A weekly look into American otaku culture

Back from the convention, and time for me to get re-acquainted with my good friend, Ichigo.

“Satsuki, you see, a few days ago… My parents bought me a video camera for Graduation. I was happy, and I wanted to film a lot of things. So I when I saw you there, I thought it was nice, so I started filming.”

You see, one of the reasons why this series is so good is because Junpei is a really nice and caring guy. He’s not going after these girls because he finds that strawberry panties are sexy. He saw a girl so beautiful that it hit him right in the heart. It’s not lust that drives him, it’ love.

However, the guys that are driven by lust and perversion make great comic relief, and I think they do better in the anime then the manga. Junpei’s ugly friend Komiyama has been great since the very first episode, but this time we’re introduced to the perverted Hitoshi. It must have something to do with the voice acting, or maybe the animation just breaths life into these hollow characters from the manga

And along the same lines, Satsuki also improved over her manga counterpart. She was always my least favorite of the Ichigo girls. To me, she just didn’t seem to be nothing more then a big breasted slut. Constantly hot-headed and flaunting her sexuality at Junpei. It even seemed to be torturous at times with how close he actually gets to having her.

But when I watched this episode… I actually started to like her. It’s the way that she accidentally slipped out a confession like that to Junpei that finally gave this girl a heart. She seemed a little shocked at first, but when she finally realized it, she was so happy and open with the idea. She really likes Junpei, and you gotta give her credit for that. Unlike other characters…

I’ve been having a little debate with Mina over the flaws in Aya’s character, and this just proves it more. It’s okay to shy about things, but Aya is just way too much of a mystery for me to handle. I’ve read 14 volumes of the manga, and I still don’t have a f***ing clue just what that girl is thinking about! But in a way, this is the fault of the artist. Yes, it’s not like she’s the only girl who never admits that she likes Junpei, but at least you’re able to step into the minds of the other girls to see what they really think. The artist never does so with Aya. The only clues that she gives are either really ambiguous or becomes entirely contradicted not long afterwards in the storyline. So maybe this whole series is just one large set-up for her grand confession. But Christ, is it worth over 15 volumes of waiting?!?

New Shows

So I ended up seeing some good anime on Saturday night to Sunday morning. Tenjho Tenge has fantastic action and comedy. I wish it had as much sex as the manga so that I could rank it up as being a great “guilty pleasure” anime. On the completely opposite end, I also saw Magical Meow Meow Taruto. Oh my god, it was sooooo cute! I know that it was made for little kids, but it just had so much cuteness that I loved it so much. Hmm… maybe that can be considered a guilty pleasure, huh?

Hentai Dubbing

But then on Saturday night I attended the “Dick & Buster’s Hentai Dubbing” panel with my girl and most of my club. There’s nothing funnier then having a room full of college kids laughing about how ridiculous hentai is. We all applauded such lines as “I think my dick is stuck to my pants,” or, “That smell… this truly is the anal smell of the heavens!” And that was what was on the DVD, not what people adlibbed. Hahahaha. But the best part was that one of my club members went up with the porno name P. Dicky and improved just what the male star of the hentai would say if it was his first time seeing an ass before. It was hilarious, and I suggest that everyone attend this panel when it goes to a convention near you.

State of the Anime Industry

So on Sunday all the reps got together and talked about what was going on with the US anime industry. Here are some of the points they brought up that I found very interesting:

• Fansubbing is still messing things up as far as DVD sales go. If people have already seen the show, they’re less likely to buy the DVD. However, you still see big sales in the manga and merchandising departments for such shows. I personally feel guilty about this little fact, and I’m seriously planning on picking up my two favorite fansubs, DearS and Girls Bravo, when they come out soon.
• TV exposure will be the best way to get the product legally out there to the masses. That’s true in Japan as well as Stateside. We’re seeing a lot less OVAs coming out now because the anime DVD market it started to decline in Japan. That’s why they’re pulling these stunts like censoring stuff on TV so you will the “uncut” version on DVD. But in the US, DVD seems like the only option to see a show without pirating. So with more TV exposure, there will be less off a need to overcharge the DVDs. That’s the direction they’re heading for right now
• The US anime industry works with the comings of “gateway anime.” That is, anime that’s been heavly americainized to reach a large audiane, becomes really popular, then fans discover it’s from Japan and gets interested in other Japanese animation. They cited such shows in the past like “Sailor Moon” and “Pokemon.”
• They’re predicting that the next “gateway” will be coming soon, and it will Naruto. If this is correct, then I think that we’ll be seeing a new resurgence in the way anime is considered in the US, and thing will only get better. ^_^

And so ended my second Anime Boston convention. While this year appeared to be more business then pleasure to me, I still had a lot of fun. I got to involve myself I little bit more into the medium I love, and I think I did make some connections that are going to benefit me in the future. On Sunday right before we left, I stopped by the Anime Gamers booth in the dealers’ room and looked at their Di Gi Charat stuff. The guy from Synch-Point looked at me, smiled, and said, “Scott, right?” I really have a feeling this is the start of something big for the anime industry and me.