Oct
25
Okay. So Japan requests that America should put some kind of regulation with the distribution of anime online1 . Perhaps in the same strength that Odex tries to control the Singapore market? A part of me says that this kind of deal is fair. When I read stories of animators and mangakas and their hard lives, it’s just right to put some money in their pocket for the thousands of animes and mangas downloaded at a time.
But, there’s also a part of me who is rather troubled. For a small country like mine, a country who doesn’t have a large array of licensed animes and mangas for sale on the shelves (except for Voltes V and Daimos and a dreadful set of mangas), downloading online seems to be the best option if you’re really a big fan of this genre. Some can wait. But for those who can’t, IRC and torrents are the way to go. Not everyone has big paychecks to order their favorite mangas and anime online. $15 dollars for a manga (if you include the shipping) is quite costly for many fans. All the more if they have to spend $30 for a DVD of an anime. Many anime fans are students and many (like myself) wait until they get a decent job for them to even start investing on these kinds of things.
- Link via Manga Blog [↩]
Oct
15
Axis power crack, anyone? With yonkomas too!
Filed Under Features | 5 Comments
Rarely do I feature doujins because of their apparent inaccessibility. However, a WebComi doujin shouldn’t be so bad. For my first WebComi doujin feature, I present… Hetaria!.
My friend Anne, gave a link in her journal on what she said to be was CountryxCountry slash. At first I thought how that’d be funny, so I gave it a check only to realize that it was more than just your usual CountryXCountry slash, but rather a WW Axis Power Country slash, even with appearances of Allied powers. Hidekaz Himaruya… YOU ARE A GENIUS!!! m(_ _)m
Himaruya-san created a Web Comic called “Hetaria”. Hetaria features an anthropomorphication of the different Axis countries as they fight in the first World War (and later the second World War). Or that’s what it’s trying to present, but the insanity revolves in the little exchanges that happen between the countries during the war. The story generally revolves around Italy who was, as illustrated, a good for nothing country. Hence the pun on Italia by giving the name “Hetaria1 ”
- Hetare means useless. [↩]
Oct
14
Mixing East with the West.
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This weekend, I can’t help but enjoy John Jakala’s slew of ideas with regards to mixing mangakas with amecomi. :3 Actually for the past two weeks, he’s been enjoying the idea of mixing eastern stories with that of the west. My favorite was the Yotsuba with Calvin and Hobbes (soo cute!) and now, even drabbling with the idea of Takeshi Obata drawing Batman. Well, why not!? Although I highly doubt they will ever drabble into creating something like that, it’d be amazing if they were commissioned to do something like it. Just make sure you have someone like Jeph Loeb as the genius to write a story for Obata, I’m sure he’ll pull it off. I mean, he made go interesting! There’s so much he can do! (obviously, I’m a fan. lol.)
What was interesting was Ed of Mangacast pointing out which of the American counterparts would draw something from Mangadom. Would you see Frank Miller drawing something like Monster or maybe Vagabond? Would you imagine Jeph Loeb writing something like Liar Game? I know a Filipino comic artist, Elmer Damaso, is drawing Speed Racer for Seven Seas (Yay, Mer!), but I guess he counts now for the American manga industry. Going back to Seven Seas, imagine Madeline Rosca drawing Card Captor Sakura and other youthful Clamp stories. It’s quite interesting, and perhaps if America’s doujin community is as nurturing as the Japanese market, we could have seen the likes of these experiments in the West.
Another interesting mix is the study on the concept of Superheroes being similar in both the West and the Japanese. Many manga fans have scrutinized the American heroes saying they don’t compare with their American counterparts. Some of my comic reading friends think that manga charas don’t compare with their superheroes. Well, read and weep, disbelievers! This article fleshes it out for you how they can be similar too… in some aspects. :3
Lovely weekend reads that made me wish that there was a Kinokuniya nearby for me to flock and oggle over books for. *prays December*. Well, this three day weekend allowed me to catch up on some fun reads, including some highly sought after Metal Gear doujins! (Yay!! Snakey-wakey schmex!!) *sigh* I hope next week, I don’t get eaten by work again. :3
Oct
14
#09 - Mousou Shoujo Otaku Kei by Natsumi Konjoh
Filed Under Comedy, Reviews, Romance, Seinen | 2 Comments
Mousou Shoujo Otakukei by Natsumi Konjoh
Published by Futabasha/Comics High
Translated by MediaBlasters. Coming Soon though.
This is a fujoshi story1 . Yes. It involves fangirls oggling over BL with their crazy imagination at work. I’d like to warn people that the world of the fujoshi is insane, and as the title of the manga captures it, even delusional. However, it can also be charming and outright hilarious. In the tradition of non-otaku men falling in love with rabid female otakus is a story of a boy that explores the world of the fujoshi and everything else in between — Mousou Shoujo Otakukei. The Delusional Girl Otaku.
Oct
10
Have you had your Moé on Moé day?
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Fellow otakus, happy Moé no Hi or Moé day, nyan!!
October 10 became Moé no Hi because of the kanji often used for moé which 萌え, nyan. In this kanji you have 十月 (October) and 十日 (10th) grouped together creating the date October 10, nyan. Well, how does one celebrate Moé no Hi, nyan? I’m sure friends in Japan are going around maid cafes or buying some EroGe stuff in Akiba, nyan. Fujoshis might even traipse along Akiba to celebrate this day, nyan.
As for me, I’ll be stuffing myself with more Seto no Hanayome and maybe some Clannad to watch for today, nyan. Maybe even talk funny and add some moé tagline at the end of my sentences, nyan. Whatever you’d like to do today, make sure that you have a whole lots of cuties in them, nyan. 
You only get Moé no Hi once a year so make the most of it, nyan! And, even with Konata’s seal of approval, nyan!
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Otaku Champloo is...
a small serving of bittersweet manga bits by a manga addict named Khursten.
She currently digs mangas about boys who live to be men. -
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