The Nutbladder Ranking: 2010-02
February is 2 days too short I think. It’s jam-packed and I could use that extra time…at least so I can make more progress on the UC Gundam backlog. (I’m holding off on Unicorn until The Time Is Right. Even if that usually means RIGHT THIS MOMENT.) So much stuff, so little time. Let’s get on to it.
[Just to recall, this is just a list of things I found notable during this month.]
The Nutbladder Ranking: 2010-01
I always wanted to do some kind of ranking thing, because it’s fun to express what you feel about the stuff you like (ie., anime) in new ways, and ranking provides an overt framework to express yourself. It’s like a game where you roleplay some nutty critic. Unfortunately I also despise the trapping that any ranking system comes with. I always thought to myself (usually after feeling the want-of-rank) that I could just personify the anime or whatever in Pani Poni Dash (or for the newfags among us, Bakatest) with a short list of arbitrary stats. Kanokon could be something like “Breasts: 4, Trope subversion: 3, Licensed dub possibility: 2″ or something. For another example, Tsukihime anime could be “Existence: 0, Faithfulness to source: 2, Moon Princess: 4.”
Isn’t this fun? (Possibly NSFW pic after the jump.)
The Stuff I Like, the Stuff You Like
There is this post on Jtor which basically copies from some other site (NSFW?) which copies from 2ch about that there are two types of anime otaku, and what they look for in an anime. And then there’s a response from a Japanese site which talks about the posts on Jtor and SC. It’s a weird circle of communication in which I’m hoping will make into a full circle yet again by having somebody (me?) posting on Jtor to discuss this.
But before I (or hopefully someone else) do that, maybe we can discover something more substantive about the nature of the Western anime fan-beast, in contrast with the Japanese variety. Let me reproduce the list of criteria here–
Type A
- A person who simply enjoys “anime.”
- Is proud of Japan’s anime.
- Evaluates anime based on direction, voice acting, art, etc.
- Hates shallow anime with no real content.
- [Plot] emphasis >>>>> Moe anime.
- A recent example would Higashi no Eden. Fans of anime who like Lain or Ghost in the Shell would probably be this kind.
Type B
- A person who simply enjoys “characters.”
- Will watch an anime if it includes cute or beautiful characters.
- Doesn’t care if story is awful, as long as the characters are of interest.
- Evaluates anime based on which seiyuu are in it and what the characters look like.
- Loves moe elements. Doesn’t like complex anime.
- The otaku the media picks up on are usually this kind.
- Doesn’t know that much about anime and so is often criticized by Type A otaku.
- However, they make much better customers than the more discerning Type A otaku.
- People who like K-ON!, Queen’s Blade, Strike Witches and so on would be in this class.
- Recently there has been a huge increase in anime targeted at Type B otaku.
Seems pretty simple, besides the one change I made. However the picture in the west is cloudy because anime fandom is significantly more insular and strongly branded than in Japan, I believe. During the blooming years, there were people who consumed anime just because it was anime. ADV’s now infamous slogan (”STRAIGHT FROM JAPAN!”) pretty much hits it on the spot. And after all there are no such things as a Japanese weeaboo.
But even if we discount the “Cool Japan” influence, I am sure there are still a lot of people who are interested in anime and manga, because they tell very different stories, targeted to teenagers and young adults, than what is available in the west (especially in American, I believe). The boom of manga in big box bookstores of America is evidence enough.
It’s much the same in Japan, I suppose, that there is a bundling of two philosophically different types of anime fans. In some ways the 2ch distinction is half-trolling, so we can’t take it too seriously; but all good trolls incorporate at least a modicum of truth in their statements, so let’s look at that. In interest of length let me just bullet them–I’m going to just basically combine what is said for type A and type B to draw some statements that are more universal.
- Persistent characterization is content that is often missing in western works for young adults and teens in the west, but it is a strong draw of manga and anime.
- Cuteness is not an aesthetic cherished by western culture, let alone popular media, past the pre-teen segment. In contrast, Japan is all about the cute (and later on expanded by moe and related stuff).
- Fans evaluate anime usually on bifurcated layers–conceptual and superficial. The best example of this is Ponyo, which is conceptually average but visually jaw-dropping awesome. For some, a strong plot is a must-have (why are battle manga and things going to Koushien becoming gag tropes?), others care more about theme, production value, aesthetics, and context.
It is probably fair to say that most Western fans operate within these spaces, at least in my own experience over the past decade or so. It’s a little more perplexing trying to apply these principles to explain the appeal to me of four shows this season. So lets.
Seikon no Qwaser - actually, this entire class of violent and pornographic anime, dating back from the 80s and onward, is something that made anime both world-famous yet hard to approach. It also slowed anime’s gain in mainstream from the get go, since “violence and porn” was what some early adapters of the west thought of Japanese animation well into the late 90s. It probably doesn’t fit with type A or type B fans per se, but it does for type C fans, who embraced anime because it was simply different, controversial, and clearly cartoons not for kids (C is for “Cool Japan” types). At the same time, these sorts of anime also embodies other characteristics found in less violent and sexualized works, such as distinct characterization of its leads, fantastic settings, or outright regurgitation of some western lore for superficial purposes. Vampire Hunter D comes to mind, yeah? As a character driven mystery with action and shocking scenes, colored by an European-inspire set of aesthetics, I think Qwaser fits the bill pretty well superficially. To that end, we can think about Queen’s Blade, D, Qwaser, and others like them as thin on plot (although at times thick on intrigue).
So Ra No Wo To - Sora no Oto is more a hybrid creation than what it lets on. This is a good beginning to explain its uniquely Japanese appeal. It is truly authentic “Japanese” if you will, rather than simply what is known as weird or edgy or exotic. On the other hand, the weird, edgy and exotic is attention-grabbing, and an anime about nothing much except its healing properties (albeit in a weird and exotic setting) is probably less so. Think to yourself: will a mainstream audience enjoy this show? They will probably be bored to death first. But just like Qwaser, Soranowoto also exhibits an overt attempt at characterization and a distinct visual appeal, like many other anime. To use a different example, 2ch’s type A otaku might have a less difficult time agreeing with type B otaku on Denno Coil’s appeal, except that type B people won’t find it visually absorbing or nitpick at the theme, and type A people will grumble about the plot, or stupid kids, or something along those lines. In other words, it has some objective merit on its own. Likewise, the setting and production value in Soranowoto are remarkable to say the least…and the jury is out for the rest of the show, as we are only 3 episodes in.
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu - As with a large number of manga/light novel turned anime in the past decade, there is a concerted effort from manga creators to appeal to a large number of readers. This is particularly true with works from competitively circulated serialized magazines, where success depends on amassing as many type A and type B fans. Due to the nature of Japanese TV anime, the end result tends to shift a tad more towards type B than type A, but we can see that concerted effort in Bakatest regardless. Take a tried-and-true formula of high school battle with virtual avatars, add in your tropes, mixed up with theatrics and comedy, and the end result is something different yet so familiar. The mix-a-trope description isn’t an entirely fair thing to call any anime (even if anime tends to be very trope-focused), but somewhere in that concoction is a very plot-driven narrative, and that’s what most type A fans crave.
Hanamaru Yochien - This is an anime made in the disguise of a for-the-family comedy. In reality it is laced with that controversial aspect–the eroticism of child-like characters. Of course, most of the time in any anime, the notion of that knowledge is just tongue-in-cheek. In Hanamaru’s case, it goes nowhere even that far; perhaps just a step beyond typical toilet humor. The appeal of Hanamaru, for the most part, is simple but strong characterization coupled with appropriate humor. Much like a similar and well-heralded comedy Azumanga Daioh, the “in the know” factor adds a humorous, albeit darker edge to the jokes. As one would expect, the rest of the show’s production and designs help to accentuates these elements in the story. Admittedly that alone may not be enough for most type A audience; at a glance it is an anime with childish humor. But for those who may enjoy either the aesthetics or the hidden edge to the jokes, there is something to be enjoyed. That said, I’m not sure that characteristic can be fairly associated with type A or type B otaku.
You get the idea. It’s like calling Psgels a type A and Kurogane a type B. But in reality they’re not that different.
The Game in the Anime, the Anime in the Game
While I disagree with his take about Bakatest, there’s a side point that has been cooking for the past couple decades. I rarely see anyone talk about it, so maybe it’s time to bring it up.
Let’s start with the term “moe blob” as a debased term. (And I love you Nayuki, don’t take this the wrong way!)
Have we ever considered the doujin-soft game Glove on Fight, which is a full-on parody in nature, the kind of forerunner of the modern insult? The original promotional flash video drives home the idea of the game pretty well, that you have your standard 8-pack of popular bishoujo characters in a fighting game. Well, that’s just combining two otaku pastimes, one could say. But a boxing game? With the kind of design exaggeration you can see above?
Glove on Fight is an easy pick because it is an extreme exaggeration. Super deformity has its root in manga and anime as comedic, light-hearted things, but GOF is not quite your standard SD-ness. It operates within the same visual/iconic vocabulary as SD (note that the eyes are small, near-perfect circles) but the characters express themselves appropriately, fitting for a fighting game.
The turn of the century marked a major rush of getting manga and anime visuals crammed into our Japanese video games. Well, it’s not an exact mark, as the concept has been around for ages. It is only until the Playstation era that we had graphical hardware and advances in production techniques to make it notably more cinematic, more like an anime. Final Fantasy 7 is a good example. Before then, it was present, but largely in that SD form in which we are familiar with almost on a genetic level.
I say “genetic” level because people who grew up in the 80s are probably familiar with these concepts at a young age; the evolution of these manga-style icons matched the evolution of the bodies and souls of that generation of people. Games like the very original Super Mario Bros used SD emoticons to express simple concepts (like being stomped on is bad). It’s so pervasive that even some of us brute Americans understand what X_X means, loosely.
At any rate, what I wanted to say is that Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu brings that visual style, that “Disgaea” feel (which is trying to cop a manga/anime style), to an anime. It’s like a double regurgitation. It’s like watching not just a trailer video for Glove on Fight, but an anime based on Glove on Fight. I mean, Disgaea is like a sprite-based game, but Bakatest uses their “game” video as a 3d/2d rendered thing that they can crunch out (without actually doing the 2D animation stuff, perhaps). Just so it gives a feel that it’s like a video game. It’s different technology, and there are differences in the visuals, but it’s the same visual representation.
I wonder what would an anime that is suppose to feel like a chapter in Sakura Taisen would feel like. I guess that wouldn’t be any different? In which ways could an anime adaptation of a video game or manga visual aesthetics feel sufficiently like a newly invented thing? This is the finer points about an adaptation that ought to get talked about more…
