animemiz’s scribblings..

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Intro/Background

This is my first year participating in the Reverse Thieves Secret Santa Project, this is a cross-anime site blogging experiment that is started by the Reveres Thieves, to promote anime titles that may or may not have been seen by various bloggers participating in what appears to be a second year project for the Reverse Theives.

Each blog initially submits an application with an up to date anime series list on MAL or any other website listing agent. From that list, the blogger is given three anime choices by their secret Santa to see in a two month period. Around the holiday season, put up a review for a chosen anime series.

Initial Reasons

For my choices I was given, Banner of the Stars, Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? and Basilisk. Two science fiction and one historical series… yes two genre I barely touch, one even more so than the other. Basilisk though, I will watch on my own time, but it does reflects a time where the world is filled with themes that I am inherently not too fond of. Banner of the Star is supposedly the sequel to Crest of the Stars.. forget about it! I tried watching Crest of the Stars in college, and it left a confused yet sour taste in my mouth. So unless someone ties me to a chair.. Banner of the Stars is a complete no no.

That leaves Macross: Do you remember love? Several reasons that bumped this choice up.

1. Prior conversation with @hisuiRT
2. Macross is a classic series, that I want to watch try and sample at least to know more.
3. Music is a huge draw for me.. I heard the theme song before I saw the movie, so I finally have it in context.

Review

While I have certainly cut back on my anime watching, in favor of manga reading. This was a good break from reading. So I sat and watched Do You Remember Love… and it was a good movie to sit through, if someone wants to cover their basis to watch a title that made famous the idol singer concept, and is an anime classic for many mecha fans. It should be then a primer material for what fans should watch.

In a post-apocalyptic world where mankind is living in a space ship, they become target of two warring alien civilizations. Hikaru Ichijyo, a space fighter pilot rescues idol Lynn Minmay, and a relationship form between these two. The movie spins off with the mention of a love triangle of Hikaru with Misa, and a race to rescue mankind.

This is a movie that is apparently different, from the original tv series of Macross, and as the animation goes – the art is quite dated. Themes in the movie are also quite dated. There was more of a lesser defined role for females other than several, one being a warrior, two a female devoted to their career giving it up after marriage. I found the target of this movie obviously meant for male viewers.

So other than the fact that there are some themes, that I wasn’t as pleased with. The main thing I obviously found quite attractive to this film is the main theme song, Do You Remember Love (愛おぼえていますか). The descendants of man has forgotten how emotion can affect people, so to just keep this in mind. With suddenly hearing lyrics and the depth of the emotion this song convey, can definitely lead to tears. I have stated my opinion that I liked this song, and a later version of the song sung by the actual singer..

Hearing this song over and over again, makes me realize how much I love anime songs, it is just like listening to JAM Project, and of countless other songs on my iPod devoted to sections of music inspired by or of anime songs.

The mecha aspect thought I am still confused by, so I may not be a mecha fan from this film, but to finally place a context to this song is something that I can place some worth in.

Oh and also since this is my first exposure into the Macross series, I can obviously mention that while it was an okay one. So other than the song, and the movie plot line, I am not motivated. I am reluctant to start watching any more of Macross on the same reason why I never started in the first place. Too much time commitment, and I don’t want to end up stressing myself over it. In spite of how popular, latter seasons of this series is, I know my own bias, and that is to watch everything, so as to understand the series.

Wooooh! Finally just about one of my favorite current titles, on the block of Manga Movable Feast…and yay what a giant this is. This month’s MMF is once again hosted by David Welsh of The Manga Curmudegeon. He also writes a post that links up to past MMF’s which I had participated in four of seven.. and now five of eight.. Happy readings for manga lovers, and interested readers!

One Piece that is by Eichiro Oda, hits the record of outselling Harry Potter in Japan, and the anime/series is probably slated to go on for years. Some comparisons to Dragon Ball were made, down to cross over products, and films. As a fan, though, there are consistent observations, in just how much product and goods there are concerning this series…so what else can I say than to go and make a project of getting into this series, or continuing to be a fan? Going into 55 English volumes, 60 Japanese volumes, and around 400+ episodes, One Piece is such an epic title/journey, that I seriously would encourage any and all to tackle on this series.

I have seen hygiene products, food products, magazine covers, stationary goods, toys, automobile accessories, fashion accessories, and electronic accessories. One Piece covers all types of products.. and from my own collection of manga, art books, shitajikas, figures, DVD’s, CD’s, jigsaw puzzles, electronic accessories, kitchen accessories, I don’t really regret any of it. Even when this blog initially started from around four years ago, it began a small devotion to recapping episodes and purchases made. I even put together a Twitter background recently to push my feelings along.

Background

I am on currently hiatus on watching the anime, and the manga I decided to go on a path of reading two arcs: Waters 7 to Thriller Bark (vol 33-50). I decided to do this for several reasons.

1. It covers characters that I like a lot…namely Robin, Franky, and Brooks. There is also a significant growth to the character of Ussop that definitely raised my impression of him.
2. There are sufficient themes covered, that makes it a well though out process. Up to this point, there was just the journeying/adventuring, but Waters 7 and Thriller Bark has sufficient plot points.
3. Lots of other reviewers in this MMF will be covering other various parts of this long series, I wanted to read a part that made a distinct impression with me.

Just for a bit of a warning, my experience with One Piece is from the anime initially, so reading the manga has definitely made me noticed some details. I am really really glad that Viz did a series acceleration, catching up to the Japanese release, so at this point, the United States is only five books behind Japan. Another warning, this is going to be a post on the assumption that people at least have some knowledge of the series. I don’t believe that I will spoil that much parts of what I have read, but I will probably jump from parts of the series, and all around in general.

Media impressions

Since my initial foray into this series was from the anime, I can definitely say that I have had my eye on the print side of things. During my college years when Shonen Jump began to be sold in the United States, one of the earliest series I read was One Piece, at that time there wasn’t a series acceleration, so reading the manga in English felt way more slower than watching the anime. Still I digress, both mediums have its advantages and disadvantages.

Watching the anime, with a visual action in sight, and the acting talents of the seiyuus. Many people may very well prefer the anime over the manga, but with the manga there are some advantages as well and these are some what I feel are advantages of the anime.

• The manga is the source of what the anime is, so with how visually stimulating the anime is, the manga will always be faster, and so for readers this is an advantage to take in.
• There is an SBS column, where Oda has a question and answer columns, giving insights into the series from his creative or comedic perspective. Comparing this to the columns of Hideaki Sorachi of Gintama, there is definitely more of an organized outline, with the feelings of the mangaka revealed to the world.
• With every chapter title page, there is a mini story within the bigger picture of the manga. In the anime, many characters who’s arcs are finished viewers never really see them again, but Oda definitely is fantastic for building character bases and a clear result of what eventually happens to these characters that gets dropped in the anime. Comparing this with why I dropped Bleach, One Piece has way more developed characters/villians/supporting.

Where to begin?

Walsh has an entry that talks about opinions on where to begin reading. There was a comment that Davy Fights Back might be a good place to start reading this series, yet I disagree with that. I feel that the richness of the adventuring and comradeship is not as really understood if a reader starts from Davy Fights Back, it is already 33 books into the series. So it is my opinion that readers if they want to skip the beginning, start from when the Mugiwara Kaizoku Dan (Strawhat Pirates) leaves East Blue, from Louge Town onward.

Impressions

Waters 7 includes the ending of the Skypiea arc, to the manga filler of Davy Fights Back. Compared to the anime, there were some parts definitely fleshed out, and other parts muted. It was great to see Zolo/Sanji fight in Davy Fights Back, since I was quite reminded with the opening of the anime. I was debating on whether or not I can put the actions of Waters 7 and Thriller Bark into suitable imagery, and decided that it might be more reflected in the openings from this period in the anime.

Davy Fights Back – I am quite glad that the manga is way more shorter than how the anime dragged on. Even if this filler arc was considered to be comedic, I really didn’t care for Foxy, but compared to other villains.. he’s more of a moron. Now as far as the island is, I felt the island was slightly on the ridiculous side of things. Edo in SBS column definitely mentions the toilet possibility of how a character is stuck on stilts for seven years.

Waters 7 – Entering into the island with a goal of repairing Going Merry, exploring a new island is always a fun aspect in my opinion, mainly because reading of the character’s various interactions with the location, and the locals that they meet. I liked how this island is designed with canals and such. There is an actual emphasis on placement and organization in an urban structure. Personally I am am a fan of urban structures and forms of transportation, so with how Drum Island, Alabasta, and Little Garden were, Waters 7 is definitely a city I want to visit. I am continually reminded of the manga series Aria, since both works/places are inspired by the Italian city of Venice. Since Water 7 sets up for Enies Lobby, the duplicity and treachery of villains get reveals later.

Enies Lobby -I am continually on the mindset that Enies Lobby should have been a separate arc. Putting it all into under the category of Waters 7 Arc pushed the arc count up to around 13 books. It is a collector’s quest, so I can only say that the library is the best friend a person can ask for in terms of going on a binge to read this. So if you skip reading the first couple of books, with Davy Fights Back, that would have lessen the amount of reading.

Enies Lobby was also part where I had a tissue box near my hand continually. The pacing was tight, and the action was just right. So I was either wiping away tears or wringing the tissue, (sighs). I really felt that my heart was on my sleeve for the most part during this arc. I am going on a limb to say either this arc or Alabaster that had me believing firmly that Oda is such a great mangaka.

Also up until this point, Luffy had battled foe after foe, testing his abilities with his devil fruits power. This arc sets the stage of moving Luffy’s strengths into the realm of probable disbelief, if he continues to go on his own ability, Oda writes Luffy with the devil’s luck.

Now for the villains in this one, I really really disliked CP9, of course with the consistent idea that the World Government is there for the regular people, makes the world more gray than black and white, very similar to reality. I am not a big fan of hypocrisy, but with Spanda being introduced, I was so totally cheering at the end of Enies Lobby for what happened to him.

Thriller Bark-With Waters 7, Enis Lobby, and post-Enis Lobby out of the way, the growing crew gets onto a detour from traveling onward at the Florian Triangle that reminds me of the Bermuda Triangle, but ends up running in another potential member as well as another battle to overcome. Up to this point Thriller Bark is another arc I simply faced as another location, it is a ship though that is quite big enough to maybe be mistaken for an island, since there is a castle, forest and grave yard on it. Many location in One Piece reminds me of how small humans really are, and overall, the villains in this one are quite detestable. I wasn’t as fond of Perona and it really gave me a huge laugh to see that she gets defeated by Ussop. At points of the crew’s battle with Oz, there are some funny moments. In the end, Gekko Moriah is set to be a making an appearance again in latter chapters.

Volumes to be read, some missing - but later read.

Thus this ends my reading quest for the manga at the moment. One reason why I am on hiatus for the anime, is mostly because of a bad worry at Impel Down. I am lucky that most people I know won’t tell me what happened.But with the American release catching up to the manga in Japan. I am getting into the mindset of reading the manga before watching the anime. Also in December, 2010, Oda will be releasing his latest Color Walk, which is the manga artbook series of this series… which I absolutely am drooling to purchase.

Well this is so soon after my first posting on it, with how fast Twitter moved. The tip list increased…. since this is great as a reminder for self, and maybe others.. I decided to continue to put off that one more draft until a little bit…and… the list has so far gotten up to about 19 tips..  ^_^

So let’s go again..

Deb: manga reviewing tip #9 fr. @LostPhrack: read outside your comfort zone to widen your horizons, consider why you like/don’t like diff. things

Deb: manga reviewing tip #10 fr. @hermanos: “be able to talk about what works and what doesn’t in the art, and (hopefully) explain why.”

There is seems to be some discrepancy in the numbering of 10.. so taking the liberty to just correct and alter this numbering. Then it corrects itself in the tweets.

Deb: manga reviewing tip #11 fr @ProfessorBlind: “a good review scratches an itch. Something about the title must motivate you almost an involuntary response.” (This tip had two tweets – Tweet 1, Tweet 2)

Deb: manga reviewing tip #12: if a first volume doesn’t move you, try waiting for the second before reviewing. it might change your mind.

Deb: manga reviewing tip #13 fr. @hisuiRT “the best reviews look at manga in pieces (as single volumes) & holistically (as a series) you should mention all of the indivual pieces & how they work alone as well as a whole.” (This tip also had two tweets -Tweet 1, Tweet 2)

Deb: manga reviewing tip #14 fr. @jeridel: “reviews that are entertaining, & read characters/stories as metaphors are the most memorable.”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #15 fr. @michaelpinto “don’t be afraid to think big and reference art history, classic literature & asian studies”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #16 fr @BradleyCMeek (kinda) “learn to write by reading all kinds of books. take writing classes to hone your skills”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #17 fr. @Quarteni “include info about the creator, their past titles or similar titles & the intended audience in US/JP”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #18: if you use a grading/number scale, establish what each grade/score means, so you can apply it consistently. [Then there was a corollary] If you give everything a high grade, then you’ve rendered your grading system meaningless.

Deb: manga reviewing tip #19 fr @agdeeds “Don’t write assuming I’m a return reader. It doesn’t help me decide about what you’re reviewing now.”

Yep, so with these wisdom and collaborate learning.. it is great to think about what further discussion can come of this list.

As I read through other people’s tweets, one of my regular tweet follower is About.com’s Manga Guide Deb Aoki among other manga blogger tweeters (yuricon, magicalemi, ed, per, tiamat’s etc.)

Recently Deb posted on Twitter, an umbrella and discussion posing on what tips are there.  So the focus, of that grain of thought is audience and seeing who is receptive to what you are talking about.

Right now I figure it would be better to list down what Deb Aoki and other relevant tweets actually said, before it gets lost in the crush that is Twitter-verse. This brings to my mind on how tangible new media is, so there should be feedback and discussion on what is tangible like Twitter tweets. Slight warning since I believe the main conversation began a while ago, so I will be listing tweets out of order, but in a relatively readable, recordable format.

I agree with this tweet by @mbeasi earlier, since I usually do the same thing.

Mbeasi: @manga_critic @debaoki @danielle_leigh1 I think the reason having so many sites/reviewers covering the same books is valuable is that…

Mbeasi: @manga_critic @debaoki @danielle_leigh1 there is so much range in style & focus. That’s why I’ll read 5-10 reviews of the same book, y’know?

This part of dialogue began or continued the vein of what Deb’s purpose is as an editor/reader.

Deb: @mbeasi @manga_critic @danielle_leigh now that i’m editing other ppl’s reviews, i ended up asking myself, ‘what makes a review good?’

Deb: @mbeasi @manga_critic @danielle_leigh i find i enjoy reading reviews by writers who inject some personality, unique POV in their prose.

Deb: RT @johannadc “I summed mine up in How to Review post: http://bit.ly/5qfvl7 “
(I think this is relevant to @edsizemore, since it is from Comics Worth to be Read)

This is a list of what Deb compiled, and with some suggestions from the rest of us tweeters.

Deb: manga reviewing tip #1: “Did you like it or not? I should have some idea whether it’s worth buying or not after reading your review”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #2: “grab my attention in the first 1-2 paragraphs & give me a reason to keep reading, or I’ll just click away.”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #3: “write like you’re having fun, not writing a term paper.”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #4: “yes, by all means tell me what the story is about — but can you skip the rehash of the entire book?”

Then a pause, while Deb calls for others to chime in.

Deb: i gave 4 “manga reviewing tips” earlier today. anyone else want to share theirs? (to find ‘em, search for “manga reviewing tip”) via Twitter Search.

Then back to the list….

Deb: manga reviewing tip #5 from @animevice: you are giving your informed opinion, not coming to a scientific conclusion everyone must agree with.

Deb: manga reviewing tip #6 from @aicnanime: “you don’t need to talk to it, but know manga’s context; its home anthology specifically.”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #7 from @animemiz: “Suggest read-alikes in your review. What type of reader are you?”

Deb: manga reviewing tip #8: remember that not all of your readers may be aware of Japanese/geek lingo, acronyms & in-jokes

So yes this is a continuing list mentions this -

Edsizemore: @debaoki Seriously Deb, you need to put these all together as a post and expand on each a little more. This is too good to leave to twitter.

Before it gets too late, I’ll leave this with Edsizemore’s amusing tweets on the machine that is Twitter.

Edsizemore: @debaoki You could have fooled us. I would hate for all this wisdom to get lost in the twitter archives.

I have never played any of the other games in this series, and wonder if I i’ll get spammed or censored for even mentioning about this game.. but it was an all right game. There were some memorable parts.. and 12 endings to finish the game, with the usual collection of images and movie screens. Some characters had multiple endings, while others had only one ending. In a scneario that was very much like Ranma 1/2 is the underlying premises of this game, would Kaoru end up as a girl or go back to being a guy?

I guess my favorite female in this game would be Sakuya while my favorite guy is Touya. Kaoru does have several endings and positions with these two characters. There are also a lot more other sexual positions or events..in the other stories.. so let’s not say anything else. Next ero game when mood stricks again to play it would probaly be finishing either Absolute Obedience or finishing Kana.

After promotions and plugs on Anime News Network, Japanator… this news piled up on my RSS feeds of Google Reader until I found out about this event on Thursday evening. On a whim I decided to go to the screening of Mamoru Oshii’s new animated movie: The Sky Crawlers スカイ・クロラ. None of my friends actually wanted to go, but I was able to meet up with Omo who was there with his friend. I also saw Rym from GeekNights as well. This event was held at the Walter Reade Theater… which was next to Julliard, getting there was quite annoying with the scaffolding. Read more…

Finally!!!!! I truly feel like I want to grab this anime and smuggle down with it…! Uhh…what I meant to say was that this is anime is possibly going to the anime that I will watch for the Spring season. Read more…