This week, I'm addressing a more serious issue in the anime industry: Fandubs, fansubs, and scanlations. Fandubs and Fansubs, as their name implies are dubs and subs (subtitles) made by fans. Subs are the more common and more popular because they're easier to make, and the original voice actors are generally preferred to any dubbed voices, be they professional or not.
Anime is usually subbed/dubbed for three reasons. One, fans don't like waiting years to catch up with the Japanese version. They'd much rather watch ahead and see everything right when it's new. This also helps prevent spoilers.
Two, the dub is really bad, so the fan would rather watch the original. In most cases, if the anime has been released in America, this can be done simply by watching the Japanese audio track on the legal DVD. However, for older animes, or animes dubbed by 4kids (that, by definition, have bad dubs) no legalcopy of the Japanese version exists for Americans.
Three, fans are too cheap/too lazy to buy.
For the most part, fansubs and dubs are the result of the first two reasons. This is a big probelm for the anime industry, because if we've already seen the anime, why should we watch it again or spend money on it? Fans have argued that without subs, they wouldn't buy DVDs (who wants to spend $30 for 4 episodes of an anime they don't know if they'll like??) but the fact is, profits for anime dubbing (and producing--they lose money in Japan, too) companies are way down.
Here's an interview with Arthur Smith, the president of Gonzo Digital Holdings International. He gives his opinion of the state of the anime industry, and how fansubs and dubs are affecting it.
http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/2171/36/
Makes you feel pretty bad, doesn't it? Personally, yes, I have watched fansubs and dubs. Many of my favorite fandoms had the bad luck to fall into the dubbing hands of 4kids Entertainment, the bane of the anime dubbing world. Let's face it, subs of 4kids animes are infinitely better than their dubbed counterparts. Now, if 4kids was like NORMAL dubbing companies, and included the Japanese audio track on their DVDs, I would buy them. But 4kids has refused to do so. Not only are they dubbing anime horribly with no regards to the fans, they make it literally impossible to get a legal copy of the original versions of their shows. Why should I have to put up with a bad dub just because I live in a different part of the world? I won't stand for it. I watch the subs.
Now, as for things that have been subbed because the fans are too impaitient... well, I don't entirely agree with that, but let's face it, in America we're anywhere from 1-5 years behind an anime or manga series, depending on it's popularity and how long it took to get the liscense. Before I go any further, here's what a guy from ANN had to say:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/2007-11-25
I agree completly. Anime should be dubbed immediately after it is aired and released no more than a week after its original Japanese air date. That's the only way to get things back on track. Hopefully, that would cut down on the number of subs and dubs, and then the legal stuff could happen with the people doing the subbing/dubbing.
Now, the next issue is scanlations. Manga, like anime, takes a long time to get to the US. (though I have to say, Viz is doing a good job keeping up with FMA. I'm pretty sure we're only a volume or two behind as of now) Fans don't want to wait, especially when it's so easy to find scans on the internet. Personally, I have done read scanlations, but manga is much cheaper and usually comes out ahead of anime, so I tend to stay away from them. (also, they don't much agree with my computer)
Overall, the state of the industry may be going down the drain, but it's not all the way gone yet. It can be fixed, but someone needs to push it in the right direction.
Now, to touch on my last article...
Christmas break may be over, but if you still want a movie to watch, here are links to some great ones you can order from the library!
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle (be warned; it's differnt from the book)
Whisper of the Heart
Porco Rosso
And in closing, I'd like to wish a happy birthday to Hayao Miyazaki, who turned 67 yesterday, January 5th. (I started this entry on Dec 29th, but I'm actually posting on January 6th) Happy birthday, sensei! ^__^
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #9--Studio Ghibli
It's Christmas break. You've got about 2 weeks off school. What do you do with all that spare time on your hands? How about watch some movies? This week (I guess I should say month now, as I don't post nearly as often as I should) I'll be taking you through the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and all the other talented people of Studio Ghibli.
First, a brief history. Miyazaki-sensei was born on January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan. He used to work for Toei, then teamed up with Isao Takahata at A Pro. He directed some tv shows, including Conan the Boy in the Future and Lupin III. His first feature film was Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. (source)
After Cagliostro, Miyazaki wanted to direct his own work, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Anime films and television series are usually based on manga series, which ensures an audience. The producers Miyazaki-sensei approached didn't want to make a movie about a new series. So, Miyazaki made them a manga series. Two years later, Nausicaä made its film debut. It is widely regarded as Miyazaki's masterpiece.
The money he made from Nausicaa allowed him to open up his own animation studio. Thus, Studio Ghibli was born. "ghibli" (pronounced with a soft "g") is an Italian word for a hot desert wind, and also the name of an Italian plane. The real word is pronounced with a hard "g", but by that time it was noticed, the name had already stuck.
Ghibli is a very unique studio in that all of its animators work for salary, not commission. Thi ensures top quality on all the films made there. But in order to have the money to pay salaries, Ghibli must release many movies on a regular basis. I'm not complaining, though, as I have yet to see a Ghibli movie I didn't like.
While the films that come out of Studio Ghibli are directed by many differnt people, the majority of Ghibli films are by Miyazaki-sensei. All the feature films he has directed are:
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle
All of sensei's works are outstanding, but my absolute favorite is Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spriited Away) would be my second favorite. It's really hard to put the rest in order, because they're all different genres. (Nausicaa is Sci-Fi, Totoro is childrens, Laputa is action-adventure, Kiki is coming of age, etc.) Mononoke broke every Japanese box office record when it first came out, and for a while held the title of biggest-grossing movie in Japanese box office history. It was knocked off by James Cameron's Titanic quickly after, but then Spirited Away came out in 2001 and re-broke all the box office records. To my knowledge, Spirited Away still holds the records. That's how big Miyazaki-sensei is in Japan. An animated film holds box office records.
Other movies that have come out of Studio Ghibli are:
Grave of the Fireflies
Only Yesterday (covered under the Disney-Tokuma deal, but not yet released in America)
Pom Poko
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Whisper of the Heart
The Cat Returns
Tales of Earthsea (not going to be released until at least 2009 because the Sci-Fi channel currently holds the rights to the Tales of Earthsea books)
And Miyazaki-sensei's next film, Ponyo on a Cliff is scheduled to come out in 2008 in Japan, and is covered under the Disney-Tokuma deal, so we will see it eventually. Short movies like On Your Mark, Ocean Waves, and Gauche the Cellist are not covered in the deal, so I can't say if we'll ever get to see them. The only legal way to get them as of now is to buy a Japanese DVD player and buy the Japanese DVDs. But then they're still in Japanese. ^_^;;
A very reliable Studio Ghibli fansite is nausicaa.net. (I'd give you the official site, but it's in Japanese.) Just about anything and everything you'd ever want to know about Miyazaki-sensei, Takahata-sensei, Hisaishi-sensei, and the rest of Studio Ghibli is on there.
First, a brief history. Miyazaki-sensei was born on January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan. He used to work for Toei, then teamed up with Isao Takahata at A Pro. He directed some tv shows, including Conan the Boy in the Future and Lupin III. His first feature film was Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. (source)
After Cagliostro, Miyazaki wanted to direct his own work, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Anime films and television series are usually based on manga series, which ensures an audience. The producers Miyazaki-sensei approached didn't want to make a movie about a new series. So, Miyazaki made them a manga series. Two years later, Nausicaä made its film debut. It is widely regarded as Miyazaki's masterpiece.
The money he made from Nausicaa allowed him to open up his own animation studio. Thus, Studio Ghibli was born. "ghibli" (pronounced with a soft "g") is an Italian word for a hot desert wind, and also the name of an Italian plane. The real word is pronounced with a hard "g", but by that time it was noticed, the name had already stuck.
Ghibli is a very unique studio in that all of its animators work for salary, not commission. Thi ensures top quality on all the films made there. But in order to have the money to pay salaries, Ghibli must release many movies on a regular basis. I'm not complaining, though, as I have yet to see a Ghibli movie I didn't like.
While the films that come out of Studio Ghibli are directed by many differnt people, the majority of Ghibli films are by Miyazaki-sensei. All the feature films he has directed are:
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle
All of sensei's works are outstanding, but my absolute favorite is Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spriited Away) would be my second favorite. It's really hard to put the rest in order, because they're all different genres. (Nausicaa is Sci-Fi, Totoro is childrens, Laputa is action-adventure, Kiki is coming of age, etc.) Mononoke broke every Japanese box office record when it first came out, and for a while held the title of biggest-grossing movie in Japanese box office history. It was knocked off by James Cameron's Titanic quickly after, but then Spirited Away came out in 2001 and re-broke all the box office records. To my knowledge, Spirited Away still holds the records. That's how big Miyazaki-sensei is in Japan. An animated film holds box office records.
Other movies that have come out of Studio Ghibli are:
Grave of the Fireflies
Only Yesterday (covered under the Disney-Tokuma deal, but not yet released in America)
Pom Poko
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Whisper of the Heart
The Cat Returns
Tales of Earthsea (not going to be released until at least 2009 because the Sci-Fi channel currently holds the rights to the Tales of Earthsea books)
And Miyazaki-sensei's next film, Ponyo on a Cliff is scheduled to come out in 2008 in Japan, and is covered under the Disney-Tokuma deal, so we will see it eventually. Short movies like On Your Mark, Ocean Waves, and Gauche the Cellist are not covered in the deal, so I can't say if we'll ever get to see them. The only legal way to get them as of now is to buy a Japanese DVD player and buy the Japanese DVDs. But then they're still in Japanese. ^_^;;
A very reliable Studio Ghibli fansite is nausicaa.net. (I'd give you the official site, but it's in Japanese.) Just about anything and everything you'd ever want to know about Miyazaki-sensei, Takahata-sensei, Hisaishi-sensei, and the rest of Studio Ghibli is on there.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #8--Attention! Tekkoshocon has moved!
Tekkoshocon 6, like the last 3 Tekkos was schedueled to be at the Monroeville Expo Mart April 11-13, 2008. THIS HAS CHANGED. It's still April 11-13, but the location is now the Greentree Radisson!
Link to the article: http://tekkoshocon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9887
Link to questions about the venue change: http://tekkoshocon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9888
Link to the article: http://tekkoshocon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9887
Link to questions about the venue change: http://tekkoshocon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9888
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #7--Tekko 1/2 Report
A week late, but it's here. ^_^;; Sorry to anyone who read the last post. Tekko 1/2 was NOTHING like what I expected.
For going by myself and being stuck in the same room all day with a bunch of people I only vaugely knew, it was pretty fun. I can't say that they were complete strangers, cause I'd seen most of them at the convention before.
Got there around 10:20 or so. The first thing on the schedule was the Appleseed movie. Eh... I mean, it was entertaining but it was a standard plot. Briareos "died", and I maybe would've liked that part, but the dialogue was so STANDARD! God, can we think of something besides "Don't talk", "Leave me, you have to save the world", "I'm not leaving you", etc. I was kind of glad when he finally "died". Course, then he didn't really die because he's half machine or something. Then they go and kill all the giant machines, preach about how even if humanity sucks, they're going to keep living anyway *cough*Nausicaä*cough* and kill all the bad guys. But still, it was entertaining. Action and whatnot. Could've done without the fanservice, though.
While watching the movie, I looked through my trivia packet that I picked up when I came in. I'll post the questions later, but even the ones from animes I knew were HARD! What's the EXACT DATE on Ed's watch was the closest I came to knowing an answer. ^_^;; Oct. 12, I'm pretty sure, but I forget the year. 1911? Out of 40 questions, the highest score was 16. Yeah.
During the end of the movie, the fruits basket group sat next to me, and Kagura introduced herself as the girl who's going to be cosplaying as Yugi! ^__^ Yay, we have a Yugi! She's trying to get a friend to join the group, too, and they want to be an Abridged Duke Devlin and walk around with a boombox playing "Sexy Back". So I had someone to talk to for a while. Right while we were talking, people finally started noticing I was dressed as Jounouchi, and I had a bunch of people ask for my picture. Luckily I had my wig with me, and put it on for the pics.
After the movie was Guitar Hero tournament. I've never played Guitar Hero (sad to say) so after watching a few warm-ups and getting pictures of cosplyers, I headed over to the library for lunch. While I was in there, I picked up the first volumes of Whistle, Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, and Wish. I read them a little while ago, actually. Whistle was... kinda odd, but not too bad. (skip school for two weeks to practice soccer?) Not as good as Eyeshield, though.
Tokyo Mew Mew was okay, but I really don't like the new Mew. At all. I was even happy when Ichigo showed up, and I don't really like Ichigo either. Zakuro was always my favorite, even in the god-awful dub. The worst part of it, though, was the ad for 4kids on the back of the volume. >_<>_< ) It was fun at least, and I didn't know anyone there, so it wasn't embarassing or anything.
Watched some more SSBM and listened to the karaoke (and watched some people's hilarious backup dancers XD) and finally left around 4:20. It was ending at 4:30, and I had to catch a couple buses to get home.
On the way out, I wound up walking next to one of the staff. (You guys remember the staff woman dressed as White Mage? That was her.) She asked me how I liked the 1/2, and then she told me about how the staff is kind of transitioning this year since people are leaving this and next year. I said I was going to be a minion (guess I have to now ^_^;;) and doing a panel again. Then I had to go get my bus, and she was nice enough to direct me to the nearest bus stop. ^_^;; Never taken a bus out of Oakland before... I caught one, though, and after some transfering and long bus riding, got home without any trouble. All in all, it was a pretty fun day, and I can't wait for Tekko!! ^____^
Registration forms are available now at www.tekkoshocon.com. Group reg is also availabe. Discounts are $2 off everyon in a group of 5-9, $5 off in a group of 10 or more. Without the discount, registration is $35 for all three days if yo pre-reg by Dec. 31. That's 3 days for the price of just Saturday, so I would reccommend pre-registering now! ^__^
For going by myself and being stuck in the same room all day with a bunch of people I only vaugely knew, it was pretty fun. I can't say that they were complete strangers, cause I'd seen most of them at the convention before.
Got there around 10:20 or so. The first thing on the schedule was the Appleseed movie. Eh... I mean, it was entertaining but it was a standard plot. Briareos "died", and I maybe would've liked that part, but the dialogue was so STANDARD! God, can we think of something besides "Don't talk", "Leave me, you have to save the world", "I'm not leaving you", etc. I was kind of glad when he finally "died". Course, then he didn't really die because he's half machine or something. Then they go and kill all the giant machines, preach about how even if humanity sucks, they're going to keep living anyway *cough*Nausicaä*cough* and kill all the bad guys. But still, it was entertaining. Action and whatnot. Could've done without the fanservice, though.
While watching the movie, I looked through my trivia packet that I picked up when I came in. I'll post the questions later, but even the ones from animes I knew were HARD! What's the EXACT DATE on Ed's watch was the closest I came to knowing an answer. ^_^;; Oct. 12, I'm pretty sure, but I forget the year. 1911? Out of 40 questions, the highest score was 16. Yeah.
During the end of the movie, the fruits basket group sat next to me, and Kagura introduced herself as the girl who's going to be cosplaying as Yugi! ^__^ Yay, we have a Yugi! She's trying to get a friend to join the group, too, and they want to be an Abridged Duke Devlin and walk around with a boombox playing "Sexy Back". So I had someone to talk to for a while. Right while we were talking, people finally started noticing I was dressed as Jounouchi, and I had a bunch of people ask for my picture. Luckily I had my wig with me, and put it on for the pics.
After the movie was Guitar Hero tournament. I've never played Guitar Hero (sad to say) so after watching a few warm-ups and getting pictures of cosplyers, I headed over to the library for lunch. While I was in there, I picked up the first volumes of Whistle, Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, and Wish. I read them a little while ago, actually. Whistle was... kinda odd, but not too bad. (skip school for two weeks to practice soccer?) Not as good as Eyeshield, though.
Tokyo Mew Mew was okay, but I really don't like the new Mew. At all. I was even happy when Ichigo showed up, and I don't really like Ichigo either. Zakuro was always my favorite, even in the god-awful dub. The worst part of it, though, was the ad for 4kids on the back of the volume. >_<>_< ) It was fun at least, and I didn't know anyone there, so it wasn't embarassing or anything.
Watched some more SSBM and listened to the karaoke (and watched some people's hilarious backup dancers XD) and finally left around 4:20. It was ending at 4:30, and I had to catch a couple buses to get home.
On the way out, I wound up walking next to one of the staff. (You guys remember the staff woman dressed as White Mage? That was her.) She asked me how I liked the 1/2, and then she told me about how the staff is kind of transitioning this year since people are leaving this and next year. I said I was going to be a minion (guess I have to now ^_^;;) and doing a panel again. Then I had to go get my bus, and she was nice enough to direct me to the nearest bus stop. ^_^;; Never taken a bus out of Oakland before... I caught one, though, and after some transfering and long bus riding, got home without any trouble. All in all, it was a pretty fun day, and I can't wait for Tekko!! ^____^
Registration forms are available now at www.tekkoshocon.com. Group reg is also availabe. Discounts are $2 off everyon in a group of 5-9, $5 off in a group of 10 or more. Without the discount, registration is $35 for all three days if yo pre-reg by Dec. 31. That's 3 days for the price of just Saturday, so I would reccommend pre-registering now! ^__^
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #6--Tekko 1/2
The local anime convention is Tekkoshocon, which takes place in April. But for otaku in the area, once a yaer is not enough. So, the great staff members of Tekkoshocon teamed up with Carnegie library to bring you Tekko 1/2!!! This year, Tekko 1/2 is on Saturday, October 27th at the Main branch of the Carnegie library. (It's in Oakland, right next to Pitt and down the street from the Art and Natural History museums) Hours are whenever the library is open that day, possibly 10-5.
Events include a game room, a video room, at least 1 panel room, a workshop room, and lots of manga to read. Cosplaying is encouraged, though it's not as big of a deal as the full-fledged Tekko. I, for example, am going to cosplay as Katsuya Jounouchi again, but I'm not going to wear my wig. (Most likely, I will be the only Katsuya Jounouchi) Picture taking is more than welcome, still. Just make sure you ask.
Check www.tekkoshocon.com for any updates on Tekko 1/2 info. Hope to see you there!
Events include a game room, a video room, at least 1 panel room, a workshop room, and lots of manga to read. Cosplaying is encouraged, though it's not as big of a deal as the full-fledged Tekko. I, for example, am going to cosplay as Katsuya Jounouchi again, but I'm not going to wear my wig. (Most likely, I will be the only Katsuya Jounouchi) Picture taking is more than welcome, still. Just make sure you ask.
Check www.tekkoshocon.com for any updates on Tekko 1/2 info. Hope to see you there!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #5--Fanart, Fanfiction, and AMVs
Odds are, you probably know what these things are already. When I was a beginning otaku, though, I didn't know any terms or anything. (you would not believe the number of fans who write fanfiction and say that they've written their "own episode".)
Once you get to a certain level of fandom, you start to want more than just whatever's in the series. You start thinking about pairings and what-ifs, and come up with alternate plotlines and episodes/chapters. Or maybe you just want to draw a really cool scene from your favorite anime. Or there's a good song on the radio, and it would be the perfect theme for your favorite character!
Well, you're in luck, because there's thousands of otaku who think the way you do. Fanart, as the name implies, is art drawn by fans. Fanart can be found on a variety of websites, including The Otakue, but my personal favorite place to look for art is DeviantArt. There's even such a thing as fan-comics, called doujinshis. The great manga-ka group CLAMP got their start as doujinshi authors. (In Japan, fan comics can even have their own magazines) A long doujinshi is usually made by multiple people, but there are some who make 1-page comics. Many nice artists on Devart will even take requests.
Fanfiction, as the name also suggests, is fiction written by fans. Bsically, you write whatever you want about whatever you want. The best place is probably fanfiction.net. When I was a newbie otaku, I didn't know what any fanfiction terms meant, so I'll post them for anyone else who doesn't know. (some terms are also linked to wikipedia for a more exact definition.)
One-shot: This one is so obvious once you know, but when I started reading fanfiction, I had no idea what it meant. ^_^;; It just means that a story is only one chapter long.
Shonen-ai: "shonen" means boy, and "ai" means love. ...I think you can figure it out... Very popular with girls. (Not me, though.)
Shojo-ai: "shojo" means girl, "ai" means love...
Yaoi: Graphic shonen-ai (though some writers simply use "yaoi" instead of shonen-ai, so it winds up not being graphic. Go by the ratings for this one.)
Yuri: Graphic shojo-ai
Lemon: BEWARE OF LEMONS. They're supposed to be rated 18+, but sometimes the author forgets... (I read a fic rated T that had a lemon in it, and I flamed the author. First and only time I've flamed.)
Lime: Almost a lemon. Second or third base. Should be rated 18+ too, or at the very least, older teen 16+.
Het: short for "heterosexual". Straight couples.
Slash: Gay couples.
AU: Alternate Universe. (example: I read a Rurouni Kenshin fic where the characters were at a modern Japanese high school.)
Deathfic: This one's kinda obvious. Someone (usually important) dies.
Songfic: Basically, you take a song, and put a story to it. A common way of doing this is to post some lyrics, write the part of the fic that correspionds to thoose lyrics, and repeat. Songfics are not allowed on fanfiction.net, but if you put the lyrics in, then they can't say anything.
Drabble: Very short fanfiction. (As short as 100 words!)
Flame: Really really bad reivew in which the reviewer does nothing but senselessly yell at the author. (example: UR FIC SUCXX!!1!) Usually written by stupid people. (I will say one thing in my defense, my flame was at least spelled correctly.)
Concrit: Constructive criticism
EDIT: Found a page on wikipedia with a huge list of fanfic terms! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fiction_terminology
AMVs
AMV stands for anime music videos. They have these for stuff that isn't anime, too, but to be honest, I don't know what they call those ones. ^_^; You take clips from your anime, and match them to a song. That's it. animemusicvideos.org, or just search youtube, dailymotion, veoh, etc.
Once you get to a certain level of fandom, you start to want more than just whatever's in the series. You start thinking about pairings and what-ifs, and come up with alternate plotlines and episodes/chapters. Or maybe you just want to draw a really cool scene from your favorite anime. Or there's a good song on the radio, and it would be the perfect theme for your favorite character!
Well, you're in luck, because there's thousands of otaku who think the way you do. Fanart, as the name implies, is art drawn by fans. Fanart can be found on a variety of websites, including The Otakue, but my personal favorite place to look for art is DeviantArt. There's even such a thing as fan-comics, called doujinshis. The great manga-ka group CLAMP got their start as doujinshi authors. (In Japan, fan comics can even have their own magazines) A long doujinshi is usually made by multiple people, but there are some who make 1-page comics. Many nice artists on Devart will even take requests.
Fanfiction, as the name also suggests, is fiction written by fans. Bsically, you write whatever you want about whatever you want. The best place is probably fanfiction.net. When I was a newbie otaku, I didn't know what any fanfiction terms meant, so I'll post them for anyone else who doesn't know. (some terms are also linked to wikipedia for a more exact definition.)
One-shot: This one is so obvious once you know, but when I started reading fanfiction, I had no idea what it meant. ^_^;; It just means that a story is only one chapter long.
Shonen-ai: "shonen" means boy, and "ai" means love. ...I think you can figure it out... Very popular with girls. (Not me, though.)
Shojo-ai: "shojo" means girl, "ai" means love...
Yaoi: Graphic shonen-ai (though some writers simply use "yaoi" instead of shonen-ai, so it winds up not being graphic. Go by the ratings for this one.)
Yuri: Graphic shojo-ai
Lemon: BEWARE OF LEMONS. They're supposed to be rated 18+, but sometimes the author forgets... (I read a fic rated T that had a lemon in it, and I flamed the author. First and only time I've flamed.)
Lime: Almost a lemon. Second or third base. Should be rated 18+ too, or at the very least, older teen 16+.
Het: short for "heterosexual". Straight couples.
Slash: Gay couples.
AU: Alternate Universe. (example: I read a Rurouni Kenshin fic where the characters were at a modern Japanese high school.)
Deathfic: This one's kinda obvious. Someone (usually important) dies.
Songfic: Basically, you take a song, and put a story to it. A common way of doing this is to post some lyrics, write the part of the fic that correspionds to thoose lyrics, and repeat. Songfics are not allowed on fanfiction.net, but if you put the lyrics in, then they can't say anything.
Drabble: Very short fanfiction. (As short as 100 words!)
Flame: Really really bad reivew in which the reviewer does nothing but senselessly yell at the author. (example: UR FIC SUCXX!!1!) Usually written by stupid people. (I will say one thing in my defense, my flame was at least spelled correctly.)
Concrit: Constructive criticism
EDIT: Found a page on wikipedia with a huge list of fanfic terms! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fiction_terminology
AMVs
AMV stands for anime music videos. They have these for stuff that isn't anime, too, but to be honest, I don't know what they call those ones. ^_^; You take clips from your anime, and match them to a song. That's it. animemusicvideos.org, or just search youtube, dailymotion, veoh, etc.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #4--Nihongo Lesson
Hi everyone! I've finally got this week's article. (Is anyone actually reading this? Please comment if you are!) We'll be talking about common Japanese words this time. Let's start with the title of the blog. "Nihongo" is Japanese for... well, Japanese. (Ninhon is Japanese for Japan)
Anime, as you may have figured out, is also a Japanese word. Literally, it means a cartoon, and in Japan, refers to ANY cartoon. (inclusing those brought in from America, i.e. Batman, Tom and Jerry, etc.) In America, anime means Japanese cartoon.
Manga is another term most anime fans know, and it roughly means comic. (literally, it's something like "random imaginative drawings") So, manga is a comic book. (the more accurate term is "graphic novel", though)
Now, some common Japanese words you will hear watching Japanese anime:
Baka--Idiot, fool, moron, etc.
Chiksho--Darn!
Boku/Watashi--I, me (Boku is for guys, watashi for girls.)
Nani?--What?
Nan desu ka?--What is it?
Sugoi!--Cool/Awesome/Wow
Kawaii!--Cute/Cool!
Hai--Yes/Right
Iie--No (sounds something like "ee-eh")
Chibi--Pipsqueak/small (you'll hear that one in FMA a lot)
Honorifics
Honorifics are added to the end of names, and mean different things.
-dono
Used in feudal times, it's derived from the word for "lord". Mostly you'll hear this in period pieces like Rurouni Kenshin.
-sama
One level higher than -san, this denotes great respect.
-san
The all-purpose honorific. Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.
-kun
What you would use to refer to a male friend of similar age.
-chan
Like -kun, only for girls and small children.
These honorifics can be used with or without a name.
-sensei
Master, teacher, etc. You would call anyone who is an expert in their field, "sensei". (example, "Miyazaki-sensei".)
-senpai
Upperclassman.
-kohai
Underclassman.
-bozu
Kid, squirt, etc. Not very flattering.
-( )lack of honorific
In textbooks, no honorific means one of two things. Either you really really like someone (or know them very well, like childhood friends) or you really DON'T like them. But, you'll find that anime characters don't always follow this rule. Anyone with even a slightly rude speech pattern will slack off in the honorific department.
Family
Older Brother/Sister/Cousin--Ni
Mother/Aunt/anyone in your mother's generation--Ka
Father/Uncle/anyone in your father's generation--Ji
Grandmother--Kaa
Grandfather--Jii
After you get the base word, you need to add an honorific. 95% of honorifics used on
family names are either "san" or "chan". Occasionally, if a younger sibling really looks up to an older sibling, they'll use "sama". But that's pretty rare.
So, some examples...
Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) says "ni-san" to his older brother Ed. Al also calls Scar, "Scar-san". Ed's more rude, and doesn't use honorifics for anyone, as far I know.
Shizuka Kawai (Yugioh) says "oni-chan" to her older brother, Katsuya Jounouchi.
Kagura (Fruits Basket) says "Shigure-ni" to her older cousin, Shigure.
Kisa (Fruits Basket) says "oni-chan" to Tohru, who has no relation to her, but Kisa really looks up to Tohru.
Yuki (Fruits Basket) calls his older brother, Ayame, "ni-san".
Shigure (and most of the Sohma family) calls Ritsuka "Rit-chan". (Tohru mistunderstands that Rit-chan is a nickname and calls him "Ritchan-san".)
(since Fruits Basket has a large complex family AND characters that are polite enough to reguarly use honorifics, there's lots of good examples there.)
Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin) calls everyone "-dono" (Kaorou-dono, Megumi-dono, etc.) because he's really polite, and it takes place in 1876.
Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin) says "Megumi-san" to Megumi, even though she doesn't like her that much.
There is one instance that is very different from this format, from a very popular anime. Karin from Bleach refers to her older brother, Ichigo, as "Ichi-ni". "Ichi", while being part of his name, also means "one" or "first" and I think "protector".
So there's a basic rundown of honorifics for you. Questions, comments, suggestions, random stuff, whatever, put it in the comments. Till next time! ^_^
Anime, as you may have figured out, is also a Japanese word. Literally, it means a cartoon, and in Japan, refers to ANY cartoon. (inclusing those brought in from America, i.e. Batman, Tom and Jerry, etc.) In America, anime means Japanese cartoon.
Manga is another term most anime fans know, and it roughly means comic. (literally, it's something like "random imaginative drawings") So, manga is a comic book. (the more accurate term is "graphic novel", though)
Now, some common Japanese words you will hear watching Japanese anime:
Baka--Idiot, fool, moron, etc.
Chiksho--Darn!
Boku/Watashi--I, me (Boku is for guys, watashi for girls.)
Nani?--What?
Nan desu ka?--What is it?
Sugoi!--Cool/Awesome/Wow
Kawaii!--Cute/Cool!
Hai--Yes/Right
Iie--No (sounds something like "ee-eh")
Chibi--Pipsqueak/small (you'll hear that one in FMA a lot)
Honorifics
Honorifics are added to the end of names, and mean different things.
-dono
Used in feudal times, it's derived from the word for "lord". Mostly you'll hear this in period pieces like Rurouni Kenshin.
-sama
One level higher than -san, this denotes great respect.
-san
The all-purpose honorific. Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.
-kun
What you would use to refer to a male friend of similar age.
-chan
Like -kun, only for girls and small children.
These honorifics can be used with or without a name.
-sensei
Master, teacher, etc. You would call anyone who is an expert in their field, "sensei". (example, "Miyazaki-sensei".)
-senpai
Upperclassman.
-kohai
Underclassman.
-bozu
Kid, squirt, etc. Not very flattering.
-( )lack of honorific
In textbooks, no honorific means one of two things. Either you really really like someone (or know them very well, like childhood friends) or you really DON'T like them. But, you'll find that anime characters don't always follow this rule. Anyone with even a slightly rude speech pattern will slack off in the honorific department.
Family
Older Brother/Sister/Cousin--Ni
Mother/Aunt/anyone in your mother's generation--Ka
Father/Uncle/anyone in your father's generation--Ji
Grandmother--Kaa
Grandfather--Jii
After you get the base word, you need to add an honorific. 95% of honorifics used on
family names are either "san" or "chan". Occasionally, if a younger sibling really looks up to an older sibling, they'll use "sama". But that's pretty rare.
So, some examples...
Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) says "ni-san" to his older brother Ed. Al also calls Scar, "Scar-san". Ed's more rude, and doesn't use honorifics for anyone, as far I know.
Shizuka Kawai (Yugioh) says "oni-chan" to her older brother, Katsuya Jounouchi.
Kagura (Fruits Basket) says "Shigure-ni" to her older cousin, Shigure.
Kisa (Fruits Basket) says "oni-chan" to Tohru, who has no relation to her, but Kisa really looks up to Tohru.
Yuki (Fruits Basket) calls his older brother, Ayame, "ni-san".
Shigure (and most of the Sohma family) calls Ritsuka "Rit-chan". (Tohru mistunderstands that Rit-chan is a nickname and calls him "Ritchan-san".)
(since Fruits Basket has a large complex family AND characters that are polite enough to reguarly use honorifics, there's lots of good examples there.)
Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin) calls everyone "-dono" (Kaorou-dono, Megumi-dono, etc.) because he's really polite, and it takes place in 1876.
Kaoru (Rurouni Kenshin) says "Megumi-san" to Megumi, even though she doesn't like her that much.
There is one instance that is very different from this format, from a very popular anime. Karin from Bleach refers to her older brother, Ichigo, as "Ichi-ni". "Ichi", while being part of his name, also means "one" or "first" and I think "protector".
So there's a basic rundown of honorifics for you. Questions, comments, suggestions, random stuff, whatever, put it in the comments. Till next time! ^_^
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #3--Abridged
Hey everyone! This post is going to be abridged in more ways than one. ^_^;; I just got back from vacation, and I'm going back to school tomorrow, so I don't have time for a very long article. I'll try to go back and edit it later in the week with more stuff.
But in the small bit of time I do have, I'm going to talk about Abridged series. Have you ever seen Movies in 15 Minutes? It's kind of like that, only for TV. It's not strictly an anime thing, but it did originate with anime, and the anime abridged series are the most well known. (though Avatar abridged is doing pretty well.)
The creator of abridged serieses was LittleKuriboh with Yugioh: TAS. (the abridged series) Sadly, LK has been banned from Youtube, but all of his videos can be veiwed on DailyMotion or his website. He currently has 23 episodes, a 4-part movie, and a Christmas Special. Some famous YGO: TAS quotes are: Super special awesome and Screw the rules, I have money! and all of it's variations (screw the rules, I have green hair; screw the rules, I'm in love with Nurse Joy; Screw the Yules, I have money; and Screw the money, I have rules) The second of the great abridged series is Naruto: TAS, created by MasakoX and Vegeta3986. Masako has also been banned, but you can still probably find his abridged videos by searching on youtube of checking his DailyMotion. There are 14 episodes. Some famous quotes from them are: Heh heh... moo; the one foot tall brick wall; and anything involving logs.
Those two are, without a doubt, the best of all abridged. There are many more abridged series, including: Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, DBZ, FMA, Bleach, Sonic X, (I personally know the guys that do SX:TAS), Saiyuki and Avatar (not technically anime, but close, and it's pretty good).
But in the small bit of time I do have, I'm going to talk about Abridged series. Have you ever seen Movies in 15 Minutes? It's kind of like that, only for TV. It's not strictly an anime thing, but it did originate with anime, and the anime abridged series are the most well known. (though Avatar abridged is doing pretty well.)
The creator of abridged serieses was LittleKuriboh with Yugioh: TAS. (the abridged series) Sadly, LK has been banned from Youtube, but all of his videos can be veiwed on DailyMotion or his website. He currently has 23 episodes, a 4-part movie, and a Christmas Special. Some famous YGO: TAS quotes are: Super special awesome and Screw the rules, I have money! and all of it's variations (screw the rules, I have green hair; screw the rules, I'm in love with Nurse Joy; Screw the Yules, I have money; and Screw the money, I have rules) The second of the great abridged series is Naruto: TAS, created by MasakoX and Vegeta3986. Masako has also been banned, but you can still probably find his abridged videos by searching on youtube of checking his DailyMotion. There are 14 episodes. Some famous quotes from them are: Heh heh... moo; the one foot tall brick wall; and anything involving logs.
Those two are, without a doubt, the best of all abridged. There are many more abridged series, including: Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, DBZ, FMA, Bleach, Sonic X, (I personally know the guys that do SX:TAS), Saiyuki and Avatar (not technically anime, but close, and it's pretty good).
Sunday, August 12, 2007
I hear wedding bells...
News flash!! LittleKuriboh, the creator of Yugioh: The Abridged Series is officially engaged to Safty!! LittleKuriboh's proposal video can be seen here and Safty's most recent Livejournal entry can be seen here.
Congratulations to Safty and LK!! ^___^
Congratulations to Safty and LK!! ^___^
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Bethel Park Anime #1--Con report
Hello, all! In addition to the movie reviews I do for Bethel Park library, I am now doing anime/manga reviews, recommendations, and other random anime stuff. Check out more Bethel Park teen stuff at: bethelparkteens.blogspot.com
Whether you're a n00b or a hard-core otaku, all anime fans should experience at least one convention in their lifetime. You real otaku out there might even be going every year, and the hard-core fans to cons in other states! Me, I just go to the local con once a year. But what is an anime convention, you ask? Why, it's where all the otaku (anime fans) from all over an area gather and do massive amounts of anime-related things. The convention in Pittsburgh is Tekkoshocon, which in 2008, is from April 11-13. All conventions end with the word "con". Ours is Tekkosho because that word means "steel-making industry" in Japanese.
Tekkoshocon goes from Friday to Sunday, and is at the Monroeville Expo Mart. This past year, we managed to get the whole Expo Mart for ourselves. (last year we had to share with the Sports Card people) Some of the main attractions of the convention are:
The Dealer's Room, which has almost every anime merchandise imaginable, everything from manga, to DVDs, to Naruto wallscrolls, to REAL swords and knives (modeled after famous anime swords, such as Ichigo's Zangetsu--all 3 versions, and Kenshin's sakabato), to figurines, to plushies, and everything in between;
Artist's Alley, where local artists set up tables and sell their own personal artwork. Most of the artists sold drawings and the like, but some had things like buttons and keychains. Not only did these artists have anime fanart, the video game industry was well-represetned, with lots of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. It's impossible for every anime to be covered, though, but some people will take requests, and at reasonable prices, too. (I commisioned a full-page, inked picture for only $7!)
Panels. There were 3 or 4 panel rooms this year. They can be about anything related to anime, manga, or Japanese culture. There was everything from "The Real Keshin" to "How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse" to "Tekko Improv". I personally hosted a panel titled "Dub vs. Original", where I showed how badly 4kids dubs anime. But more aobut that later.
The Video Room(s)--I think there were 4 video rooms as well, this year. Basically, they just screen anime 24/7. And, as far as I know, they always show the subbed (Japanese with subtitles) version.
Voice Actors--At any con you go to, there will be guests. This year, Tekko was lucky enough to land Vic Mignonga, the voice actor for Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist). The actors give autographs, and sometimes attend panels.
The Game Room--I wasn't in the game room this year, but the title says it all. It's a big room where they play video games. Lots, and lots of video games. Yes, they have DDR.
Cosplay--short for "costume play", this is where you dress up as any character/thing/whatever the heck you want. People do as little as wearing a Naruto headband or Uruahara hat to making an exact replica of Alphonse Elric's armor from Fullmetal Alchemist. To see the people that cosplayed at this year's Tekko, go to deathcom.net. At the blue drop-down menu on the top right, go to Tekkoshocon 2007, then click on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. That will bring up the gallery for whatever day you clicked.
That's a general overview of Tekkoshocon. Here's my con report from back in April. If anyone actually reads this, I'll post pictures.
Whether you're a n00b or a hard-core otaku, all anime fans should experience at least one convention in their lifetime. You real otaku out there might even be going every year, and the hard-core fans to cons in other states! Me, I just go to the local con once a year. But what is an anime convention, you ask? Why, it's where all the otaku (anime fans) from all over an area gather and do massive amounts of anime-related things. The convention in Pittsburgh is Tekkoshocon, which in 2008, is from April 11-13. All conventions end with the word "con". Ours is Tekkosho because that word means "steel-making industry" in Japanese.
Tekkoshocon goes from Friday to Sunday, and is at the Monroeville Expo Mart. This past year, we managed to get the whole Expo Mart for ourselves. (last year we had to share with the Sports Card people) Some of the main attractions of the convention are:
The Dealer's Room, which has almost every anime merchandise imaginable, everything from manga, to DVDs, to Naruto wallscrolls, to REAL swords and knives (modeled after famous anime swords, such as Ichigo's Zangetsu--all 3 versions, and Kenshin's sakabato), to figurines, to plushies, and everything in between;
Artist's Alley, where local artists set up tables and sell their own personal artwork. Most of the artists sold drawings and the like, but some had things like buttons and keychains. Not only did these artists have anime fanart, the video game industry was well-represetned, with lots of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. It's impossible for every anime to be covered, though, but some people will take requests, and at reasonable prices, too. (I commisioned a full-page, inked picture for only $7!)
Panels. There were 3 or 4 panel rooms this year. They can be about anything related to anime, manga, or Japanese culture. There was everything from "The Real Keshin" to "How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse" to "Tekko Improv". I personally hosted a panel titled "Dub vs. Original", where I showed how badly 4kids dubs anime. But more aobut that later.
The Video Room(s)--I think there were 4 video rooms as well, this year. Basically, they just screen anime 24/7. And, as far as I know, they always show the subbed (Japanese with subtitles) version.
Voice Actors--At any con you go to, there will be guests. This year, Tekko was lucky enough to land Vic Mignonga, the voice actor for Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist). The actors give autographs, and sometimes attend panels.
The Game Room--I wasn't in the game room this year, but the title says it all. It's a big room where they play video games. Lots, and lots of video games. Yes, they have DDR.
Cosplay--short for "costume play", this is where you dress up as any character/thing/whatever the heck you want. People do as little as wearing a Naruto headband or Uruahara hat to making an exact replica of Alphonse Elric's armor from Fullmetal Alchemist. To see the people that cosplayed at this year's Tekko, go to deathcom.net. At the blue drop-down menu on the top right, go to Tekkoshocon 2007, then click on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. That will bring up the gallery for whatever day you clicked.
That's a general overview of Tekkoshocon. Here's my con report from back in April. If anyone actually reads this, I'll post pictures.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Introdusing myself
Hello, all! Welcome to my blogger.com blog. I also a myspace under guitarX105@aol.com. I don't know how often I'll update this, especially since it probably won't be read by anyone. But... if you're reading this, then someone is reading this... so for you to know that I know no one will read it, you would have to be reading it in the first place... in which case you're reading, and not no one is reading... @_@ I'll stop now...
The only reason I have this blog is so I can do movie reviews for Ing (the greatest librarian in the history of librarians) and the Bethel Park library. Expect lots of anime or anime-like movies, i.e. The Fullmetal Alchemist movie (if I ever get around to seeing it again), Spirited Away, Akira, The Last Unicorn. I don't go to theaters a lot, but when I do, I'll be sure to stop in here!
The only reason I have this blog is so I can do movie reviews for Ing (the greatest librarian in the history of librarians) and the Bethel Park library. Expect lots of anime or anime-like movies, i.e. The Fullmetal Alchemist movie (if I ever get around to seeing it again), Spirited Away, Akira, The Last Unicorn. I don't go to theaters a lot, but when I do, I'll be sure to stop in here!
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