In the past, I have shared my thoughts on why people get bullied or fans get labeled as an otaku or a nerd just because he/she enjoys Anime. However, I have never gone through the reasons why some people are against Anime despite its popularity in the west ranging from the stigma surrounding 2D animation, different cultural/political views and being introduced to the wrong shows that give one a bad initial impression.
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Editorials
Thoughts about Self-Insert and Featureless Characters – Do they Ruin Anime, Video Games, etc.? It Depends
In the past, I have shared my thoughts on why male lead characters tend be weak-minded. Just recently, an interesting discussion about self-insert characters has popped up at AnimeSuki, which intrigued me. It makes me wonder if this is the reason most male characters are portrayed as such in Anime and other forms of media.
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All Work and No Pay – Being a Japanese Animator is Tough
Just little over five years ago, I have done some research on how the Anime industry works and of course, I have only covered the surface. Shirobako, which started airing back in October of last year. Not only it reveals how anime is produced, but also blew open some of the internal issues in the industry, especially in regards to the animation studios.
With that, I will be focusing on animator’s wages, working conditions and its implications on the industry as a whole. Also, what steps should the industry take to deal with these issues?
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Production Values and Anime – Is “Let’s Fix it in the Blu-ray Release” a Bad Excuse for Lack of Quality?
Animation quality is one of the aspects of Anime that viewers tend to judge first hand when determining how good the production values are for a show. The sad fact is that animation mistakes regardless of the studio are bound to happen. Animation studios work on a very tight schedule and because of that, they might not have enough time to check every key frame before having to give the finished episode to the station to air. As a result, these errors usually get fixed later on, namely for the Blu-ray/DVD release.
To me, I think it is always in the best interest for the animation studio to make them not too noticeable and then fix it while enhancing some scenes in the final release. However, what implications will arise if studios decide to take advantage of this fact and air a half-finished product to entice people to buy the physical releases? Let’s find out.
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Year in Review – Reflecting Back on Anime Blogging for 2014
Since everyone have finished celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or any other holiday during December, the end of the year is coming and it’s time to reflect back on Anime blogging for the year of 2014 as a whole along with any goals and changes I have in store for the new year.
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Best and Worst Anime of 2014
It’s almost the end of the year and since I have shared my thoughts on what games I enjoyed in 2014, I will focus on the top 5 shows that I enjoyed and completed during the year.
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12 Days of Anime for 2014 and Merry Christmas
Ever since I started this blog, I shared my 12 Anime moments that happen during the year as a tradition. Since I don’t feel like writing twelve individual posts before Christmas, I decided to do it in one shot.
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Reminiscing about Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire – Memories and Favorite Aspects
It has been over 10 years since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire released in America. Even though Generation III was not my favorite generation, there were many aspects that I liked. Since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire releases tomorrow, the best way to share my anticipation for the new remakes is to look back at the original games and share some memories I have with it.
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Thoughts about the 2D Animation vs. 3D/CGI debate with Anime
A recent episode of Shirobako has brought up an interesting topic regarding the whole 2D Animation vs 3D Animation/Computer Generated Images debate and how should Anime be made. This issue was so controversial that it almost pushed Endou to quit (besides Tarou’s incompetence).
The 2D vs 3D/CGI debate has been a passionate one for the fact that most Anime have 2D animation. As technology improves, animation studios might be eager to adopt 3D/CGI as a way to make it flashier while cut production costs. By doing so, something gets lost in the process, which is why this debate is so passionate not only to fans, but people who work in the industry.
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Thoughts on Tastes and Why There is No Such Thing as Good/Bad Taste
For a long time, I avoided sharing my views on how people view tastes in Anime since it is a controversial issue in the fandom. While some anime bloggers shared their thoughts on the issue, there are many reasons why I do not subscribe to the view there is such thing as good/bad tastes.
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Is Learning Japanese Really that Easy? It Depends…
It has been nearly three years since I began teaching myself Japanese. Sure, it’s not an easy process as it took a good amount of effort, practice to start understanding. So far, I can understand a good amount with a dictionary.
Just the last past week, a post by 10bit has caught my attention as he thinks that learning Japanese is a lot easier than everyone thinks. However, I have mixed feelings about his post not because he didn’t really list any starting points, but for the fact that not everyone will have the same experience.
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The Glass Shatters – Why Glasslip is the Most Disappointing PA Works Show Yet
I admit that PA Works (Progressive Animation Works) is one of my favorite studios besides Kyoto Animation not because of the high production values, but rather the types of shows they come out. The studio is more known for its original productions, some that I actually enjoyed.
After watching Glasslip, I was deeply disappointed and wondered to my self, why did it fail? It’s odd considering that they played it safe with a premise that they can’t possibly mess it up. Ultimately, we are proven wrong.
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Bullying and Generalizing People for Liking Anime and/or Video Games
In the past few weeks, I have witnessed a lot of bullying and name-calling shaming people who play or enjoy video games. It’s true that people tend to judge people depending on tastes and their hobbies such as people who like Anime since it’s a niche medium. Because of this, people who are not familiar with it will likely hold an ignorant, distorted or uninformed view on it and generalize them to a certain stereotype or label.
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Secrets to my Writing Style
Earlier this year, Kai shared how he comes up with new posts. Personally, coming up with new ideas for editorial posts is usually the hard part since it requires some effort to come up with topics and remembering them. Also, I will share what I use to write and edit posts.
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Thoughts about Japan’s crackdown on Anime/Manga Piracy and How they should deal with it
Just last month, the Anime and Manga Industry have started to crack down piracy of Anime and Manga. While I believe that these creators should get the credit they deserve and the industry made some progress in doing so with legal streaming sites, there are still some shortcomings, especially in regards to Manga. I think there are ways to fix it that would benefit the industry rather than fighting an endless battle on piracy.
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Hanayamata and Portrayal of Foreigners in Anime
When I watched the first episode of Hanayamata, I wondered how foreigners are portrayed in Anime stereotypically. I think there are several reasons why authors/creators decide to do so in their works.
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Changing Views on Legal Streaming and Decline of Episodic Blogging
For a while now, I have noticed a downward trend in the blogosphere since 2012 as episodic blogging is coming out of favor with bloggers either giving blogging or forego other types of content such as essays, analysis and reviews. With Hanner’s Anime Blog throwing in the towel just a few months ago, I wonder if episodic blogging has outlived its usefulness in an age where legal streaming is widespread. Furthermore, I think there are better ways to present an analysis rather than share than in 12 separate posts.
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Anime – Is it just an Advertisement for the Source Material?
Just recently, I shared my thoughts on why Game Freak should finally revamp the Pokémon Anime. While reading through some of the comments, I thought to myself if Anime is really a gloried infomercial or advertisement for a source material. If that were the case, would Anime necessarily lose creative merit because of this?
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Atelier and the Art of Time Limits and Time Management
Ever since I regained my interest in Japanese Role Playing games back in 2012, besides the Tales of games (so far, I played some of Graces f and finished Hearts), I decided to give some of the Atelier games a try. When I started playing it, it differed from other Japanese RPGs not because it focuses less on combat, but rather more on the time management aspect. After playing five games from the franchise, I wonder what lessons I learned along the way in order to use the in-game time efficiently.
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The Stale State of the Pokemon Anime – Should Game Freak Finally Revamp the Anime?
Pokémon was one of the first shows besides Miyazaki films that helped me gain an interest in Anime. While I remained a fan of Pokémon (or Pocket Monsters) since my childhood, I gradually lost interest in the Anime in the mid 2000s because it got dull and bland.
After watching and reviewing Pokémon the Origin special late last year and reading this controversial thread on Bulbagarden Forums, I have a feeling that Game Freak should revamp the Pokémon Anime to be more like Origins and make Satoshi age or change the protagonist every few years.
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Fandom Rivalries and Fanboys – Are They Harmful to the Anime Fandom?
In the past, I shared my thoughts about the Anime Fandumb where fans become obsessive to the point where they berate people. Of course, there is another ugly aspect of the fandom that I haven’t touched upon: fandom rivalry and fanboys.
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Backlogging Video Games and Visual Novels – Why do we keep buying them without completing?
Last year, I have shared my thoughts about my Anime Backlog. While I haven’t backlogged many shows in the past year, I admit that it’s a bad habit. Besides Anime, this habit also extends to video games since many people like myself want to play the latest games, particularly Japanese RPGs despite not beating a game at least once. This makes me wonder, why do people continue to build up a big backlog of video games by buying new ones despite not making an attempt to finish them?
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No Game No Life and the Art of Gaming
After watching the first episode of No Game No Life, it intrigued me because I play a lot of video games. Sure, I enjoy the various references they make to Anime and Video Games along with the characters. What interested me more is how Blank manages to win every game despite coming close to losing. While the games are not necessarily deep, there are many aspects in gaming that contribute to their victory, which is not noticeable by most viewers. (Image Source)
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Defining Introductory Anime – What shows would you recommend to First Time Viewers?
Like most fans, not everyone gain an interest in Anime overnight. With that, I have been wondering what kind of shows will catch a person’s attention for people who haven’t watched Anime. Of course, people have different tastes, which makes it somewhat difficult to pick what show you should recommend. (Image Source)
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