s all really just a waste of time in that regard.

To take this with a more positive spin, the Animusic Tourney was a great opportunity to wax nostalgic of a certain MAL music club, it’s good to hear from voices who complained about how lame the tournament is, from people who I’ve not heard talking about anime music in a while. And that’s really the best thing I can walk away from, that we have a dorky music tournament to serve as the nails in the coffin of a chapter in one person’s life. But it takes a certain something to pull it off. Can supercell replicate their magic touch? Will Zzeroparticle cry to us playing Tenshi ni Fureta yo?

Anyways, here is the loot list for our winner:

A JAM Project album…probably one of their best-of.
Adolescence of Utena OST
K-ON Season 2 vol 2 BD (Region A?) (This is the best stuff, this.)
Madoka TV DVD (Region 1)
Kira Kira (All Ages)
Random trinkets and one clear folder because, why not.

The second place winner needs to contact me, but he or she will get a JAM Project album…probably another one of their best-of.

Yeah, not kidding, I just have dupe JAM Project albums coming out of wazoo for some reason.

2 comments | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

December 21, 2013

Year in Review 2013: Love Lab Is about Diligence

By omo

April is when I last spent any quality time with Rinko Kobayakawa. The self-titled virtual girlfriend from Love Plus is a neat headtrick: you play a game of maintaining your relationship with a piece of software that runs on a clock. Rather than maintaining your relationship with a pet animal by feeding it, taking care of it, and spending time with it, now you can do the same using your Nintendo DS (or a 3DS in this case, being New Love Plus).

Is this really that different than Natsuo’s stuffed boyfriend? Yes. Of course it’s different. But I want to draw you to the similarity to highlight what I think is the really great thing about Love Lab and what is great about great people: diligence. Oh, mild spoilers on Love Lab ahoy.

A top-tier Love Plus BF has to do at least one thing–spend time playing the game. You’d be surprised, it actually takes a lot of time, and despite that the game in its latest rendition works okay for burst play, and you can always manipulate the clock to your advantage, but it takes time and dedication. An average date is somewhere upwards an hour or more. And you can go to them at least once a week if you are any good. I quit playing, partly because it simply takes a lot of time away from other things I could do that I consider similar in priority–like watching anime such as this Love Lab show.

The story in Love Lab is not particularly interesting except it is framed in a way that makes it interesting. Here we have a girl who is sicken like many of her disposition–with fantasies of romance. Without having actual experience but too much pent-up energy, she ends up pulling in a bunch of other girls who are not so much sick with fancy, but equally curious and seek to have fun with others. The way Love Lab tells its story is through the formation of friendships and the way people come together because someone out there crosses all the Ts and dot the Is, the kind of thing that impresses the valedictorian in an all-girls prep school. It doesn’t come overnight like some of the tricks Natsuo and Maki did to politely rebel against authority or pull a quick one on them. In fact, that they go as far as that is the surprise.

That isn’t the point I want to drive at; it’s a good example of how, when sufficiently cogently woven, the wool over the adults’ eyes will work. Pulling it is typical and expectant of a bunch of kids living in a high-class, high-pressure environment. It’s the essence of a “seishun” type story. Doing it A-Team style is, however, not. Nor the fact that they do so in the name of love. It’s like gaming god master race Keima from Kaminomi who ditches class in the name of ~~love~~video games, except somehow when Natsuo does it, it’s all ~scandalous~. Would it be scandalous to ditch class because you want to get really into the nitpickery details of Love Plus? Would it be scandalous to publish an underground newsletter for your campus to get really into the nitpickery details of romance?

Japan celebrates its diligent men, women and children. Love Lab likewise cooks more likeÂ Alton Brown thanÂ Julia ChildÂ (they don’t call ’em love handles for nothing). Point here is that love comes to all, those who are and those who are not. The issue is about framing it, and when we see these girls work hard to achieve this goal, we get wrapped up with them. That is the rub. A half-assed rebellion is the story some may be more familiar with in the story about Valvrave or Code Geass. Here, the rebels stick their guns towards the individuals that suppresses their wills, not the cultural expectations that both sides abides. Through hard work within the framework and thinking outside of it, the Love Lab members achieve what they want. It’s a rebellion within the rules. Perhaps it’s all a tad too close to that Yamato Nadeshiko spirit kind of thing that some find a little patronizingly misogynistic, but, that too, celebrates diligence.

Year in Review 2013 Index:

Leave a comment | posted in Introspectives, Love Lab

December 15, 2013

Commenting on Koebuta Rush

By omo

So Paranda describes what many seiota have been observing for the past, oh I don’t know, 5 years? I quote:

Seiyuu ended up being divided into two factions by fan opinions. The “jitsuryoku” camp contained seiyuu with true voice ability that get casted based on their own strength. The other camp contained seiyuu tainted with various unflattering speculation: they’re just idols, failed mainstream wannabes, casted from the couch (makura eigyou = pillow trade), they have a monotone voice (bouyomi), they’re only popular because of the agency’s monstrous PR power (gorioshi = Gorilla Push), and so on.

Within all of this bubbling resentment, the word “koebuta” ended up getting thrown around to describe fans that entered into the fandom because of the latter group. What it implies is that they like the idol aspects of seiyuu more than the voice acting.

The ones on the receiving end of the word took it in stride, and some even began calling themselves the term with pride, considering the detractors as elitist old farts. Besides there’s nothing wrong with liking seiyuu for other reasons so who cares?

I tried to leave a comment but his aging blogging software can’t handle the spam so it’s difficult. Besides, blogging the comment instead lets me rant on a little more.

(Let’s just say when I started blogging with this set of categories in 2008 or whatever, the category name “Seiyuu, Idol, Pop” existed, as is, for a reason. Also, all of this applies only tangentially to the other gender side of the fandom, although it isn’t too different. It’s a different can of worms I guess.)

/cracks fingers

The big picture in regards to seiota, at least as a reflection from marketing and fandom, is actually more complicated. Having seen in person more 90s seiyuu idol types in the past few years, it’s very clear that many seiyuu are general “personalities” in the entertainment industry sense of the term. People like Hisakawa Aya or Mitsuishi Kotono can fully be normal idols if they got the right break or if they won their respective gene lotteries; they carry themselves like showa idols. That’s because back then if you are a female and you work this business by acting or singing or whatever, there is just that one way to do things.

[As an aside, massive prop to the original 17yo because she’s able to continue to play the game.]

Today’s seiyuu idol is different than 90s style seiyu idol because what goes for “idol” has changed drastically. Think AKB48. A lot of people in the mainstream don’t think much of the average AKB48 girl, because they are basically simple, hard working entertainers, with as much talent as a girl next door. But that is just a perception–it’s not necessarily the reality of the situation. It’s both a matter of perceived talent (I think Ootsubo, TKTT, Ohashi and Ogura are all very talented entertainers and maybe even voice actors for example, FWIW) and the medium they express themselves, or play out their idol-job-ness-whatever. Today’s seiyuu idol is more down-to-earth, closer to the koebuta touch, but at the same time it shows off their weaknesses and quirks, because after all they are girls next door as far as charm goes. At the same time, because the demand for the overall package is higher, the talent doesn’t have to excel in the primary disciplines as long as she can make it count in other areas. And the more demanding you are on your idols while exploiting them in more facets via more media, more venues to produce the idol, odds are you will get idol talents who are well-rounded but may not excel in the core disciplines of anime voice acting. Well, it’s not to say they can’t do a good job–it’s just a matter of what fans perceive as good.

I mean for every Iwao Junko or Kouda Mariko you have a Satsuki Yukino or Mayumi Tanaka. To me the gap between those people as voice actors are pretty narrow, but some simply just got idol appeal so they got to go a step further career-wise. It’s just how things have always rolled.

Today’s seiyuu idol reflects today’s market reality. In the age of koebuta I don’t really think it is a problem, you know? It’s the same as saying there is nothing wrong with liking Hanazawa Kana or Hikasa Yoko as idols or singers. It’s the same with liking Tomatsu Haruka or Takagaki Ayahi as entertainers, because they are actually good at something, and voice acting is one of those more forgiving occupations where even if you can’t make the cut with RL acting (yeah sorry Kotobuki, you just can’t act), you can still do all right. And it is a great marketing vehicle for these people on the side.

But for the Hasshiis out there, well, good luck.

At the same time, there’s a lot of room for hard stats and context. I wrote what I did with what little that I do know. I think the way the voice acting industry plays out is part of that, as far as seiota factions go. It’s easy to be a certain type of seiota just because there are people, historically, who did it just on the side and you can follow them. But today’s mix media franchises and idol production systems complicate the picture. It’s okay to go all idol on a voice actress I guess, but it’s always a little bit weird to hear a Shindou Kei story or stumbling upon Shikaco’s gravure pics. Or deal with the HiranoÂ AyaÂ nonsense. And I guess that’s the hurdle we have to get over with. I also want to know how these seiyuu idols are typically cultivated. I guess part of that is how seiyuu schools do in terms of admissions and auditions, the pure seiota stuff.

Also, it’s a matter of technology too. Not many showa idols tweet. It’s like the one BIG thing I left out in my Madoka Rebellion write-up: the first 5 minutes of the screening was my favorite 5 minutes of the movie, as the seiyuu cast introduced themselves and the film to the oversea viewers. Giant AIPON OMG HNNNNNG. I bring this up also because thanks to high definition theatrical projection, and my 2nd row seat, I can see the bumps and skin imperfections on these girls with high zoom details. You ain’t gonna get that on your NTSC TV set back in 1989. Not even if you splurged for LD.

To answer Paranda’s question, if he is 60-40 then I’m probably like 90-10, but at the same time I enjoy all the koebuta stuff too, even if it’s to a lesser extent. I mean, HUGE AIPON OMG HNNNNG. The real difference is that I generally don’t like idols in the Momusu or AKB48 sense. I’m more about the White Album style of idols!

Bonus question: what the heck does this mean in the context of Million Live and Cinderella Girls? I mean, it’s like accidentally meta.

1 comment | posted in Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

December 13, 2013

Year in Review 2013: The Junior High Second Year Bridge Across Escapism, New World Disorder

By omo

When I was watching episode 10 of Yuushibu the thought dawned on me: this is about a new world order. If we take the narrative about the lost generation of Japan to heart, the young adults of Japan has to prime themselves to a new reality where job security is an unicorn and living the life their parents do 40 years earlier is just how things not going to be–until they find the wind beneath their wings. It’s the reality today’s Millennial are dealing with in America, but things are trickier out in Japan.

The big picture view is that Asia, on the whole, are still banging out explosive growths. You can say China may have “landed” but it’s still growing hella fast. India is probably going to get caught up. On the other hand Japan is like the edge of a Red Giant, where fusion go beyond helium and into the heavier elements, eventually crunching back into something more suitable for a dying star. I guess things may go to hell if China and India crash hard enough? I guess that’s kind of a grim analogy.

But that’s exactly how it feels for our protagonists who had to swallow their dreams and go live a part-timer’s life working in a big-box electronics store. And in some ways this is what is truly adult about that sort of a story, it’s not about people living their dreams, doing anything they can. It’s about finding out about yourself as you find a place for yourself in the world. Like a good football defense: bend but not break.

In Hatarake Maousama, the story plays itself out differently but the concept is the same. A fantasy big shot learns to be a great McD assistant manager. But here’s the thing: if you make it as a shift manager at a Wal-mart or Best Buy, you can surely make a decent living? It’s a real salary, although you may have to work a lot of off hours. It’s like Yuusha’s job doing customer service for DoCoMo. I don’t know, but some of these jobs are not entirely terrible.

It’s a much more telling story for All A, I guess.

Here’s exactly the thing. Torn between, say, an inaka narrative, where we always give a lot of face for farmers, doing service jobs or even blue-collar type jobs in today’s cities and suburbs just don’t get the same kind of respect, even if said jobs are often much better and preferred than farming. Or any of the traditional arts of the land–brewing sake for example. Unless you got electron microscopes for eyes? I am not sure what makes the disenchanted feel better. However as far as head tricks go, you can do worse than Yuushibu and Hatarake Maousama. You can do worse than Kyon in Haruhi or Goto in Samumenco. You can do worse, only because it’s like everybody is doing it. Log Horizon? Outbreak Company? LOL Maoyu?? Maybe this is me looking like a hammer because everything seems to fit like a nail, but in 2013 everything looks like it.

All of this just goes and point out Yet Another Reason WhyÂ SAO is problematic. It’s the difference between a new world and an old one: it’s a world where the meek conquers the strong as lion rest next to the lamb. As far as fantasies go, it’s a classic, and herbivores sure eat it up. And this is also why nobody is procreating; it’s some new world order.Â (Versus just jamming it in as if you haven’t done it for two years. Virtually.)

And of course, unless you’ve seen Yuushibu up to episode 10, you might not know what I’m even talking about. Let’s just frame it real-quick-like–domesticated devil queen heiress decides to apply big box retail to the demonic world in a stereotypical fantasy hero-versus-maou setting, people think she’s a fool, but the idea comes across brilliantly.

And this is why Love Lab is one hella good anime that y’all should watch.

Year in Review 2013 Index:

3 comments | posted in Hataraku Maou-sama!, Introspectives, Maoyu Maou Yuusha, Modern Visual Culture, Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku wo Ketsui Shimashita.

December 13, 2013

The Sidonia Maneuver

By omo

News broke today when Netflix finally got in the anime simulcast game. I use the term simulcast loosely to describe going direct to Japan to procure this content. Previously, Netflix offered anime content in North America via local distributors and licensees. I’m not sure if an usual licensee is in the mix of this, but so far it seems like a Netflix special.

There are a few other attributes worth noting. First, this is a world-wide stream, and will be dub-localized to their respective regions. We know there will be an EN dub for UK and US/Can. But what about other non-EN regions like Mexico, South America and the rest of Europe?

Second, the PR seems to word it so it implies the whole series will be available in Summer 2014. This seems to mean that it’s not a simulcast as we know it, but a … simul-marathon-cast? Basically, for weekly viewers, the Netflix stream is bullocks. For users who marathon shows, however, this is just as good. It may not make a lot of sense coming from a CR/Hulu type consumption pattern but here at Omonomono I watch anime every ever which way, and it fits the typical Netflix TV consumer pattern–when you put on 24, you want to watch it all.

Too bad this is Knights of Sidonia, not another season of Aria. Oh wait, you probably won’t want to marathon a show like that either.

This reminds me of how simulcasting is a part of the marketing aspect of a show. By doing it after it’s all over you kind of lose part of that marketing impact. I mean if it’s screening the whole three months you get three month of free WOM buzz. Worse, if the show tanks from the Japanese TV airing, now you just have a product nobody is going to bite. And they’re dubbing it!Â I mean when Funimation decided to go all in with Space Dandy, that show has all the creds to be something salable in the long run. I wonder what Netflix is trying here in terms of Sidonia. I’m sure the story (the manga seems my bag of tea, actually, though I’ve yet to read it) is fine, but it’s done by a 3DCG firm so it’s likely going to rattle conventional viewers, as in the people who will be talking up the show before the Netflix stream.

More importantly, who is going to do the home video deal? I guess Netflix could, but LOL? Netflix furthermore has its own original programming agendas. If House of Cards is a guide, then it just means in Summer 2015 Sidonia will be available in all your usual venues, plus some unusual ones (Amazon on demand?). How will it be priced?

Obligatory: How much of this has to do with the Chernin Group buy-in of CR? Heh.

Maybe I should revisit this if Knights of Sidonia is actually any good, because until we know it’s worth watching, this is all just nonsense.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Knight of Sidonia, Modern Visual Culture