How Has Anime Changed Over the Past 15 Years?
Ask John the same question, and you can read his answer.
It is a tough question to tackle, so I felt it was unfair to criticize him behind his back. Rather, I want to supplement his survey of the last 15 years of anime by pointing out some key changes that JP and I (mostly I) felt that was too important to be left out of John’s answer. There are also some erroneous bits, but I’m going to ignore them for now (ie., LOL moe and tsundere in anime predates 1995 kkthx).
Japan, now online: Between 1995 and 2010, cellular phone penetration has skyrocketed in Japan. If you recall Makoto Shinkai’s 5 cm/s, that was a key plot device in the first segment, especially coming into the film as a generation who find their cell phones second-nature. I presume this is how most modern Japanese teens and young adults feel about cell phones. Of course, Japan is this weird place where more people go online and do their internet stuff via cell phones than with their personal computers, so that also means places like 2ch is really a socially important thing today. Let’s not even go into how important 2ch is for anime fans of Japan. And 2ch didn’t officially exist until 1999.
The impact of 2ch on anime is hard to point and cite authoritatively, even if I’m sure we could cite to a bunch of stuff. It is, however, notable as a way for industry folks to gauge and interact with fans. Leaks to 2ch is almost like a marketing tool nowadays. (Kanatagatari’s leak is widely thought of as on purpose, for example.) We have anime and manga made about the Train Man story, which is essentially a national-cultural nod to 2ch. Obviously 2ch gets referenced in anime and manga, too. Still the real impact of 2ch has on anime is on the fans, on the fan industries (read: doujin market), and as a social hub that can make or break a work. Gurren Lagann episode 4 anyone?
And that’s just 2ch. Blogging; Mixi; online stream sites like Nico and Youtube, DTO sites, paid-streams, even the likes of Crunchyroll and foreign-operated licensees all play a notable role in the evolution of anime especially in the latter part of this decade. Pixiv and similar communities fostered growth of talents, even if only in part. It also presented a fan-facing revenue stream, complemented that whole “Comic Market” mentality that, well, we’ll get right to it.
Year In Review: N-Squared List
Just like last year, I guess some things have not changed. This could be a reference.
Animelo Tradition 2009
Like last year, Animelo 2009’s home video isn’t slated for release until early 2010. They’ve finally released the details, and it is similar to last year’s setup–a DVD/BD 2-SKU set.
I wonder if Lantis Fest will ever do something like this… I actually wanted to see that more than Animelo this year.
I might have mentioned this before but I’d like to get my Animelo discs by the Winter holidays because they are like, 4+ hours each, and you get two of them. It takes a while to go through all that concert footage even fast forwarding half the time. Then again it isn’t like I have nothing else to watch… (If all goes well I can instead watch Nana Mizuki’s Seibu Dome live…)
The February release date makes February even deadlier from a”buy more media” perspective. There’s already that Final Fantasy 13 thing but even if I was immune to that, Level 5’s White Knight Chronicles is coming out weeks earlier. Plus, there are a bunch of other stuff coming out that month that aren’t video games…
You have to ask yourself–if watching these shows at home is such a hassle, how does it feel doing it in person? Add in the line con for getting merch and the standing-for-hours and what have you. And back-to-back for some of these folks at the Anisama Live… Sounds fun.
NYAF 2009 Wrap (Once Again, with Feeling)
[Shorter version/prequel here. This post is like, 10 blog posts squished together.]
As much as I care about anime conventions, I don’t attend very many of them. The thing is, they are not exactly the most enjoyable things in terms of time and effort. I see them as opportunities–a chance for fans, once they put in the effort and time and energy and HEART and whatever that forms Captain Planet, to make memories and things you tell your grandkids about. It’s a different question if those kind of fans will end up with grandchildren, but that’s beside the point. The point is, again, it’s tiresome business. It’s not a cruise vacation. It’s about working to make your desires come true.
On the flip side, it’s also a business. What comes to my mind is people like Funimation’s Sheehan, who supposedly attended 6 cons in the past 5 weeks or something as a rep. Regardless if it is for work or for pleasure, that is just madness. Anyways, it’s an opportunity to do business, make some money (especially for dealers and artist alley types), or whatever agenda that you may have and whatever you want to achieve.
In short, there’s a technical, skill aspect and an art to going to cons. Let’s take a look at what happened this year at New York Anime Fest.
NYAF 2009 Wrap Bullet Style
Tired and fatigued, but fleeting memories need made permanent.
- I can probably speak a lot more about the VIP system again, now that I have been one. But it’s definitely a mixed bag. Again.
- Loot.
- Yui Makino is srsbzns and aloof, but she’s got more than what it takes. As both seiyuu and musical artist.
- Tomino, well, speaks his mind, and what’s going on in his mind is something that will take a lot of patience and understanding to get out of it.
- WAH is a load of fun. [I would namedrop everybody AND more, but only in a full write-up. Plz forgive.]
- So is yakiniku.
- AKB48 makes me not want to play idolm@ster. But that…girl with the twintails… she’s my oshimen or w/e. I also like paranda’s take on things. Now just need a freaking image index with names. Also, the rock set was pretty rock-ish. Those I:heart:NY shirts are also p. hawt on them. This might be useful.
- As said, bkub is awesome. *POOL* *POOL*
- Expensive but moe 360 side scroller is moe.
- The flowers? They did nothing.
- Driving in NYC has its perks.
- Oh, yeah, Cenco…rolls.
- Aniplex is out of ammo for the year, I presume.
- Dubbing is improving.
- Relaxed con is really tiring.
- Food makes me happy, perhaps too happy. And sometimes I go to Pinkberry just to get some variety.
- Famous Halal Guys is “yasui” as it is both dinner and breakfast. A must for people curious about midtown food culture and unique eats.
- Random Japanese dealers and vendor in my dealer’s room? VERY MUCH APPROVED! Dealer’s room is boring if you go to a lot of cons, and this is one sure fire way to juice things up. Like, finding Aoi Tada’s indie albums? What the hell, right? Like what’s the odds of that? The odds of me finding that in Tokyo going to random stores is probably astronomically small, as is. And there’s more.
