Managing Expectations to Maximize Anime Enjoyment

October 17th, 2007

So. I’m watching Nanoha StrikerS and two of my chief minions, Serge and Sean, keep telling me how much the fandom hates it. Apparently it is not epic enough, or loli enough or Yuri enough or something else enough. Or too much of all of the above. Or something else.

One of the most laughable complaints was that it wasn’t as incredible as the first season. Apparently the folks who agreed with that had forgotten (or perhaps were unaware) that the first season was a blantant ripoff of Card Captor Sakura. Nanoha was conceived of quite specifically as a “magical girl” series for guys,  as opposed to the audience of girls towards which CCS was targeted. With the usual retrofitting that goes on in fans’ heads that the first thing, the last thing, the anything-other-than-what-I-am-watching-now, was SO MUCH better, fandom hated StrikerS. (Go ahead, ask any fan what their favorite con was, and I guarantee that most of them will tell you that it was the first con their were at, without realizing it. “This con was so much better then” they will say without irony, not recognizing that it is they who have raised their expectations, wanting every year to somehow be as amazing as that first time, when they were new and it was all exciting.)

I don’t read forums. I don’t care about fandom. I enjoyed the hell out of StrikerS and hope it comes to DVD soon, so I can marathon it on a big screen with extra speakers. ^_^

The new You’re Under Arrest Full Throttle premiered, and once again, forum fandom panned it, I was informed. Not Yuri enough (No, really? That’s because it isn’t a Yuri series, duh!) Not something something enough. Or too much. I thought it was *exactly* what one would expect from YUA. Ridiculous chases, strong bond between Miyuki and Natsumi, absurd plot holes and “you can do it” ending. Call me crazy, but it looked just like You’re Under Arrest to me.

And then I read Zyl’s post on YUAFT. And suddenly, it all made sense.

Before I go into my moment of satori, I want to tell you a true story. I have a friend who was a big anime fan. But slowly, his involvement in anime fandom wore him down. He is a very sensitive, smart guy and a deep thinker and the constant barrage of stupidity in forums and lists ate at him. And then anime itself betrayed him by being insipid and tedious. He kept looking for an anime that made him think and wasn’t for the lowest common denominator. After a few that had potential turned out to be crap, he gave it up entirely.

Here’s the moral of the story: He had ridiculous expectations. Of *course* he was going to be disappointed, because anime is entertainment for masses of fans, not high art. Sure, once in a while a show that is significantly better than the rest will appear – and usually the masses will hate it, or not understand it, or just go “buh?” “Lowest Common Denominator” means something – it’s not just a phrase.

So here is my moment of satori. When Zyl quoted Galadriel’s monologue at the beginning of his post, I realized why I can enjoy anime when my friend can no longer. And why I LOVED StrikerS when fandom generally hated it. Or why I thought Simoun was brilliant when most of the people who watched it gave up by episode 3 because they didn’t understand it. Or Mai Otome when it was a stupid fanfic of the angst-heavy original.

Because I have no, or low, expectations.

It’s cartoons. It’s comics. This is time-sink entertainment. For *fun*.

I don’t go into any series – especially sequels, which in every media have historically been ass as compared with the original anything – assuming it will be anything at all, much less as good or better than whatever has come before it. And as animation, tropes of the genre, character design and fan expectations change over time, when we’re talking something like YUA, or Bubblegum Crisis, it’s absurd to assume that the new version can even be compared with the original. They are, essentially, two completely different things and should be approached as two completely different things. If it turns out to be on par with the original, well good. If not…oh well. The question one should ask is – is it at least good for what it is?

IF an anime or manga rises above the muck to attain something special, great. But it seems totally silly to *assume* that any particular anime will. (Fans who came to Yuri through Utena are especially prone to this kind of cognitive dysfunction, because that anime was so unique, there’s darn little that will even approach that kind of surrealism. In a sense that was what happened to my friend. he kept looking for the next Utena and when every other anime turned out to be tripe, he felt burned.)

But Utena was an exception – Galaxy Angels is the norm. “Service” serves the socially/sexually/emotionally immature and/or dysfunctional who are – no matter how many times we deny it – still a large portion of the anime audience.

To preserve my enjoyment of anime, I avoid forums generally, and series-specific fandoms at all costs. People get really freaky about things and it does burn one out. But, I also weigh each anime I’m watching on the greater scale of “For what it is – how good is it?” So something like Strawberry Panic for a parody, was very successful and after I got the stick out of my ass, I was even able to enjoy it for what it was. Simoun was a unique look at a complex society, was also very good and I was able to enjoy it because of what it was. Ditto StrikerS (action-adventure magical girl for moe fans) and Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora (recycled crap from Kaishaku strung together by a series of fetishes and a thin plot.)

I’m not saying that you should lower your expectations. I’m just saying that I think that I’m still watching anime with pleasure after more than ten years because 1) I avoid fandom in general, and; 2) I manage *my* expectations. ^_^

And that was my moment of satori.

Before I end today’s ramble, I want to share with you one more thing. In a few months, I will be doing my Top Ten Yuri countdowns, but the best anime of the year won’t be on them, because it is not Yuri in any way at all. So while we’re talking about managing expectations, I just want to say that, the BEST, by far and away, anime of 2007 – and quite possibly the best anime I have *ever* watched in my entire life to date – is Seirei no Moribito. Art, story, characters, music, acting, EVERYTHING, surpasses pretty much ever other anime I have ever seen.

This series epitomizes what anime can be. But once you’ve watched it, don’t spend the next few years looking for the next Seirei, or you’re bound to be disappointed. ^_^ Enjoy it for what it is (action, adventure, mythological epic fable of an ancient kingdom that never was) and then turn away and watch the next thing with a clear mind and no expectations. And then, you’ll probably enjoy that too. ^_^

Posted in Now This Is Only My Opinion | 20 Comments »


Yuri Anime: Battle Athletes Victory, Volume 7

October 15th, 2007

Properly speaking, Volume 7 of Battle Athletes is the penultimate volume, but realistically, it’s the conclusion of the story. Everything that has been masquerading as the plot for this bundle of clichés is tied up neatly here. In other words, we finally learn who wins the title of Cosmos Beauty.

Did we, in fact, have any doubt who would win? All we needed to do was watch the first episode and note that our protagonist was not only the least talented, least deserving and least competent person in the show, but also the most annoying, to recognize that she would of course, be the winner. I’ve talked a lot about the idiot savant hero/ine here. Akari is pretty much the epitome of the type. Her mad skills only kick in when she’s boosted by an outside stimulus. Thankfully, there are many recent anime that go the other route and show us the hero/ines practicing until they drop. Because I am not naturally talented at anything, and everything I have ever become even mediocre at has been because of long hours of practice, it’s no surprise I prefer that latter stories to the former. :-)

But.

Battle Athletes was from way back in the stone age, about a decade ago. It is decidedly old school in its power-ups – as well as in animation, music, voice acting and, well pretty much everything. As it also is rife with Yuri, I’m inclined to be generous. Plus, if you’re watching Battle Athletes in the first place, you gotta know to manage expectations anyway – this is not and never will be high art. :-) (Remind me to share my recent moment of satori about expectations and anime with you all sometime.)

So, we have two decidedly Yuri-riffic couples facing off in the finals of the CB tournament. The two best athletes evar versus two newcomers. In their defeat, Lahrri and Mylandah find each other, and get a nice little backstory which ties them neatly together, leaving Akari and Kris to have last minute angst at/about one another. In the manga, this was fueled by Akari learning that her father chose Kris over her, for no other reason that that he is (apparently) a victory-obsessed psychopath. In the anime, we learn that Kris cannot run the day chosen for the race, due to religious observances. Hmm…which is punchier plot complication? Hard to decide. At least the manga father wasn’t “Mr. Miracle” the chocolate hound. (Which always reminds me of a very evil drawing in the Jesus Drug doujinshi for this series. It’s just not right that that image is burned into my head…)

In the end, of course Kris gains dispensation to run. At last, Akari and she face off in a final battle.

Because it’s so much better, let me talk about the manga here. (And before I do, let me just remind you that the manga is LONG out of print, so please don’t ask me where you can find it. I got my copy at Book-Off, the used manga store, and I have also seen it for sale at Mandarake used book store in Tokyo. If you have a buyer, you can try looking on Yahoo JP auctions or the Amazon JP marketplace. Good luck.)

In the manga, Akari and Kris tie for first. Then they kiss in front of everyone in the whole world. Having achieved her dream, Kris returns to the Beginners to become a priestess.

In the anime, Akari wins and Kris disappears to return to the Beginners to become a priestess. Akari, having just been crowned, runs after her, catches up to Kris and her cow. Kris gently kisses her goodbye.

Read those two paragraphs again. Can you *guess* which one I prefer? I think you can.

And that’s pretty much it. Akari is Cosmos Beauty and she beat her mother’s time. Wow. Amazing. :-)

Oh, wait, here come the aliens! We’re under attack!

End of volume.

There were so many ways this volume could have been *brilliant*. Instead it was all right. Although Mylandah x Lahrri = win. And they will continue to be win through the farce that will be Volume 8. There really was no Akari x Kris, except in the hearts and minds of fans. Bloody shame if you ask me. But that too will come back like the bad penny it is in Volume 8. Because we can never have enough of our old friend old-school UST, i.e., “unresolved sexual tension.” (Remember, this was a staple for all anime of the time – not just Yuri or Yaoi. It won’t make it less annoying, but it makes it seem less unfair.)

So, for a resolution, it kind of wasn’t. I’d REALLY like to see this anime remade, this time with the right ending. ;-) Kanon, pfft. I want to see an updated BAV.

Ratings:

Art – practice profiles please – 6
Story – clinging to cliches is cheesy – 6
Characters – alas and alack, a lack – 7
Yuri – opportunity and motive, but no crime – 5
Service – as you like it – 5

Overall – slightly better than the sum of its parts, minus one for the cow – 6

For what it is, which is incredibly silly old-school junkiness from Mediaworks, Battle Athletes is pleasantly entertaining, without being good. ;-)

Posted in Battle Athletes, English Anime, Yuri Anime | 3 Comments »


Yuri Manga: Applause, Volume 3 (Japanese)

October 10th, 2007

For previously published summaries and reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2, click the respective links. Now here we are, at Applause, Volume 3.

Applause began its life as a very shoujo manga, but once it hit New York grew up into something thoroughly josei. Both Shara and Shelle, aka Junaque, have left their childhood behind them and so has the artist. Art, story and sensibility have all moved on from the world of the ridiculously privileged atmosphere of a European girl’s school into a still somewhat enchanted, but more realistic look at show business in New York City. (Back to that “practicing ’til you puke” thing. I don’t mind watching people becoming the best of the best – as long as they work for it. No idiot savants with magically appearing mad skillz need apply.)

Shara, having decided to never again wait for Shelle, moves in with a gay couple, Jon and Chris, and their dog Oscar. She returns to the dance studio at which she previously studied and her life, which had been a storm of emotional upheaval, calms down again into something she can live with and in. To add to her happiness, she meets a man, Shalat, who is perfectly compatible with her as a dancer, as a friend and eventually, as a lover. Shalat is part Asian Indian, and he loves his heritage. His apartment is decorated to reflect this, and Shara loves how he is an amalgam of places, times and dreams. The two of them are extremely happy together.

When an open audition announcement goes out for brand new Broadway show, Shalat and Shara vow to train and audition together, which they do. And together they make the final round. As the final auditions begin, it is announced that, yes, the auditions are partly to fill background dancers, but one role will be a lead role. To judge who is most suitable for the role, the show’s other lead actress is brought in. As Shalat watches, Shara goes pale, and seems to become completely paralyzed. The lead actress, of course, is to be Shelle Bejart.

When Shara’s name is called, Shalat calls her name too, trying to keep her by his side. Shara completely breaks down, as Shalat tries to coax her into telling him what is wrong. With tears streaming down her face she apologizes and leaves him, to follow Shelle after all, hating her own weakness the whole time.

Shortly thereafter, it is announced that Shelle and Shara will be starring in the most anticipated new Broadway show, “Modern Dancer.”

The story of “Modern Dancer” is about a former dancer Maria, played by Shelle, who has become crippled (emotionally and physically). Another dancer, Tracy, tries to convince Maria that she can still dance. In the climactic scene, Tracy takes Maria into her arms and they dance, even though Maria cannot stand. It’s pretty great melodrama and the art for this scene is awesome and over-the-top every time we see it (and we’ll see this scene *a lot.*)

At first, it’s a terrible fit. Shara and Shelle aren’t speaking and they don’t gel well at all. The media starts to report how they think Shara is a bad choice for the role of Tracy. Whether to provoke Shelle or Shara or just to cover his ass, Georges brings in a young male dancer, Fred – who is instantly irritating – to potentially take over the part of Tracy, if Shara can’t get it together.

Shara takes some time to visit Alphie and Gerald and the gang and get her head on straight.

The media uncovers the fact that Shelle and Shara went to school together. Shelle says that Shara was just another underclassman, that they had no special relationship. Shara, on the other hand, when questioned about Shelle, comments on camera that she never knew anyone with the name “Shelle Bejart” at school.

The two of them continue to breakdown in pieces and the show starts to fall apart too. One day, just as in the last volume, Georges takes Shara out on his yacht. This time, she’s also accompanied by Oscar the dog and when he jumps into the water, so does she. Georges also dives in and again, kisses her, but this time, she doesn’t seem to be affected by it at all. When they arrive back at the marina, soaked to the skin, Shelle is there. She gives them both the cold shoulder.

Georges continues the losing battle of wooing an increasingly frigid Shelle. He holds a big birthday party for her, which Shara attends, but can’t stand to watch the circus that Shelle’s life has become. She leaves, but Shelle follows her in her car.

Shelle confronts Shara and they lose it completely at one another. Shara runs off in anger. Shelle, trying to catch up to her, gets into an accident, which Shara witnesses. Forgetting her anger at Shelle, she goes running over, screaming Junaque’s name, and drags a semi-conscious Junaque from the car. Junaque/Shelle and she cry together. That night they end up back in Shelle’s shore house and once again, they have a few days of bliss together.

Back at rehearsal, no one can figure out why, but suddenly, they work perfectly together. The climax of the play is climactic and breathtaking. Fred is defeated – Shara owns the role of Tracy – sadly, he sticks around anyway.

Meanwhile, back at home, Chris has collapsed. No one knows why, but he is in the hospital.

Then the media attacks again – this time with a call to Shelle. Is it true, she’s asked, that you are Shara were lovers in school? Poor, fragile, confused and weak Shelle, lies. Then tells Shara to stay away – she doesn’t want the media to know about them. Rejected for the third time, Shara falls apart. Again. (It’s true – she was the first to reject Junaque, but I think she’s paid the price, really…)

But the show must go on – and it does. In the last chapter we see the whole of “Modern Dancer,” but it’s almost a reflection of Junaque and Shara’s lives so far. And together they dance their feelings out in a beautiful final scene. “Modern Dancer” will obviously be a success.

End of Volume

So, yes, heaps of melodrama. I feel bad for Shalat, personally, because he was a nice guy and didn’t deserve the drama. Shelle and Shara clearly do deserve one another. Oh, and don’t feel *too* bad for Georges – there’s a sense I get that he and Fred were very close. ^_^

Technically, the artist clearly hit her peak here. There’s none of the crowded panels and confusion of the first volume here. The only thing – and this is me being picky – is that the dance moves look dorky a lot of the time. OTOH, modern dance looks dorky a lot of the time. So there you go.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 3
Overall – 7

Volume 4 – anyone want to place bets on the ending? I bet you’ll never guess what happens. Seriously – go ahead and guess in the comments. (No cheating if you know. Only if you’re guessing!)

Posted in Applause, Classic Yuri, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Events and Okazu News: MangaNEXT 2007 Report and Okazu in Spanish

October 8th, 2007

MangaNEXT was fun. I managed to get a second to chat with Jason Thompson, editor of The Manga Encyclopedia to which I contributed a very small amount of writing. And I hung out with friends, got my RDA of hugs. I definitely need to offer special super thanks to Adam, who minioned like a champ and was lovely and socially functional the entire time. Thanks Adam. It was really wonderful having you there. :-)

Because of the nature of such things, I was scheduled for a 10AM Fanfic Panel, so basically Adam and I blathered about fanfic while I ate my breakfast and some people watched. (What do people hope to learn in FF panels? Questions always seem to come in two kinds: 1) Externally validate my method/format/concepts/self-worth and; 2) How can I learn to deal with negative stuff? Neither has anything to do with writing. Here’s my advice to young writers – pay attention in English class and read alot. Then learn to not take yourself or your work seriously. That’s all I got for you, really.)

We hung out the bulk of the day in the Artist’s Alley with the cool, hip kids. Wish I could draw too. I always think how useful it would be when I feel too tired to deal with people to be able to semi-ignore them by drawing, like everyone else does. Because I’m a writer I’d have to have my computer to do that, and then I’d look like the two creepy guys across the aisle who *never* looked up once. Instead I just have to pretend to like people and, in this case, kids. The audience for MangaNEXT is significantly younger than I will sell to, so I get a lot of kids who want to touch and I have to shoo them away. Also, we had a bowl full of candy and if you bought something you got a piece or two. It seems to appeal to people. Dear guy who stood there whining about how you wanted candy but had no money. That was absolutely *pathetic.* For the buck you scrounged up, you could have gone to the Krauzer’s across the road and bought a bag of mints. I mean, really.

Here was an interesting thing that occurred: I was in the DR talking to a dealer, who shall remain nameless for the moment. He was all over me to invite him to the next Yuricon, because the guys from Media Blasters had been going on and on about how much fun they had and how not annoying the attendees were. And then he asked how we managed to have such a not-irritating crowd, when another con, which also runs and 18+ event, has such screaming mimis everywhere. Okay, so we keep talking and etc, etc. At the end, I point out that if he did come to our event, he couldn’t bring Yaoi paddles. Which confused and annoyed him, since they are a popular item. I told him what I feel they represent, which I think insulted him, too. Oh well.

The point of this story is, I was thinking about it and it occurred to me that that was the answer to his question.

We don’t have paddles at Yuricon and we don’t have the kind of people who want paddles. The reason, I think, the Yuricon crowd is a good one is that sexual and emotional immaturity is not only not encouraged – it’s pretty much against the rules. Sure, we’ll always have a smaller group because of that – but a much, much higher quality one. I feel pretty happy with that policy. (And it pleased the vendors who were glad to have less of the usual crap that goes along with selling at an event.)

The Yuri Panel had a nice crowd, but doing stand up comedy for 90 minutes is HARD. Next time you come to a panel – come with questions! It’s bloody exhausting for me to entertain you for so long. :-)

Thanks to Mari, James and Amber, Cindy, Jeanne, Brian, Chet(!) and, as I mentioned, Adam. You made the day great fun. Also to Rene, Shelley and Tom for giving me a chance to descend like the harpy I am and fly away again. :-) See you next year at MangaNEXT.

Next up: Some of the posts here are being translated into Spanish. If you are interested in either reading them or helping with the translation, please visit the CoYuHi. Many, many thanks to Laura-sama and the others for this humoungous undertaking! Para Okazu en Espanol visite por favor CoYuHi.

Final note: You may notice a work slowdown at Okazu over the next few weeks. If you look at the right-hand sidebar, you’ll see that I have already posted more this year on Okazu than I have for any other year *total.* I have been very, very busy with Yurisai and Yuri Monogatari and Okazu, and I need a rest. I’ll still be reviewing and posting, but not 4-5 times a week. Not at least for a little while.

Feel free to read back posts from the last 5+ years and see how my irrational and inconsistent opinions have moved as the whimsy has taken me – and remember, it’s just cartoons and comics, don’t take it so damn seriously! LOL

Posted in Events, Now This Is Only My Opinion | 5 Comments »


Yuricon & ALC Publishing at MangaNEXT

October 5th, 2007

Yuricon & ALC Publishing, in the usual form of me and my minion(s), will be making an appearance tomorrow, Saturday October 6 at MangaNEXT in Secaucus, NJ.

I and brilliant fanfic writer Adam Jones will be discussing Fanfiction at the unholy hour of 10AM in the Fanfiction Panel.

After that, we will be relaxing in the Artist’s Alley, where will not only have Yuri Monogatari 5 for sale, but also a nice selection of original and parody doujinshi, including some very awesome work by UKOZ, Sakuraike and Office Mono, Tadeno Eriko’s circle. All five artists are featured in Yuri Monogatari 5 and all are genuinely exceptional. (Or I wouldn’t have their doujinshi for sale, would I? lol)

At 5PM, join us for the Yuri Panel, where we will be discussing some of the good, bad and ugly (but mostly the good) Yuri manga available in English and Japanese!

MangaNEXT is the only manga-focused event in the US and it’s run by a terrific group of folks, so drop by and support them (and us!) See you there!

Posted in ALC Publishing, Events, Yuricon | No Comments »