Hey all, you may have noticed that posting comments to the site has been getting a little bit slow at times. Speaking as someone who sees it from the back end, I’ve also been getting hit with a ton of spam comments just within the past couple of months, and it’s a pain in the ass to delete them with things running at the speed of a tortoise.

In response to this, my advisers are helping me upgrade the commenting system to Disqus which will be a little more user-friendly and feature such upgrades as truly threaded comments, which is something I’ve wanted for a long time and makes it much easier to see different discussions going on. Here are some answers to what I expect are the most common questions people are likely to have:

• Do I need a Disqus log-on? – No. You can make a Disqus account if you want, but you can also sign in with your Twitter/Facebook/Other social media service log in, or you can comment on the fly (I believe – it might depend on how I decide to have my settings in regards to spam management).
• Are the old comments going to be deleted? – No. It may take a bit of time for them to re-populate after the conversion, but I’ve been told that they should all show up eventually, assuming everything goes smoothly lol.
• Is this going to change the way you moderate comments? – Moderation will become more user-friendly for me, but I’m not planning to change the commenting rules. The only type of comments that will be heavily-moderated or blocked will be genuinely harmful or abusive ones directed at myself or others, which has consistently been my policy.

The comments system will be going down today until the upgrade is complete, so please refrain from trying to comment until I post again that comments are open. If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me at jessi (at) s1e1 (dot) com. Thank you!

ETA: Well, that was quick. The comment system should be updated at this point. Enjoy!

What a day! On the upside, the season finale of Game of Thrones was excellent, and even though I’ve read the books and have them all at my immediate disposal to re-read at my leisure, I’m already hungry for the next season of the TV series. On the downside, though… it’s been a very frustrating day on the fandom front.

For those of you into video games, E3 has began today with several large press conferences from both game publishers and console developers. It’s a big year since Sony and Microsoft are both on track to release new consoles by the holidays, and so the buzz has been rampant. Unfortunately, the festive atmosphere was farted all over by a couple of pretty dismal events, including some really suspect douchey behavior by a presenter during the Killer Instinct reveal (during which a woman playing was cat-called and talked down to), and an even worse string of tweets sent in response to Feminist Frequency blogger Anita Sarkeesian’s very legitimate criticism of Microsoft for featuring no games in their presentation with women as protagonists.

Gosh I just feel so welcome in gaming fandom right now!

The icing on the cake, though, came via a post at the newly-minted geek blog “The Grey Point” written by Marie Grey, who had the unenviable experience of discovering that her image (a photograph, front-and-back, of her in a Dark Phoenix cosplay) being used without her consent on a body pillow for sale in the dealers room at AnimeNEXT. After being ejected, the dealer was allowed back in under the premise that these items were “promotional materials” for his business and thus supposedly covered under an agreement signed by the author.

Of course, the business is in 360 degree photography, so a body pillow is totally related to that. For sure.

Better yet, there’s some suspicion that this vendor might be selling imagery of underage cosplayers (since his process does not in fact involve checking IDs of photography subjects). Awesome!

I know the argument – this is probably “technically” legal because of whatever wording on the agreement signed by the cosplayer, because “promotional materials” is a vague term to begin with and that unfortunately works to this guy’s advantage in this case – but I’m still calling foul. This is a deceptive practice that victimizes unknowing individuals by literally turning them into objects for people to buy. Because cosplayers aren’t already objectified, ogled and touched without their consent all the time, I guess. OH WAIT. Pardon the language, but it takes a really ignorant fucktrumpet of a troglodyte to come up with such a shady, gross business model. Guess what, BRO? You don’t get to treat actual human beings like your waifu fucktoys. Shitwad.

UGH.

I can’t say what the legal outcome of this will be, but I really hope that Marie gets some sort of compensation out of this. Both this asshole and the convention owe her (and all the other cosplayers featured on these items) a huge apology.

I went out to eat with some friends from anime club yesterday, so of course it wasn't long until the topic drifted to - what else? - anime. It's our common thread, the tie that binds us, the one thing that seems to smooth over almost any major philosophical difference that might otherwise loom large over our relationships. Of course, for me the topic can easily become really sensitive; it comes from having strong opinions about media and social issues in conjunction with a deep commitment to Japanese animated media. And if that sounds pretentious, well... I guess maybe you've come to the wrong place.

Someone brought up Chihayafuru, and someone called it shounen, and... something in my brain wept like a sad trombone. I don't think most people care very much about genre markers and demographics and technicalities like that, because a good show is a good show no matter who the target market is. To some extent, I believe in that - I watch what I want and, in doing so, it becomes my own. But there's a not-so-small part of me that gets really hung up on labels, especially in cases like these where they demarcate some important differences in the target audience and highlight just how under-served some markets are in the anime fandom.

The word "shounen" is a term that literally refers to boys, teenaged and younger. Most people hear the word and associate it with certain plot elements, like lengthy tournament story arcs and characters striving to be the best at their chosen skill, but the fact that these things are common in anime and manga aimed at young boys doesn't mean that young boys get to have a monopoly on those types of stories. Though it might seem like it, "shounen" isn't its own genre but instead a target demographic and a label applied to manga that runs in anthology volumes (Shounen Jump, Shounen Sunday, etc.) that are aimed at, well, shounen. Likewise, josei manga like Chihayafuru are published in anthology magazines aimed at josei - adult women. A lot of them are focused on romance or the trials and tribulations of women navigating the workplace, but they certainly aren't limited to those types of stories.

Recently, Kyoto Animation announced their upcoming Summer anime project, a little series called Free! about a group of high school boys who compete on a swim team. This was an extension of a Kyoto Animation commercial/animation demo/whatever you’d like to label it, in which a group of hot guys essentially got into their kickin’ swim gear and showed their abs near the pool. The concept was based on that of an honorable mention is KyoAni’s annual writing contest. The CM was an instant sensation with the Tumblr crowd; my Tumblr dashboard lit up with gifsets, fan-art and tributes to the unnamed characters (I even made one of my own for the Anime Detour WTF Contest). Crunchyroll eventually posted a petition asking KyoAni to actually produce a TV series based on the short, and it gained over 10,000 signatures (as of right now, it’s sitting at nearly 20,000, quite a feat if you ask me). It was clear that something about the imagery had set the fandom aflame (and not just in the groin area).

Whether the results of the petition were a factor in KyoAni’s decision or not will probably never be common knowledge (I suspect that this show was in production prior to the first CM), but the fact that it was featured as their upcoming Summer project was both a complete surprise to me, and not really that surprising at all. I think to completely ignore the fandom response would have been impossible; while the reactions I’ve talked about so far here have been limited to the Western parts of the anime fandom, I’m guessing that female fans from Japan probably reacted in a favorable, impassioned way as well. And yet, as an anime fan and as a woman, being an ignored member of the anime fandom is nothing new to me. I’m not even talking about fanservice specifically; entertainment in general so often portrays people like me as objects rather than subjects, side characters seen through the eyes of men, and as audience members not worth targeting.

If you're wondering where I've been for the past several weeks, wonder no more. I was very busy preparing for Anime Detour, my favorite local anime convention run by some very cool people (I'm a bit biased: they're my friends... and me, hehe). This year my habit of procrastinating hit me extra hard, so I ended up having to spend a lot of time all at once getting my act together. In addition to some yearly panels I run, I also run the AMV Contest(s) and that requires some amount of organization, pre-planning, work... Anyway, I'll have a convention reaction post up in a little bit, but for those of you who are interested in getting a look at my panel materials, I've uploaded them. They include handouts and clips/presentations from the panels. Feel free to use them if you like, just credit me/link back here if you use them for your own presentations and what-not. I put a lot of work into making these materials, so it's nice to get some credit.

FYI, the video files should be playable to pretty much anyone who watches any amount of downloaded video. During the year I started to make the transition between using avi and mp4 files for the clips, so there are some of each. They should all play on most computers, even less powerful ones.

Shiny New Anime

This is my yearly panel devoted to anime that's been released between last year's convention and this year's. My husband and I (and occasionally some other guests) talk about our favorites and show clips from them.

Handout

Clips

Anime for Grown-Ups

During this panel, we devote some time to discussing anime either aimed at an older audience, or general-audience shows that might have appeal towards fans who feel like their more "mature" tastes are underrepresented in the selection of series. It's not necessarily anime that contains copious sex and violence (though sometimes those things can be a component). I sometimes get some flak from people wondering why some shows are "for grown-ups;" my answer really is that these choices are subjective to what I consider appealing to older people, and that I watch and enjoy plenty of anime that's "not for grown-ups" also.

Handout

Clips

Manga for Grown-Ups

Likewise, this is a panel devoted to more mature-themed manga. This panel is often easier to put together because there's simply more manga aimed at older readers than there is anime aimed at older viewers.

Handout

Power Point Presentation

All of the links should be available for 30 days. If you'd like to download these after that window, send a comment and I'll update the links.

Also! If you have any suggestions for Manga or Anime for Grown-Ups, let me know. I've watched a lot of anime and held these panels for multiple years, but that doesn't mean I'm aware of everything that might be interesting or relevant.

The weekend of St. Patrick’s Day, I attended a local convention. It was awesome, I got my relaxation on, and I was really looking forward to coming back to this website with some newfound energy and pep. Of course, all my best-laid plans seem to go awry, and the following Monday I ended up on my back with a terrible fever. Since then, the mystery flu has torn its way through the Silver-Frederiksen household like a tornado, and my husband is currently suffering its ill-effects. Awesome. With less than a month to go before an upcoming convention (where I’m saddled with several important responsibilities), it’s not really how I wanted to be wasting away my time.

The upside, though, is that we’ve finally gotten to my favorite episode in this anime series. It might seem kind of depressing to be peaking in the middle of the show, but I don’t necessarily look at it like that. The show overall has much more story to tell, but this is the episode that hits me the hardest in the feels box. I think that those of you who have been watching along will really enjoy the new perspective that you’ll gain on Filicia after you get done with this episode.

Watch episode 7 HERE.

Episode 7: Chirping Crickets – Spirits Down the River

The people of Seize are preparing for a festival particular to Southern Helvetia. Kanata calls it Obon, and it involves the creation of paper lanterns which help guide the spirits of visiting ancestors back to the land of the dead. As the festival approaches, Filicia recalls her days as a young soldier. Her experience in direct combat with the enemy, as well as her unlikely survival and rescue, weigh heavily on her as the other girls talk about the spirits of the dead and prepare their lanterns. Filicia elects not to reveal her true preoccupation to Rio, but instead decides to find meaning in what some might claim is now a hopeless, meaningless life during the decline of human civilization.

Well, it's been an interesting last couple of weeks, that's for sure. Without going into too much detail about my personal life, my job has been extra-stressful. I took a class, which was rewarding but required a lot of work and really tested my social anxiety to its limits (I had to do some public speaking in front of a group). That, plus a presentation, plus some out-of-the-ordinary circumstances all added up to a really crappy time. My mind would race at work, and while I'd be concentrating on my job, I'd also be thinking about all the things I wanted to write here when I got home. Then I'd get home and end up being too exhausted to think clearly. It's been really frustrating and depressing. Also not the best of circumstances considering that I have to put together several hours of material on last year's anime and manga for a con coming up, and I'm so behind on watching it that the amount of work I have to do is incredibly intimidating.

But that's enough about me.

I've convinced my Sunday evening anime group to check this series out, and I'm glad; it's really a much better show than it might seem at first glance and I'm excited for more people to watch it.

Watch Episode 6 HERE.

Episode 6: Kanata's Day Off - Hairdressing

With her first paycheck, Kanata goes out for the day to buy gifts for her family (and perhaps also a treat for herself). She doesn't bother asking herself where a small platoon out in the middle of nowhere would get cash enough to pay her, which is just fine; as it turns out, her comrades run a bit of a side business bootlegging alcohol. They get into some hot water with a group of mobsters, but some clever play acting throws them off for the time being. In the meantime, Kanata spends some time in town, and gets involved in some drama involving a local orphan named Mishio and her guardian at the church, Yumina. Mishio's sadness is due to a lost box which belonged to her mother and her hopes of finding it at the local market. When MIshio ends up in a dangerous situation, it's Yumina's name she calls. Soon, Kanata and Yumina discover Mishio's true feelings, and both Mishio and Kanata learn about the value of found families.

So in case it wasn’t apparent from the fact that I haven’t updated yet this week, I’ve been very busy lately. I’m taking a class at work, and they’ve actually given me homework and reading to do. The last class session is tomorrow, so it shouldn’t be hindering my writing any more after that. The newest book club update should take place this weekend. I’ve also been plugging away at reviewing crappy anime from this and last season, as requested (HOORAY), so expect that, too.

I thought I'd get this out of the way now rather than waiting until the last minute. Hopefully this should give people enough time to decide whether they'd like to participate and to obtain the series in whatever way they are able.

The next selection I've chosen as the focus for the Anime Book Club is Armed Librarians: The Book of Bantorra, an action/mystery/fantasy series from 2009 that's recently been released on DVD in Region 1.

The series is 27 episodes, which includes a re-cap episode about half-way through. This is one case where I feel like the re-cap is actually worth one's time to watch, because there is so much going on in the series up to that point that a refresher is extremely welcome. I'll probably put the re-cap on its own week just for purposes of clarifying the story. Otherwise, I want to try and tackle the series two episodes per week, like we normally do for longer series like this.

The show is, by many accounts, pretty odd. Its main feature is its extremely creative world-building. In this story, when people die their souls become stone tablets known as books, which can then be "read" by anyone who feels the need to do so. They can then see the events of that person's life almost as if they were living them. The primary characters are "Librarians" who work at the Library of Bantorra, an archive of all the people who ever lived. The story also involves the conflict between the Librarians and adherents to a religion that tries to classify people into certain social strata. The characters are less-developed than I would normally like, but without spoiling anything about the plot, there's actually a valid story-related reason why that's the case.

The story is relayed in several shorter story arcs that focus on one or two specific characters at a time, and culminate in an arc that brings everything back together.

Unfortunately, this series is somewhat less-available than I would normally like for a series in the Book Club; as I mentioned, it's available on DVD (gotta love how Sentai over-emphasized the breasts on both of those DVD covers, as if to try and trick people into buying it for the sex appeal, of which there is little), as well as on The Anime Network's website; because it received a dub, though, it's only available in its entirety to subscribers of the service. There are, of course, other ways to obtain the series... but I don't generally encourage those except in a last-resort situation.

I will admit that this is a bit of a controversial choice on my part. I really enjoyed the show and was fascinated by its storytelling, but for everyone who agrees with me there are probably two or three more that label it "convoluted" (check out any comment thread on the series if you don't believe me). My hope is that, by watching it again and doing some analysis at the same time, I'll be better able to argue my case for the show, and maybe a few others will also enjoy it.

I'll update later on regarding the date we'll start this series. It will depend both on when we finish Sora no Woto and my personal schedule at that time (I might have some convention stuff going on so I might take a break before diving right into another series).

Woohoo, I'm actually on time this week! I think I'm slowly crawling out of my Winter depressive slump and I'm feeling much more productive than I have in several weeks. I actually got some sunlight yesterday while out with some friends and I think that really helped quite a bit with my mood an energy level. Now I'm cloistering myself inside my office once again to go full-otaku and watch some anime... in reasonable amounts with ample breaks in-between sessions.

This week the characters also take a trip outside their comfort zone to explore the mysterious wilderness surrounding the city. We get a closer look at the beauty and desolation of their world while also glimpsing some more clues as to the type of technology that existed prior to the time period in the series. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean "doom and gloom" as far as the show's tone is concerned - the characters also manage to have some fun in the process.

Watch Episode 5 HERE.

Episode 5: Mountain Hiking - The Ends of the Earth

One very hot day, Claus, a dispatch rider and Major in the army, brings the soldiers mail from their loved-ones. That's not all, however - he also brings them a maintenance mission that Felicia attempts to spin into a "field trip" for the younger troops. Kanata, Noel and Kureha are to travel along the border of "No Man's Land" and check on some surveillance units, while also lugging around huge backpacks. They find the first unit without problems, but after a detour during which they cool off in a river, they find their packs ransacked and have to go it without their full resources. The going gets tougher as the sun begins to set, but they eventually make their way to their destination, where they're met by Filicia, who explains the significance of the field trip and rewards them with an evening in a hot spring that's been hosting many generations of soldiers.