igerz

[igerz]

Erased

That was a roller coaster of a show. I thought the episode selection was great; we had just enough information to connect everything together.

The show did a good job of meshing the science fiction concepts of time travel with important social themes of today. These themes include displaying what it means to struggle through poverty and abuse.

I think a key theme of the show was perserverance; it sounds cheesy but it is sort of a "do what you need to do to get where you want to be" sort of theme. Of course, this was a very dark path for Satoru and he did so much to save his friend.

The serial killer plot twist was pretty mind-blowing. I didn't see it coming at all. I will definitely take the time to fully watch the show.

[igerz]

Cowboy Bebop

This is one of the strangest anime I have ever seen in a good way. It is addicting to watch; and I ended up liking it a lot. I want to take the time to watch the whole show over the summer. If I could describe it in the four episodes we were assigned, I would call it “the show where a futuristic space cowboy runs away from his past with very good-looking teammates & a strange sense of justice”. 

I will say, the color palette choice is much different than a traditional “cowboy” or even ‘space”-themed one; it has this dark, but futuristic undertone to it - as well as heavy neo-noir implications, which makes it a little more aesthetically pleasing to watch than some other anime, in my opinion. (Neo-noir style film, if I am not mistaken, has much darker lighting & many flashbacks, as well as blurred morality lines.)

Although this specific episode wasn’t assigned, I enjoyed episode 1 very much (I didn’t want to start right at episode 5 without watching the first episode; it felt weird to not watch it). From the gunfights, to the tragic ending; I was hooked. 

There is quite a lot of tragedy in this show; which isn’t what I was expecting. The depth of the emotional levels in this show were very prevalent; and to me, the takeaway from the anime was to accept and embrace your past. Even if a past can be traumatic or regretful - or any sort of negative descriptor; it is still a part of who you are. You can’t run from it; and if you do, it will catch up to you. I see this happening with Spike throughout the show. He doesn’t like to talk about his past; and he most definitely does not wholeheartedly accept it, but often runs from it.

[igerz]

Parasyte

Parasyte explores what it means to be human. Migi, obviously a parasitic creature, starts off with characteristics of his species. I know Migi is supposed to have no emotions, but I really think that he (I'm not really sure what Migi’s pronouns are I’m sorry) somehow starts to value certain people in a “human-like” way, or at least starts to gain a “human-like” characteristic integrated into his normal species’ way of thinking. 

I definitely was a little shook regarding the first couple episodes. They were a bit gory; but the concept behind everything was very interesting. I like how there was a concept that a different species’ survival was reliant on human consumption in a way similar to the fact how humans consume other organisms for survival. It really puts a spin on how I view the world. 

I think the show explores the themes of survival; there may not be an ethically or morally clear “good or bad”, but just the concept of surviving; this is demonstrated through the species. They are “evil” to humans because they are a threat to human survival; but really they’re just doing what humans do in a sort of way; consuming other living things for survival. 

I think what Migi was trying to say when he said humans are closest to demons in a sort of desensitized contradictory manner is that a lot (there are quite a lot of exceptions) of people have no problem eating what was once living that may have had some sort of consciousness level; but they have a problem with the emotional toll of them becoming the victim when they do the same thing. 

I don’t know how much of a fan I was of the art style; I don’t hate it, but it definitely freaked me out. I did love the concepts associated with the anime, and I definitely want to watch it fully when I have the time.

[igerz]

Kobayashi’s Sensoron

Kobayashi’s Sensoron very momentarily confused me into thinking that Japan was innocent of certain war crimes; but I quickly “unconfused” myself because these war crimes did most definitely happen. I sort of felt, for lack of a better word, “gaslighted” into believing the author for a second. The author does this act of “confusing” very well; he incorporates certain evidence that makes me question my own knowledge. I have mixed feelings about some war crime-related occurrences now; this manga shifted my perspective a bit. Additionally, I think this manga is pretty conservative, and quite biased. It did give me a different view to take into account though; I do think that Japan’s war crimes are definitely real though, and failure to acknowledge this is terrible. I don’t like how there is a factor of denial that such cruelties happened.

It really connects to the themes of nationalism from Gellner’s Short History; and how nationalism can be very important for a country. Kobayashi depicted Japan in a favorable light. Instead of establishing the acknowledgement of the war crimes happening, Japan is depicted in an innocent fashion. I think, in general, everyone should take responsibility for what they have done through acknowledgment and improvement; it is only through acknowledging the problems of the past that we can try to prevent these from occurring again. In my opinion, it can be rather difficult for countries to do this - because that is human nature; nationalism is a bit about pride, so admitting iniquitous action occurrences can most definitely be difficult for a country - no one wants to dirty the beautiful image of their own country.

I will say that it is very easy to point fingers of blame on a sole country or person (depends on the situation); when more than one party can be at fault (though at different levels of magnitude; e.g. one party can have a huge role in causing a problem, while another can have a smaller role in causing the same problem).

[igerz]

Your Name

This movie made me cry profusely, but I was so happy with the ending! I was literally screaming at my screen when they met again. It was the perfect balance of audience suspense (in the way that we don’t know if they will meet again and/or even remember each other). I really thought they were never going to meet again.

The movie definitely incorporates a lot of themes into the storyline; we see elements of tradition, love, yearning, and more. What I thought was really profound about the movie is the concept of love being perspective-focused. The two characters, Mitsuha & Taki, have never actually met each other but still fell in love. It was not physical appearance or talking to each other that made this happen, but rather the sharing of hardships and being put directly into the other person’s shoes.

Focault’s writings regarding “The History of Sexuality '' were quite interesting to read; and in regards to its relationship with the movie - I think it mainly has to do with the concept that power is everywhere and multifarious. In the movie itself, we see the God of time as this sort of power that entwines the fates of Mitsuha & Taki; (1) in order to save the people (2) for the interesting romantic development of these characters. This God is pretty “overpowered” in the sense that they can control time and unite these character from different timelines which somehow still find themselves together.

Another theme I found in the movie was the importance of tradition. Without the traditions, Mitsuha and her town may have very well been dead forever; in a way, it was the family tradition that saved them all from the comet.

The art style was beautiful; and overall, the movie was deep, but also adorable in a sense.

[igerz]

Hetalia Axis Powers

The article we had to read for this show, plus Hetalia Axis Powers itself really made me think about essentialism again. The show was very funny, but it felt weird to hear about country generalizations in the beginning of the year, and actually see it applied in action. Italy talked about pasta, France wanted to disagree with the US and Britain, and Britain wanted to disagree with anything the US had to say.

The essentialization aspect of the show made me feel like the humanity of people is lost in these generalizations. The show takes individuals and displays an illusion that the entire country has the same ideas - that a country is “the enemy”, instead of taking into account individualism. It gets rid of the idea that there are people behind a country; for instance, when a soldier is going to war, it is easy to think of the entire country as a dehumanized enemy; not the enemy soldier possibly being a father with a big family at home who could be just like the soldier he is fighting, but simply just “the enemy”. Unfortunately, war works that way, so regardless, the two parties will have to fight, but the way of thinking associated with the fighting can be a little concerning at times.

There is a common “collectivist” theme found in the show. I think this somewhat applies to the Russia/Ukraine situation right now. There are plenty of people who dislike Russia because of Putin’s actions, but a lot of the people in Russia are against Putin; people may see Russia as a collective enemy; and not for how it is; a country composed of individuals with opinions that can clash.

In regards to the art style, I did find the Chibi adorable. Also, I don’t think I’ve watched an anime with episodes that short before.

[igerz]

XenoBlade Chronicles and Its Relationship To The Drama of the Anthropocene

The main takeaway I got from the Anthropocene was that we need to take better care of our environment; and change our approach of living in the balancing of the three Anthropocene components: Deep Ecology, Romanticism, and Renaissance Science. The new approach that will heal our environment and society must be eclectic of these three elements; each component has valuable perspectives.

Deep Ecology gives us the perspective that we embrace nature. Romanticism gives us the perspective that we should embrace people for who they are, without artificial constructs attached; and finally, Renaissance Science (or alchemy per say) gives us the notion that thinking is not singular in its faceting; it is in fact, infinitely faceted, and one should be open to different ways of thinking.

These three perspectives can still be utilized to make efficient use of nature, but in a way that accounts for time and the future of the world; thus, we should develop an approach that preserves the beauty of what we are given, but still lets us live happy lives.

We see this in Xenoblade. The guild has a beautiful vision of Elysium, but after arriving, finds it pretty much destroyed - and nothing like the beautiful environment it was before. The game goes hand in hand with the article; and we really need to take a step back - away from the consumerist lifestyle; and towards a one where people can be happy while still taking care of the environment.

This is somewhat similar to the message we got from Nausicaa of the Wind. People can have very destructive behaviors, that in turn, can lead to the destruction and later the revolting of nature against us. We can’t keep living like this; and if we do, the world as we know it will eventually be destroyed by ourselves.

[igerz]

Swamp Con Spring 2022!

This was my first ever anime convention, and also my first time cosplaying. I dressed up as Nezuko (from the anime, Demon Slayer). I planned it out about a month beforehand, and bought everything. I almost backed out; but I didn’t. It took a lot of self confidence to do, and also I think I went through with it because I already spent the money for it.

I went with three of my peers; Shannon, Ginnie, and Kevin; and we all had a very fun time. The first part of the convention we went to was the artists and vendor rooms - because at that time, that’s all that was open. There were a lot of very cool “spin-off” art pieces from a variety of different anime, video games, and manga. It was very fascinating. Additionally, there was a stand for furries, where they sold tails and ears; and another stand sold horns.

I had a lot of people approach me because of my cosplay. I ended up taking pictures with other cosplayers; I also had people talk to me as if they were Zenitsu (the person in love with Nezuko) - they spoke like him; for instance, someone called out “Nezuko-chan” in the same tone Zenitsu used. It was entertaining.

We also went to the larger vendor room, where we found a variety of anime clothing, figures, handmade earrings, and a lot of items I wouldn’t normally see in stores - or items that I would see very rarely at least. I did end up splurging on some very cute tanjiro earrings, and a Ju Jutsu Kaizen hoodie, which was embroidered - I’m not mad about the price because the stores I bought from were small businesses, so the associated fees, in my opinion, were worth it.

We then proceeded to the maid cafe, where there were coloring books and brightly themed tables; they served us sweet drinks and dessert. Everyone was in character; with a certain demeanor of maid characters seen in anime. The dance performance was amazing. We were still a bit hungry for more substantial food, so we took a break and got starbucks and papa john’s.

We checked out some of the vendors, and saw more cosplayers - some from video games, and other from anime. After that, we all split up.

I ended up attending a “MetaPanel” Paneling session. I learned so much about paneling that gave me a newfound respect for panelists; it also gave me the knowledge to create my own panel if I ever wanted to. I’ll share a couple of the key points I learned!

Paneling can be broken up into four main parts: creation, submission, prep work, and presenting/performing. In creating a panel, one must consider their passions, who their audience is when running the panel, how they want the panel to be run, and make sure the reason for paneling is genuine (and not for fame or free convention passes/perks). Next, the person has to submit the panel idea - with an appropriate title, detailed & helpful description and their resume! I was surprised about this part - panelists submit panel-focused resumes to conventions & the convention managers may even contact the panelists’ past places they paneled beforehand.

Following submission comes prep work; which can be quite a lot, depending on the type of paneling the person is doing. Examples of what is needed during prep work are visual aids, specified materials, communication within the group and convention managers, and rehearsals.

The final part of it all is to present: one has to be prepared (for strange questions, needed computer chargers or equipment, and showing up early), try to become acclimated to the surroundings (comfortability), and most importantly, have fun!

At the panel, I met Nezuko’s brother in cosplay and I took a picture with him; it was nice to see someone else from the show i was cosplaying from. After, I was invited by my bestie Meir with his friends to go to the Vocaloid concert.

I did find the Vocaloid concert a very unique experience; I’ve never done anything like it before. I listened to Vocaloid music in middle school, but today was the first time I revisited the music in a while. To elaborate, Vocaloids characters are fictional idols with synthesized voices - there is a software you can use with different character voices to create music. At the concert, we saw virtual characters - like Ren, Lin, and Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid idols) perform, projected onto a mesh screen. One of Meir’s friends let us borrow his concert light wands to wave during the performance.

Afterward, I left the building & saw a Pokemon car - which was sort of a final touch for me. I had so much fun, and I think I may even want to panel next year!

SwampCon has definitely shown me a different perspective, or rather, another side of the anime/manga world I haven’t seen before; and it’s amazing how so many people are so invested in making this really cool convention happen - and I do realize how this took an extremely large amount of dedication to do.

[igerz]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Once again, Studio Ghibli has nailed visuals while demonstrating prevalent underlying themes of what still affects us today in Nausicaa of the Wind.

The first connection I made was that of environmental conservation. This isn't the first time Studio Ghibli has suggested that we need to take better care of the environment & change our consumerist ways and destructive behaviors. We saw this in Spirited Away, when the River Dragon no longer had a river, due to urban expansion and construction that caused his home to dry up. We see this on a much larger scale in Nausicaa of the Wind, through the “toxic jungle” - which is a result of war and consumption. Take the Sea of Decay for example - Earth is simply detoxifying as a result of what was done to it - it was never naturally toxic to begin with.

I do find the end of Nausicaa of the Wind very hopeful; the healthy plant sprout, at least in my opinion, was a symbol of a brighter future; just because we have had so much environmental destruction & loss doesn’t mean that our efforts to solve these issues will be in vain. Whatever we do now - to avoid war and preserve the environment - can still impact the future generations and lead to a healed planet and better future.

I can make a connection to Saito’s Beautiful Fighting Girl; Nausicaa really represented this. She was, in more formal terms, a powerful & beautiful princess with admirable heroic qualities. Her demeanor, attitude, and actions are that of the traditional “masculine” heroine, but she still preserves a sense of femininity & beauty. She is also the bridge between people and the comprehension & respect of nature; and leads everyone to slowly change their attitude toward the environment and heal the same nature they once feared and partially destroyed.

[igerz]

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken

I’m very happy that this was a very upbeat, joyful show because I don’t think I am in the right headspace to watch more depressing anime. It was cute, and reminded me of my childhood - Akasuka especially reminds me of when I was younger (and still a bit how I am today, but toned down a notch).

The anime gave me a youthful feel - the color scheme was bright, and the animation style reminded me of innocence - it was a bit reminiscent of an art style that I would watch as a kid - essentially, an art style I would encounter in anime I watched when I was younger.

I forgot about how difficult animation can be until I watched the show. I, myself, used to use an application for fun in high school, where I would do frame by frame animation, but I quickly stopped due to how painstakingly long it took to make. Seeing the trio do this reminded me of those times. I think I have a refreshed appreciation for the efforts of animators; every single detail in any anime in general, I think I will like a little bit more than I did before because I realize how much effort it takes.

In regard to the article, I think there is a distinction made; the storyline of the anime is separate from the actual art itself; and both can be powerful. Just because an animation may not have a storyline doesn’t make it less powerful. Take for example, a sculpture - a sculpture could have a story behind it, but the actual, physical sculpture itself can be powerful simply because of how astounding & beautiful it is - (of course, also acknowledging the laborious efforts of the artist). I feel like that is what the article was trying to convey - a story can have power, but the existence of art can be powerful without it - just by existing.

[igerz]

Wandering Son

First of all, I would like to say that I loved the pastel, almost watercolor-ish art style. It was beautiful, and I think it is one of the art styles I loved the most out of all of the anime we watched this semester (besides Spirited Away and A Silent Voice).

I haven’t seen much accurate media representation (besides a select few) in anime regarding transgender topics ; and sometimes these topics, when mentioned, are overexaggerated in ways that make it hard to really understand how transgender struggles may be, or on the other hand, barely even touched on at all. Therefore, I really enjoyed the fact that this was a slice-of-life anime that helped others understand what societal problems transgender people face.

Gender is the social meaning conventionally prescribed to either male or female bodies, and is also performative; it’s not stable, and it’s historically constructed. However, much of society has associated gender and sex as being “together”, when they are in fact, separate matters. We see this throughout the show through the discrimination of Shuichi and Yoshino. Shuichi chooses that she wants to be a girl & encounters social challenges, and Yoshino does the same, but vice versa. It was sad to see Shuichi have such a negative reaction from her mom and sister.

I think that the show does a great job of presenting the complexity of gender identity; it’s not as cut and dry as it was historically viewed as.

It is very refreshing to see a show that accurately depicts some of the struggles of those in the LGBT community; and it is a great way to help others empathize, and perhaps become more receptive to the many different facets of gender identity.

Another interesting part of the show was the depiction of the characters: I would not have been able to tell if Shuichi or Yoshino’s sex was female or male - and because of this, many of their actions were performative to the gender they wanted to be perceived as during that time.

[igerz]

Aggretsuko

Aggretsuko was most definitely entertaining to watch; and I wouldn’t have picked to watch by myself. I’m glad it was assigned; I’ve never watched any Anthropomorphic anime before - the art style was definitely unique.

The article we had to read was simply an explanation of how gender is a social construct. We were instilled with the “characteristics” of our assigned genders growing up; what makes painting nails feminine? What makes wearing makeup feminine? Why is it that if a little girl, who enjoys what she does in different ways than the standard “girl”, she is called a “tomboy”? What makes actions that should have no business being “gendered” (e.g. men wearing makeup are seen as “feminine” and the act itself is “feminine”)?

Our actions that society groups into gender: feminine versus masculine actions - they are performative. We weren’t born thinking that playing baseball is for men, and not for women - but in society, we exhibit actions that, in social norms, show what gender we are. This ties into Third Wave Feminism; its purpose is to get rid of gender roles and labels calling certain actions “gender-specific”. However we fall into this performative act - of showing how “manly” or “feminine” one can be regularly. Additionally, performative actions aren’t restricted to gender - that was just an example. Performative actions apply to one’s suppressing of internal thoughts, feelings, or characteristics in order to fit into specific society-constructed roles.

We can apply this in Retsuko’s case. She is very performative - and takes on the role of the sweet, polite, and generally soft-spoken officewoman. Deep inside, she has much hate - and harbors an obsession uncharacteristic of her “feminine, sweet nature” - which she normally displays through actions categorical of this nature, as decided by societal constructs. Slowly, she starts to open up & not fall into the trap of having to fit a society-made role; whilst still acting appropriately, but not losing her own characteristics - regardless if they are or aren’t categorical of a role she plays or not.

[igerz]

Sailor Moon: Girl Power

The article, “Girl Power”, by Newsom, gave me a different meaning to Sailor Moon that it had to me before, but also reinforced some of what I already took away from the show; as I watched it when I was younger.

The Sailors are presented as sexualized objects visually, but display a mix of hyperfeminine characteristics combined with heroic, traditionally masculine qualities - in terms of non-physical attributes. This is sort of an oxymoronic display of third-wave “girl power”; as even though the Sailors are hyperfeminine and taking full ownership of their feminine identities to fight evil just as well as men can, it is rooted in the patriarchal satisfaction of the objectification and sexualization of beautiful women with a special, slim body type & revealing schoolgirl clothes.

The show was made with teenage girls and young women in mind; and it is refreshing to see the societal relatability of some of these girls, even if some of this content is implied or hidden in its messages.

For instance, Usagi, throughout the episodes we watched, can be heroic - but she is still a normal, teenage girl in her mind most of the time. She can be a crybaby quite a lot; and she worries about her weight - like the time in the show where she freaked out after gaining three pounds (like many teenage girls in todays’ society) and did heavy dieting.

Trigger Warning: Anorexia (do not read if sensitive to topic)

An even deeper, yet sensitive take on this could be the perspective of those suffering with anorexia (which was briefly mentioned in the article) - they may experience small changes to their body even though they just ate a little, but still have a drastic view shift of their body.

Anorexia Part Finished (Continue to read after this if sensitive to topic)

My take on this is that the female heroic “protagonist” does not have to be perfect, and is in fact, in some ways, just like us; it is when this protagonist digs up the courage inside of her to battle evil when she is needed most. We can treat this somewhat as a metaphor, and although the show was supposedly meant for young women and girls, this idea can be inspiring to any audience & also can be applied in real life; although we, as humans, struggle with our daily lives and are flawed; we can look within ourselves to find bravery and strength to overcome the larger obstacles we face in life.

In my opinion, I believe that the reason Sailor Moon can be inspiring to many is because of its qualities of “simulation” - it can be linked back to reality and directly applied to us; Usagi could have been considered an ordinary teenager with struggles we see in real life, which could make the relevance of the subject to the audience that much more important.

Bonus: A Related Song, "Sailor" by Tobi Lou:

Warning: This is an explicit song in respect that it uses a variety of curse words. Do not listen if you are offended. I just thought it related to the article and of course the show.

Elaboration on the Music Video:

The music is directly related to the article in the ways that Usagi and the other Sailors use their hyperfeminine, sexualized looks and movements to mask their heroic, traditionally "masculine" non-physical attributes. The artist of the song sings about how his significant other is entincing in the way that she "moves like Sailor Moon" and how she attracts many men.

[igerz]

Genshiken Pt 3

There were a few topics I wanted to address regarding Part 3 of our Genshiken-watching assignment.

The first was Madarame’s almost “coming-of-age”. Of course, he is still an otaku at heart, but he is maturing in some ways. He was waiting for his first love during otaku club, but he has gradually come out of that phase & maybe even came to found a new love. It was very sad to see him called out though - for clinging to the hope that maybe he might be reunited with her.

The second was Hato’s crossdressing. I personally have nothing against crossdressing, and actually support those who would like to do so. I was very shocked though when it was revealed that Hato was a guy. Throughout the episodes, there is a bit of cloudiness in Hato’s sexuality - but still a continuance in the theme from “Saito’s Beautiful Fighting Girl”. Sexuality and related topics in reality for Hato and other Otaku are not severely blurred by their Boys’ Love or other anime/manga romantic related interests. It is a genre to them - even Hato declared this. He stated that his interest in boys' love and crossdressing does not change the fact that he likes girls.

I do feel bad for Hato, and how he had to deal with rumors at school just because of misinterpretation of his interests, and the lack of distinction of the fact that Otaku separate their fictional romance interests with their actual romantic lives/sexuality.

The third was a more comical incorporation of Hato’s crush and boys' love. It was funny but really strange (and a little gross) to see how she made up a story how Hato copied her so he could become how her and his brother were- and created this situation where there was tension between the two brothers. This was pretty far-out and gross in my mind, BUT it is important to note that she knows exactly how far-out this is, and that she is most definitely joking around - or at least aware that this is obviously not the real case.

[igerz]

Genshiken Part 2

The readings resonated quite deeply with the episodes we had to watch. Part 2, Episode 5 was very uncomfortable for me to view - but it did demonstrate one of the possible characteristics of the otaku psyche & internal thought processes. We see this with Chika and her perception of boys’ love; when Sasahara and Madarame are simply conversing about job opportunities. She creates a fictional scenario with anime rom-com/shojo stereotypes and actions. She then proceeds to make a situation in her head where they (the boys) are in love with each other, and have encounters over the years. The art style is also adapted to fit the “shojo” genre. This is an application of the aforementioned “otaku objects” incorporated into reality. She incorporates what she loves, or is interested in, into her perception of reality.

The readings also did a detailed job of including sexuality in otaku culture - which is not typically addressed in analysis, and it actually quite avoided. There is a lot of suggestive content within anime and manga (but also arguably so in other tv shows that include real-life actors). Otakus can find sexual attraction to fictional characters: although it can be understandable because desires are not something that can always be controlled - it is a sort of cognitive dissonance. These desires are insatiable because characters are fictional - this somewhat ties into simulacra and reality. These characters are part of the simulacra, but the human resides in reality. It is impossible to connect this gap of reality versus simulacra to fulfill otaku desires (they do not have to be suggestive, but sexuality was definitely a large part of the reading).

Saito (the author of the readings) really delved into the psyche of the Otaku. I thought there were very interesting points, and I actually encountered some that surprised me - specifically regarding the otaku surveys (although these can be a little biased, they can be taken into account with a large margin of error - but still be taken as impactful knowledge). For instance, many otakus are doctors or engineers, have a lot of money, and typically sociable - according to the surveys. (Again, I know that surveys are not the most accurate, BUT they do hold prevalence in my opinion.) These surveys partially dispelled some predisposition regarding otaku.

[igerz]

Genshiken Part 1

Genshiken is a very strange, but very interesting anime- being a sort of “slice-of-life” anime with a twist in the form that it revolves around otakus and their fandom.

Sasahara was very relatable; I used to conceal my interests - especially anime & manga, because many of the people I knew thought this and my other sort of interest were weird. I did this so I was accepted. I stopped eventually, but encountered discrimination from the opposite spectrum. I didn’t watch enough, or I wasn’t involved enough. Eventually, I found my group of friends in the medium area - but similar to Sasahara’s world, there will be discrimination on either sides of the extreme. Sasahara had to make this choice - when he decided to join the otaku club.

It is very apparent that the otaku culture has a massive impact on the economy; domestically (in Japan), and globally. To throw in a fact, in the article “Anime's contribution to Japan's Economy”, it stated that “animation, Japan's third-largest industry, has an annual turnover of 250 trillion yen. The revenue generated by the sale of anime related goods to the Unites States far surpasses Japan's steel exports to the United States.” We also see this throughout the show - examples are both Madarame and Sasahara - when (1) Madarame takes part in the convention, and (2) Sasahara buys a lot of manga.

I think Genshiken does what it's supposed to - showcase otaku culture and its different facets and extremes.

In relation to the article we read, it is obvious that many otakus don’t buy anime or manga related merchandise for major economic investment or career enhancement; but rather to boost esteem within the otaku community.

[igerz]

Otaku - Japan's Database Animals

(Shown above is a GIF of a technological database)

The main theme of the reading hit directly on database consumption; otakus (huge fans of anime and/or manga) are postmodernists with objectives to buy (the capitalist, materialistic consumption mindset), but also classify anime, manga, and its characters into different groups with certain or similar characteristics in each one.

Otaku culture is no longer solely part of Japan ; it has really become a globalized trend, spreading to other parts of Asia, and the Western part of the world. Because of its widespread qualities, it is a testament that challenges grand narratives; which usually pertain to a certain society only that can be explained by its history and has traceable origins. This is clearly not the case when it comes to the otaku community.

To further elaborate, otaku are consumers of simulacra that have no apparent specific origin. Anime or manga characters can appear to be copies of each other - but they fall into the classification of simulacra because there is no specific traceback to an original character. That’s where database consumption comes into play - many anime or manga characters can come from different groupings of general characters with certain physical attributes or even mental ones too. Essentially, the author, at least in my opinion, is trying to say that in some way shape or form, anime and manga characters are reiterations of each other with minor changes.

The reading did open up my perspective quite a bit. I always thought that anime or manga could be classified into many different genres - but I never thought about how similar one character can be from another show - physically and mentally - and how many times I see the “same character” in a slightly different iteration in my many experiences watching quite the variety of anime, and reading webtoons and manga as well.