#preferably something on crunchyroll

[daisynik7]

took a break from watching anime, ready to dive in again

[gontagokuhara]

how i’ll sleep at night knowing all my blorbos (except chiaki 🫡) got an unequivocally happy ending even though theyre literally danganronpa characters and by definition it doesnt exactly lend itself easily to said happy endings

[pain-in-the-butler]

How was the rest of the Kuroshitsuji panel? I'm curious lol

I'm so glad you asked! I was actually planning to make a post on this regardless of interest, so it's convenient that someone will actually already be curious to hear lol. Here is the long version of what happened at the panel:

Before CDawgVA, the directors, and Daisuke Ono came out onstage, they had a hype man going around and interviewing cosplayers in the audience/giving them random Crunchyroll prizes. He would ask the cosplayers to tell him something about their costume. My favorites were the Sebastian who cut their wig just that morning and the Ciel who left their neck bow at home, so they improvised one out of tissues and it actually looked pretty good. Here's my picture of it on the big screen:

I guess I'm an outlier who never watched a CDawgVA video, so seeing him in person was actually my first time seeing him ever. He seemed like a nice guy and happy to be there, I can see why people like him. He did a pretty good job inviting the guests onstage and asking them questions -

Producer Yoshito Ito and director Kenjirou Okada both received applause when they came out, but the crowd fuckin exploded for Daisuke Ono. He clearly has a lot of experience in working a room, he did a little theatrical bow when he walked out, and I think he said "yes, my lord" or something like that, I don't remember exactly. I'm actually not much of a fan of his, but I still joined everyone else in cheering loudly for him -

All the guests spoke Japanese and as far as I could tell the translator did a really good job up there, he was quick on the draw every time. I could tell the fan next to me spoke some Japanese and he seemed to think it was accurate -

To break the ice, CDawg asked the three panelists about what they thought of Los Angeles. I can't remember what the director and producer said, but Ono went to see a Lakers game and had a good time even though they lost -

Then CDawg (do people call him that or Connor? I actually don't know, sorry if I sound like a pleb) said that because Sebastian likes cats so much, he wonders if any of the panelists would like to have a cat. I believe it was Okada who said he had a cat two years ago when he lived with his parents, but when he moved out, his mother told him "The cat is staying here." Ito said he would rather have a dog, and Ono said he would also prefer a dog, but he would definitely name the dog "Sebastian" -

The panel was scheduled to be under an hour, so I was kind of glad when CDawg moved on from the goofy questions and asked about the anime. Ito and Okada talked about location scouting a little bit in England. They said the oddest thing for them was how there weren't mountains and that they could see the horizon even when they weren't near water. They said if they hadn't actually visited England, they probably would have put mountains around Weston...... -

CDawg also asked them about the food (and apologized for its taste before they could answer lol). Ito and Okada said that they enjoyed the fish and chips, but were surprised that afternoon tea did not live up to the hype. They didn't like the scones with clotted cream, which surprised CDawg, who said "clotted cream is the only good food we have" lmao -

Ito and Okada also talked about how they initially turned down an offer to make a new season, supposedly because they didn't think they could hold a candle to the earlier seasons. They said they later changed their minds when they realized that there were still fans of the series who wanted to see what came next. I personally don't buy that answer, but not for any reason other than it sounds fake. Maybe there's some truth to it (maybe) -

They also talked about how they really went into the Public School arc hoping to create something that felt different from the previous seasons. That was interesting to me, because it didn't really feel like that's what they were going for when I watched it, but okay I guess they were -

Ono said the most exciting thing for him about working on the Public School arc was that he was granted permission to give a more emotional performance this time. He believes that Ciel and Sebastian's experience fighting Undertaker on the Campania was a turning point in their relationship and that it changed the way he voiced Sebastian. He really did seem pleased with this fact, though it seemed to me that he could not remember Book of Atlantic very well lol—but that could have simply been due to the way the translator referred to it as "that cruise ship" -

I think that was when they took another little break to play a game CDawg came up with where the panelists had to guess what a few words in British slang meant. The first was the Welsh word "cwtch". We weren't supposed to take pictures but your girl took one anyway

"Cwtch" is pronounced "cootch" and CDawg said "Here's a hint: when you see Ciel, you want to give him a cwtch." Through no fault of the Welsh, CDawg clearly picked this word to sound like an innuendo, and some people in the audience were shouting "Kiss? Kiss?" I can't remember who, but either Ito or Okada's guess was something the translator apparently "Couldn't say out loud" with the impression that their guess was sexually inappropriate? Ono and the remaining director/producer guessed the word "hug" which was close: "cwtch" means "cuddle." It was such a bizarre moment, I stg when will we stop making sexual jokes about this child character. That includes you, Yana 🫵 -

The next word CDawg had everyone guess was "chuffed", with a picture of young Vincent celebrating his cricket victory. The hint was "you feel this after you win a cricket match." Both Ito and Okada correctly guessed "happy" and Ono guessed "like you want to drink a beer." CDawg said that that was truly in the spirit of English culture -

After that we got the Green Witch trailer, which was another bizarre moment, this time for the reason that we saw no new animation and we basically knew it was coming. Still, the audience went wild and it was fun to experience it together. We also got the 2025 release date so I guess that's cool -

Next, Ito and Okada talked about the upcoming season a little bit. The only thing of note that I can recall is that they said they weren't going location scouting this time because Sieglinde's village wasn't a real place. However, they said they planned to take a lot of inspiration from the manga itself. These points struck me as disheartening and obvious in turn, but I guess at least they were honest -

Ono said he was excited to give a darker performance this time around. He also said, mostly likely to drum up the crowd, that he was a little nervous but that he could do anything with "Ciel" (Maaya Sakamoto) by his side, and yes the audience did eat it up with more applause -

After that, CDawg raffled off what looked to be a drawing of Sebastian, possibly by Yumi Shimizu, signed by Daisuke Ono. They had given us these tickets before the panel started and the person with the winning number got the prize. Shockingly, I did not win -

Next someone came and took a picture of the panelists and the audience in the background, then Daisuke Ono did this thing where he waved at everyone and got us to wave with him, and finally the panel ended after roughly fifty minutes

Overall, I give the event a 6/10. We didn't have a lot of time, so I understood that they couldn't go too in-depth and that they wanted to keep it lighthearted too, but I personally would have appreciated some more interesting information on season 4 or something juicy about season 5. As it was, it felt like a lot of what we learned was entirely unsurprising. But it was nice of everyone to come all the way from Japan and the UK, and I guess it's kind of cool to say I've seen Daisuke Ono live now, even though he's only my third favorite Sebastian. My expectations were low, I went just to say I was there, and what I mainly gained was a bit of whimsical joy at being in a room full of Kuro fans, which is no bad prize at all.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/749333039047442432/httpsolderthannetfictumblrcompost74884185043?source=share

Sorry, long rant incoming.

Someone in the replies said it, but I think it needs to be said again where everyone can see it: I think a lot of the attitude that anon is somehow secretly pro-censorship because they think certain preferences are skeevy, and strenuously insisting that bad attitudes can NEVER be media's fault.... idk, maybe take it out of the context of debates about sexually explicit/pornographic media for a moment?

There are works of media that had pretty direct effects on activist and political movements, good and bad. Uncle Tom's Cabin inspired a lot of people to fight against slavery. The movie Birth of a Nation, which showed a history of the U.S. with the KKK as heroic, is considered by most historians to be a major contributor to the revival of the KKK in the 1920s. The Nazis used films, books, music, art, and so on in their propaganda, knowing it would help their ideas go down more easily. The Soviets did too. Every dictatorship did. Even democratic countries have done it as well, usually but not always in more subtle ways.

Do none of those count, because "oh, people who were going to be convinced by Birth of a Nation would be racist anyway"? "Good, non-racist people wouldn't be convinced by it"? I mean, the latter is true: there were plenty of people, especially black Americans but plenty of white allies too, who boycotted the film at the time. The NAACP led a boycott. But do you really think NO ONE was convinced? (What about people who previously didn't feel any way about it one way or the other? Were they just innately more evil, even if it might've just been that they weren't aware? Do supposedly progressive people in fandom realize how much this sounds like Christian original sin rhetoric...) And does it matter purely about media fully changing minds, or also how it galvanizes people who already think one way? If it gives them new talking points, new ways of thinking about it and convincing others? If it helps them believe their cause is more important and worth fighting for?

So why does this all suddenly change when we're talking about sex? Is porn really this special class of media where somehow all the rules about how we can both like things and also be critical of how media (fiction, news media, whatever) influences us - "be critical of the media you love," as a tote bag sold by Feminist Frequency said - just stop applying for some reason? Or maybe if something is bypassing your rational brain entirely and going directly for the pleasure centers, there's all the more reason to think critically about what it's saying? Propaganda is designed to bypass all that, too.

Also, if media really has NOTHING to do with it, that just wouldn't explain why it's disproportionately anime that feature these specific elements that seem to attract more people arguing for why it's wrong to be upset by rape or child exploitation in real life. I don't believe that everyone who watches slavery isekai or lolicon approves of those things irl - I think for the vast majority of people, it IS a fantasy and that's the point - but I have noticed that in places like the Anime News Network or Crunchyroll forums, the comments become a cesspool of creepy people arguing for why ages of consent should be lowered and mean feminists who don't like watching media with rape in it just need to get over themselves, in a way they just don't when you're talking about Attack on Titan or My Hero Academia or Shoujo Romance #4891 or whatever.

As another person in the notes said, abusers ARE opportunistic. They'll use something like Twilight as easily as they'll use the most uwu, soft, "non problematic" ship to argue for why they're allowed to abuse you. But I don't think that means we can't be critical (not calling for censorship, of course! but like, writing op-eds and stuff) of media that makes their arguments a little easier, maybe even directly makes their arguments for them.

You can believe both that everyone has the opportunity to read, watch, listen to, play what they want and make up their own minds about it, and that it's wrong for the government to ever decide what media is and isn't "acceptable," and also believe that media often is saying things that aren't apparent on the surface and that you should be critical of those messages, *especially* with the stuff you like.

The point is just that porn isn't like, fundamentally different from other fictional media in this way. (Or, hell, I would argue that fictional media isn't functionally different from other mass media in this way. If anything, fiction's politics are often more insidious in a way that makes it easier for them to reach people who might not otherwise be open to those messages in the form of, say, blatantly right-wing news media.)

It's particularly strange to me when people jump all over someone for expressing how something can be insidiously creepy in a more mundane way. The line people are upset about that used the word "unpack" was just making the point that even if we can agree lolicon isn't outright advocating pedophilia, even if we agree the point is that it's a fantasy and they're not like real children at all and that's what people like, it's still working within an idealization/fetishization of helplessness, innocence, and dependence, and that still has a lot that you can critique from a feminist perspective. It's still a thing that plays into some crappy societal ideas about who women are supposed to be, and is selling that to men as a romantic ideal. There's still a lot we can talk about there! And it's still totally fair for women to be wary of men where that seems to be all they're into - because for some (and I believe this was what anon was initially trying to say was their experience), it does impact how they treat real women. It doesn't have to be everyone for it to have an impact.

There's a lot of anime that presents women that way, even way outside of lolicon. A lot of it's anime I like! I'm still critical of that aspect of it. I still wish that particular part of it were different.

I still don't see how this makes me "pro censorship" unless I believe some kind of institution should mandate that that not be included. And whether that's the government, or the industry itself (people do kind of narrowly focus on "the government" in a way that would make a lot of industry-run censorship that was still very harmful, e.g. the Hollywood Hays Code, not "count"), or anyone, I very much disagree with that. Creators should be able to create what they want. A lot of what creators are doing with this is unconscious, is reflecting societal biases they learned but haven't thought deeply about.... which is precisely the point of critiquing how those show up in a work.

People love to talk about "secretly 'anti' attitudes" but at the end of the day, support or opposition to censorship is pretty straightforward. You believe someone should be stopped from making a particular kind of media, or you don't. If you don't, you're not pro-censorship, no matter how much you personally may not like that that media or a particular aspect of it exists. Most people who care about media have some media they wish didn't exist. It's about what they do about it that makes them pro or anti censorship. Talk to people who donate to or even work for the ACLU or other anti censorship groups; most of them don't like racist or sexist stuff, but they also don't believe it should be banned and that's the point.

Bringing it back to the discussion at hand, I think the point was just that you can't be blind to how power dynamics influence this stuff. I wouldn't even say specifically cishet men are at fault here, since some people who read this blog seem to think that anyone saying that is automatically talking about bioessentialism as opposed to like, societal stuff (don't ask me why, this has been explained on here enough times in enough different discourses over the years, I think). I'd just say anyone with power in that particular context. There's a reason why it's specifically mainstream media, aimed at groups in power, that tends to draw in creeps excusing the real thing... in a way that just similarly is not true of people in fanfiction fandom, who are usually a member of one or more oppressed categories, exploring that in their own marginal work. Fans of rape fanfiction just don't act the way that fans of slavery rape isekai do. It's because there is fundamentally a difference both when you're someone whom society tells you are entitled to everything you want in this particular arena, and also when a work is mainstream, broadening its reach, and speaking a particular message from the lens of people with economic and social power (who are making these mainstream works) and given approval by publishers/media studios/etc. in a way that is not the case with amateur work with tiny audiences. And, frankly, there's a difference between something that eroticizes rape from the point of view of the perpetrator vs. the victim.

Not a difference in terms of how legal it should be. Not a difference in whether every single person who watches it or likes it is bad. But a difference in terms of what it's saying, how it's saying that, and often the effects they have as a result. That, too, is true with every topic, not just sex.

I feel like a lot of people getting mad at these do fundamentally agree with this, but just have a weird blind spot when it's put in any sort of terminology that reminds them of certain bad arguments they've seen in fandom, uses any words that can be dismissed as "radfem" or "anti" or whatever, and so just refuse to engage with the actual meat of what is being said.

If you do actually believe though that it's wrong to EVER think media can have a negative effect on what people believe about irl issues, because there was always something "already there" that was going to "come out anyway" if it affects you that way (again, people: this is "original sin" rhetoric), and if you ever privately judge people for the media they like you're secretly pro-censorship. You do have to recognzie that both you personally come up short and also most peopel doing real concrete real world things to fight censorship would also come up short!

I think sometimes of an editorial that said "if you love Return of the Jedi but hated the Ewoks you understand feminist criticism" in terms of how you can be bothered by the sexism of a piece of media in a way you'd be bothered by any one individual element of it, and still overall like the whole. And also, you can be offended by something, even wish it didn't exist (don't we as nerds all have entries in some franchise we like or another that we wish didn't exist for fannish reasons?), without believing that it should be officially made to stop existing or have never existed in the first place. That last part does actaully matter as like, its own thing. It is in fact separable from just being able to have personal judgey feelings about media and about the people who liked it.

And opposing it does not mean in any way that we have to just stop thinking critically about the media we love, or that we have to act like media can never have any influence on people. We on the left tend to talk about sexism, racism, homophoia and so on as being influenced by culture and society. Well, guess what is part of society and culture? Fictional (and other kinds of) media. That's part of that societal programming we get. It's why you'll see some of it even from people whose parents very much tried to resist teaching them certain things, because they get it from media anyway. I was raised by strenuously feminist parents: it was the media that taught me what gender roles were and how I was expected to adhere to them.

--

Look, I realize it's a bit rich of me to say this, but people are not going to engage with your actual points if you cannot be more succinct.

[teablogreal]

Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture Episode 1 thoughts

Okay so like, although I wasn't big on Akito the Exiled or the creative choices made with the compilation films, I was actually really looking forwards to this one. Unlike most people, I genuinely don't mind them doing more with Code Geass. Like we have the og anime just there, its out and people can watch it (except they cant because r2 is jailed on crunchyroll auughhhhh). They even made it clear that the new Code Geass stuff from Akito onwards are in their own continuity. Genuinely I don't mind them just expanding more on their already established concepts, though I do have a preference for when they do newer things with them. So like, yeah. Roze of the Recapture is my favorite thing to come from this series in a good while.

So for those who don't know, Roze of the Recapture is a sequel not to the original series, but instead the compilation films that recapped the original series with minor changes to the events that took place in there. It also follows up on the corresponding movie that conveyed what happened afterwards, but basically all you need to know is that after Resurrection, we have a 5 year timeskip. There is a new cast of characters who so far don't tread over where the original cast stood, however they do pay homage and parallel some of the characters from the original series. Honestly, I think this is the only part that has me worried, as I'd love to see them play around more with new concepts. However I feel like after the end of the first episode, those concerns are pretty much quelled.

Okay so I'm not gonna skirt around the spoilers any further beyond this point.

Okay. I want to talk about that fucking twist??? Because like??????????? I did not fucking see that one coming but its such a fucking great way differentiate your protagonist from just being lelouch again while also playing with parallels. We effectively have somebody who's a figure of importance who is thought to be dead, however lives on to take revenge on Britannia as they have wronged this person. Key difference is that our character kinda strays away from this idea. I know a lot of people here are referring to Roze/Sakuya as our first female protag for a code geass anime and I'm sure thats probably what they're going for. However my brain just sees Sakuya being legally declared dead and then proceeding to taking the identity of not an entirely different girl, but rather this whimsical boy twink named Roze. Idk, kinda transmasc swag but also I absolutely love how we've all been played for fools prior to release. Like all the marketing had led us to believe this was going to be a story about two brothers doing shit but WOW did they have everybody fooled (including me). A shame that the trailers for the later movies kinda spoil this twist but I will fight to keep this a secret as much as possible from my friends until I get them to watch this.

Roze as a whole is a lot of fun as a character, big twist aside. I love how he feels a lot more like a trickster compared to Lelouch. Even though Lelouch had a bit of emphasis on him playing with people (the orange incident comes to mind), Roze steps that up with his geass. I'm so glad that its not just Lelouch's geass again. They do something fun with it, like conceptually after thinking about it for a while its actually crueler than Lelouch's geass. Theoretically Roze could force you into doing something without brainwashing you, you could do those things while being entirely conscious. If you say no? Then whatever you're told to do otherwise happens no matter what. I think thats just insane, it really opens the doors for so many things to be done with it in the same way that we saw Lelouch's geass being used to torment Suzaku.

Anyways I think its really funny how people are realizing this one has Ichiro Okouchi coming back to write for it not through the writing returning to its unsubtle "no shits given" attitude from the original series, but by them having yet another chess game that failed to understand the rules of chess. Its a tradition at this point.

[thedeliverygod]

Hey all. I'm sorry to be doing this again but I once again got fucked over by a combo of overdraft fees & an automatic payment for my surgery bill, of which came to a total of $144.

On Saturday I sold a variety of books, CDs, video games and toys to my local used bookstore and got $80. I also made $20 doing surveys online. I was already in the negatives & all this money went towards trying to ease that situation. Unfortunately all of that was for naught after the overdraft fees & the auto draft (to be more specific the medical bill was $36 and it was 3 overdraft charges for $36 each, so yeah)

I understand anyone who's just like "nah I don't wanna help you're just irresponsible". I feel like a lot of my friends feel that way about me at this point but I really am trying my hardest to get my shit together. I used to be horrified at the idea of asking for help but now I'm just kinda numb because I don't know what else to do. Short of making an only fans or something like that, I feel like I'm trying to do everything that I'm mentally/physically capable of doing to get 'extra' money.

All of my subscriptions minus crunchyroll are cancelled, I just got a quote for much cheaper car insurance so I'll get that switched over soon. I cut down my phone bill by like $40+ a month or two ago. I talked with a friend about budgeting tips which I did already apply some of those such as a method for grocery shopping.

TLDR: I'm trying my damndest to try and get my money shit in order but I'm still struggling. If you feel comfortable donating any amount please use ko-fi. If you don't, I get it. If you want to help but don't have the funds to do so, I feel you, but if you could please share that'd be appreciated.

As my thank you note on ko-fi says, I'd love to do a fanfic as thanks for any donation if you feel so inclined; you can make the request on ko-fi itself or here on tumblr if you'd prefer (including anonymously).

Lastly, if you're aware of a decent paying job that isn't customer service based that's remote or in the triad or the RTP area of North Carolina, let me know. Job searching sucks ass but the current $16.25 I make isn't holding up to this insane inflation, particularly my rent which is almost entirely 1 of my 2 monthly paychecks.

[canmom]

seasonal animes: 16bit sensation s1e1

i decided to give 16bit sensation a shot knowing not much more than 'at some point, the characters talk about dithering'

first episode impressions: ok I admit, this is very cute. it's funny to have an isekai anime that's about as close as it gets to being about my actual line of work. thankfully we are not on the 'milf hypnosis' level, like our games are technically ambitious and fun to work on, but I do share the protagonist's wish to create expansive, elaborate narrative-driven games that is just not really the sort of thing my company is here to make.

much like Eizouken, this is both directly about characters making things, and also an expression of love to a particular era of media. for Eizouken that was 80s-90s scifi anime; here we have 90s eroge for the PC-98, one of the most ambitious eras for visual novels. presentationally, this doesn't have Eizouken's level of charm (but what does?), but it is full of very cute little attention to detail.

for example, in this shot of games from the magical second hand game store - I'm sure someone's already made a list of all these and what they're punning on, but I love this set of slightly corrupted names of movies and PS2 games. the English ones are evident; in kana we've got some like Gorira, Radia the Secret of Blue Water, Michael Quest V, and my favourite has to be Higurashi: When They Don't Cry. Wish my kanji was better so I could pick up on some of the others.

this has got to be the anime sub with the most uses of 'MILF' I've ever seen (crunchyroll rip with halfassed typesetting). if you're wondering: 催眠 saimin = hypnosis, 人妻 hitodsuma = married woman (I assume with a similar connotation to 'MILF' in English). my dictionary's preferred translation for MILF is 熟女 jukujo, though!

overall, it's hilarious that 'the early 90s' is now old enough for a nostalgia-driven time travel isekai. and the 'look, here's a 90s thing' jokes are so cute and dorky. I mean they go over my head because I was a baby when this show is set, but still lmao.

That said, I wish they'd taken a more 90s anime style with the character designs and backgrounds. of course, we face the limit that today's digital compositing pipelines just do not give you the same feeling as the cel era without a ton of work, which wouldn't be economical for this 'niche form of autism' anime. it's all solid and there are a few really nice cuts, but this isn't a show that's selling itself on flashy animation in general.

think i'm gonna watch the rest of this. it's very much a high-concept 'can be summarised in a sentence' anime, but 'autistic himejoshi bishōjo-game otaku time travels back into the 90s' is something that scratches enough itches that yeah, ok, i will bite!

[missveryvery]

realistically i dont think theres much, if anything, fans on the english side can do. i guess crunchyroll could cut the scene (since its just a minute or two and doesnt contribute that much overall) but that wouldnt change that its in the original, they just wouldnt be showing it to us. and i dont know if crunchyroll has the authority to do that, idk what their licensing agreement looks like. bilibili would probably only listen to complaints from chinese viewers, since thats their core audience.

I think they should at least give a warning or something? I would prefer it be edited out, honestly. Like I want some indicator that "this is not acceptable". And if crunchyroll has to do that then they have to tell Bilibili that it's happening (or make them edit it). So Bilibili can't be like "we had no idea" in the future, and they have, again, some fucking consequence for that shit.

If the fandom was loudly like "hey this fucking sucks", I would feel better.

If crunchyroll was like "jfc let's edit that" or "there's some racist shit in here, just giving you a heads up" or something, I would feel better.

If Bilibili apologized, if mxtx apologized? I'd feel WAY, WAY better but I doubt that'll happen.

I want a fucking change.

As it stands, it's like the fandom is pretending they're blind.

It's also weird to make these people a different race when China has a very, let's say "ROBUST" history with cannibalism. This is from Thousand Autumns, which is set in a historical time period.

That footnote is for English readers. Because this is shared cultural knowledge about this time period: that in times of famine, there was cannibalism. This isn't just in the Jin and Song dynasty.

This is such a "thing" that during the famine of the 1960 and 70s there were also reports of mass cannibalism.

Which people, including myself, kind of thought was made up, for obvious propaganda reasons but also because "well we have this tradition of things are so bad that people are doing cannibalism", like "maybe it's more symbolic".

But recently very hardcore documentation about it came to light.

A bit of it:

So: Bilibili did not have to make these people dark-skinned. Could have just been Chinese people! But mxtx's text says spears and animal skins and that I'm guessing that confers "I mean brown people".

I don't know why I thought these were monsters/spirits in the manhua when they're clearly just men wearing masks.

I feel so fucking dumb at how much I was like "I guess sometimes Chinese spirits look like that"

It's extra tiring when we know Feng Xin is supposed to be darker and they cannot be bothered. That boy is the same color as pasty-ass Mu Qing.

In this same episodes having to hear them all go on about how important being pale is. Like....it's a BAD LOOK.

[skullzanta]

(Not Professionally Researched, Correct if Wrong) Copyright Law needs to be fought.

Okay, so: I have NO research on this, so bare in mind that I want to get out frustration and spread word of Copyright Law's Issues.

Firstly,

the Internet Archive is dying to Copyright. The burning of The Library of Alexandria is what a lot of people are calling it. I dont know for SURE that its unwinnable or winnable, but I do know that this is exclusively from companies abusing the laws they groomed into creation using lobbying. And supposedly, The US Government removed 1984 from The Internet Archive as well ages ago.

Secondly,

the advance of piracy sites, wether or not you agree to them or not, is a sign. Piracy is a situation of stealing media and granting it to others illegally. However, It is also true that legitimate means of observing things are infact, literally requiring piracy at times due to them being otherwise Lost Media, aka "Gone and unable to ever be experienced again"... This is a VERRRY big topic, bigger than one thread could discuss without being almost exclusively it, however I will summarize some of the issues Piracy has, both the issues it solves and the issues it causes.

1: It harms legitimate Sources of this stuff. While true that it is infact doing this, it is also true that people generally prefer a better platform, and consistently Piracy Platforms are only worse in ads, and that is slowly changing to be that the main sites are worse.

2: It inherently is illegal and should be avoided, however If official Companies are going to take advantage of monopolies and antagonize their audience, Piracy is a valid alternative. And, I'd vastly prefer legitimate sites, and most people would. But, name a site that hasn't gone to hell(not good like this hellsite) that is official.

3: Piracy brings people to danger by them risking doing something illegal to provide for others, Companies LOOVE to ruin the lives of piracy providers. This however is something people will fight for anyway despite the inevitability.

4: Companies are destroying their media because they want you to buy new things, and intentionally incorporate Planned Obsolescence, a very complicated and evil thing where to sum it up, companies make products DESIGNED to break after a short time, and prevent you from repairing it so you're forced to buy a whole new copy of that item. Food is an exception usually, but it is not untouched. Piracy helps with preserving this media and preventing these scummy tactics, because a copy not in control of a company is a copy that can be worked on, maintained, and repaired. This is better to have rights rather than pirate, but we don't have ANY rights that cover making that act doable by anyone without a lot of money and resources.

5: Fundamentally, Piracy is providing a better service in terms of usability and ease of access, which feeds into point 1 but on its own is also worth discussing, because without Piracy the only way for us to access anime in the US is VERY expensive shipping, going to japan directly, Crunchyroll/MAL, or piracy. And this applies to a LOT more media than you realize.

6: Piracy, while it should absolutely NOT be encouraged to be treated this way, provides competition for these Companies. You should NOT have pirates even as a competitor, but the fact they are is a bad sign. Companies currently are *Very* monopolized. They may seem to have competition, but the vast majority of companies are owned by other companies, which are owned by bigger companies, and usually down the chain, you realize all soda is made by 1 megacorporation and the competition is purely a facade for making loyalty to the brands.

And yes, This is a SUMMARY of this, it can go on for a LOOOT longer, each of these is packed with enough information to make a big post on its own, But... moving along.

Thirdly,

Copyright Law Supposedly was made the way it was purely due to lobbying. I do not believe lobbying should exist- Now- There SHOULD be an equivelant, but NOT a thing that allows companies to PAY for LEGAL CHANGES. It should be proven in court there is precedented need for the change and have jury decide in a randomized state to prevent sabotoge of jury. Maybe Im wrong and my suggestion is bad, or that there should be 0 equivelant, however I do know for a fact Lobbying is inherently bad in how it is designed currently. And it needs to be addressed.

Fourthly,

There is a movement that Youtuber "Ross Scott" is working alongside others to change EU Law. I know, I know, seems stupid to bring it up, but listen here: They are fighting to change precedent so as to bully companies in america to stop being predatory in their practices. This movement carries a LOT of risk, but if you are wanting to do ANYTHING about copyright, this is Step 1 of 12. You need only to look into the movement's efforts and see if you agree or disagree. If you want to help them? Do so, but if you do not, understand that them failing to remove any possibility of non-piracy means of preserving Games, just as removing the Internet Archive is removing means of preserving lost media of its own and preserving Historical Record.

Fithly and Lastly,

There is a fundamental truth that many of us ignore because its too big and distant to focus on, but as detailed in a previous post... There is a VERY Dangerous issue with how people functionally operate to create change: It is a proven fact that nomatter how abused, tortured, restricted, restrained, or maligned someone is, People will vastly prefer to maintain mundanity. And, this isn't just me saying "oh boo hoo people are lazy because they wanna live life"-No. I am saying DIRECTLY that if there isn't something explicitly In the Way of mundane life, people will NEVER EVER Fight for change or to even look into the possibility that it could. Thing is, if you don't inform people of how it will affect their lives, people will see "Oh no, Companies are evil Again", maybe they get mad, but almost never will they actually put time to researching it. They will just assume its another bad thing and move on, even if they get mad for a bit, the moment ANY tiny inch of progress is made, they relieved the stress "knowing" that the issue will be solved. That leads to every step being backstepped.

And, people doomscroll, but why? Its normalized for things to be bad right now, and it hurts them heavily, but they scroll because it gives them feelings and a sense of the world, it is NOT research, this is a warping view that corrupts your very idea of the world. This often makes them feel hopeless, helpless. This is a bad thing and it is incorrect. You are NOT helpless, You are NOT hopeless, nor is the world too fucked up to fix.

The world seems to be declining but it is not something unable to be stopped, nor do you need to become some kind of monster or lose the mundanity in your life to change things: All you need to do, is spread the word and do what I fail to do due to severe miseducation: Research this so that you can better explain to others what this will do, why it will hurt them, and what they can do. And I think we can do something, after all the US is supposedly a Democracy(Its actually A Republic) and if we make a big enough stink about it, like sending words of our support to the right places(Like the courts, presidency, our vote on that stuff, and companies) we can START change. We cannot let up however after we start to see it, we have to hold them to promises by actually continuing our support, they will ALWAYS start with a small but significant change, but not enough of one that will fix it, So we have to pressure them. You need not hold up protests or risk your life, merely consider... trying to spread this information and correcting incorrections, while also trying to simply write to the correct people. We have much to work on, but out of everything: this is where we need to start, because soon... we almost guarenteed will lose the very media we have to communicate with, and I hope to Gods that we are never forced into violence over it.

I do not know if this will ever spread, but if you want to spread this using a unified Tag, I'd say #CopyrightIsCarnage and #ResistCopyright would work well. And remember: Companies are NOT people, except legally, which they shouldn't be.

[matt0044]

The Mythical "Arrogant Localizer."

Too often I find a perpetuation of this narrative, especially with A.I. set to wiz all over Anime subtitles, that translators or ADR Script Writers had it coming. That they dared to tamper with the original by "changing personalities" and "pushing agendas" so much that CR decided to axe them for the politically neutral A.I.

Here's the thing:

Whenever some weeb claims that a translator was arrogant or "couldn't listen to criticism," it's not that they're acting like they know better. It's because they do know better.

They know that Japanese words or sentences can't be translated one-to-one into English, owing to how each country that the originate from were world's apart before global travel grew in scale.

They know that context and setting matters, especially in the case of something like Fire Emblem where characters in a medivel-esque setting would likely speak not unlike Shakespeare characters.

They know that each character has a distinct voice. An honorable Samurai like Goemon is going to have a more refined sense of speaking compared to the wise-cracking Lupin or the sardonic Jigen.

They know, especially, that humor based on puns or cultural references won't always work from one language to another.

Know what they also know? That 4kids was actually not good. They grew up during the days of dubs being borderline overhauled because of a poor sense of marketing. They'd prefer to not go back to there because they actually love Anime.

Of course, a lot of them are beholdened to what their clientelle want for their title's international distribution. Thus those who's produced the Anime they're bringing over are entitled to step in and object if they so choose. There have been incidents like that but that they get rectified speaks to the level of quality control these days.

Like... Brendan Blaber's attempted changes with Love Complex were unilaterally shot down. He was an jerky freelancer who did ADR script writing and overstepped his boundaries.

And all of this are things that translators on Twitter will affirm. I get the allure of the conspiracy theory. Of trying to figure out what's really going on and that those in the industry wouldn't dare reveal their nefarious plans.

But if we're going to have any conversation about translation and what's too far for the localization process, we need to take off out tin hats to focus on what we currently have to work off of. Either that or apply for a job in translation and see things from the inside for yourself.

Furthermore, if any of these translators seem "testy" or "unable to take criticism," it's that they keep going on and on about their choices in translation and how the theory overall goes. Yet so many are too eager to paint them as the villains and won't listen to a damn word.

Frankly, they should be angry. Social Media has broken down the divide between fandom and those who work on their shows where you gotta kowtow to what the former wants or you're the bad guy. Even when you try to debunk misconceptions and misinformation, they still want their lightening rod for their ire.

So no wonder they seem like assholes. They're just done entertaining those who will never, ever, ever see them as anything other than the villain.

But even assuming that they’re everything outrage merchants have marketed them as, AI in Anime on any level isn’t a win in any sense. It’s starts with subtitles, then voice acting (and we all know how authentic those sound) and soon it’ll make its way over to Japan.

Animators dying or being hospitalized because they won’t be good little cogs for the corporate machine? A.I. ain’t asking for time off. Voice Actors complaining about salaries? AI ain’t asking for pay period.

But you know what? Let CrunchyRoll invest in this. Let them try to hoard more money… and crash n’ burn in the process. Because it’ll take a popular title being subtitled with very erroneous lines to make the webs wake up. Nothing like a few Titanics to scare the straight.

[onewomancitadel]

Okay if you guys are scared about RWBY renewal this is a collection of thoughts which may or may not be reassuring:

CR was never a good choice. Finding alternate funding opportunities is preferable e.g. ideally not cutting a deal with a streaming service which subsequently leads to cut episodes. Streaming services are conservative to the point that successful shows do not often get renewed as it is. There are other issues there like I don't think the CR audience was ever one to crossover enough with the RWBY one.

RT seems to be looking at more local funding opportunities (drawing in sponsorships for RVB; RVB renewal playing on drawing back fans in - I know I haven't watched it consistently since Season 13). They've cut back on RTX (major money drain - events such as these tend to just about break even, speaking generally, if not work at a loss) and this was likely a decision made at the beginning of the previous fiscal year, which was around when CR did not renew RWBY. They've explicitly said they're looking at getting more sponsorships lol. Raise your hand if you cancelled yours because you thought they didn't own RWBY anymore

From what I can see a lot of people are concerned about the silence regarding renewal and from my personal perspective is that there are NDA's involved (I know for a fact that Miles has this in his Tumblr description, or at least did at some point), the year-long exclusivity with CR, etc. as well as the fact that with this type of money that RWBY is throwing around now as what is effectively more of a serious production than it was six, seven years ago means that you can't really admit to too much weakness in public (speculative investors), nor can you speak strategy. I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, but just potentially par for the course, especially because I'd argue the closeness RT had with its audience did not end up being for the best for many different reasons.

It's probably very likely that based on the success or failure of the new RVB, RWBY will or won't be renewed. I'm not saying you are personally responsible for making RVB succeed. There's no responsibility of the fan here. But if we look at the avenues they've taken to draw in money: crossovers (comic book audience), manga, novels, anime (Beacon era nostalgia), the CrunchyRoll audience of honest otakus, etc. they've cycled through to trying to re-establish their RT fanbase to offset RWBY production. RWBY fans are good for RT and RT fans used to be good for RWBY. RWBY was made because Season 10 of RVB was very successful.

It's no coincidence that RT's relative decline in years (I stopped watching around 2015, if that's anything) has led to this. I'm kind of at the point where I wouldn't even say any of this is really RWBY's fault because it's a very weird production (I say this as a fan). There are plenty of influences I've failed to cover here because I'm trying to keep this contained to my honest assessment - there's obviously something not quite adding up with the numbers of how many RWBY fans there are vs. its renewal dangling in the balance. They struggled with monetising way back when during the adpocalypse on YouTube which led to episodes not being uploaded on there anymore. RWBY has been a cult sensation and it owes its success not just to a loyal fanbase but taking risks. RWBY itself was a risky endeavour. I'm not sure if people remember but by that point RT was doing pretty well, but not corporate money well, and its flagship show was a Halo machinima. They were doing crowdfunding/Patreon before it was a thing, they were doing podcasts before they were a thing (obviously radio existed, but you know what I mean). When Fullscreen acquired them I remember thinking 'hm this feels weird' and I was about right.

I don't have any conclusive remarks here but I would say that I would really start to doomer worry by the end of this year. I imagine that between the exclusivity of a year (and how much that does or doesn't influence contract negotiation with other funding sources) and RT currently overhauling its strategy we won't really know until six months from now, let's say optimistically. It probably does in part hinge on RVB and getting back that sponsor base, but I'm not sure I perfectly understand it because I would sign up for sponsor if I knew we'd be getting RWBY, or something specific to RWBY only on RT - which is seemingly not possible right now. I don't know the full ins-and-out.

Of what's going on behind the scenes, we know less than drop. It's six to one, half a dozen the other, but my overall summary would be that CR was always the wrong move and RT needed an overhaul in its approach to sponsorships and funding as well as establishing its brand and regaining audience trust/transparency. RWBY should have stayed on RT and other sources of revenue needed to be pursued. I couldn't even figure out how to buy DVD's of the show a few years ago because it was so hidden. (Am I even suggesting something like Patreon here? Hell, maybe). We're not going to see the result of their developed strategy for some time. This is my tentative speculation.

[lazerv4]

Thoughts on Miku Expo (CDMX 2024)

Just my raw thoughts not a review or anything

When I first got the email for the MikuExpo presale I was so excited, something like this was a long time coming and before the pandemic hit it was actually coming but since then I had been waiting so when it finally came back to me I bought tickets immediately which filled me with joy that as the event started happening in other parts of the continent slowly soured, from the infamous screen to the lack of glow sticks to the incredibly mediocre setlist my hopes were getting crushed but I had already bought the plane tickets and planed my week away with a few friends that lived in the city so I was already committed. After a weird mix of anticipation and dread the show arrived and they made us go early for some reason (5:00 pm and the show started at 8:00 pm) and we got in line, then after like 30 minutes of line came another 30 minutes of line with the merch and then finally finding a place to settle for the show going forwards. I also wanna mention we saw Sr. Pelo which was funny but anyways getting back to the point.

Everyone was so excited and shouting, we got chants from silly stuff like Miku Pelona (Bald Miku) when a bald Miku plushie would be thrown into the air to the classic fuck Crunchyroll and other before at 8:00 pm the show finally started.

The first notes of Miku by Anamanaguchi hit and I was instantly enthralled, I don’t even particularly care for that song (I’m for of a Kira fan for my english Miku) but I don’t know, the moment just felt special, like being in something you love with people you love surrounded by a community of people that also love the same thing, it was incredibly surreal and I was happy, the song was followed by Vampire which is also another song I don’t care much for even with me being a crazy Deco*27 fan but I had so much fun dancing, singing and playing with the bootleg glowsticks we all got that I just didn’t care anymore, I was there and I was having fun.

Afterwards we got Unknow Mother Goose which I do like and had fun with but I would have preferred Rollin Girl but it was the moment I started to realize something, as much as I wanted the holograms and to get the full experience, all things considered the screen looks pretty good, the videos I’d seen didn’t do it justice and even the ones I recorded look way worse than it looked irl so at this point I was in, I was having fun, enjoying everything and completely dissociated from my body, I was just part of this and I was having the time of my life, the culmination of 12 years of fandom was here.

Rin in general was a lot of fun and I had a great time cheering (she’s my fave) and Magical Cure Love Shot! (I spell it how I want shut up) was also a lot of fun,  I wasn’t super into the songs but the vibe was still shining, the band was giving it their all with the guitarist especially being a highlight with how crazy she would go for no reason at all, it was awesome.

Our show had an exclusive bonus track which of course was MikuFiesta and it was a moment for sure. After a while (by a while I mean 17 songs out of 24) we get the band introduction and a small break before returning with Hyper Reality Show and then it happened, the moment that will stick forever in my mind as I hear SEKAIIIIIIIIIIII DE and the show peaked, nothing would come close to that performance of World is Mine, the most iconic of Miku songs at least for the shows was like nothing else, everyone was so into it and having so much fun, it was a magical moment that I will always remember fondly and I greatly appreciate having been a part of.

Tell Your World was another song on the setlist I enjoyed a lot but the show was nearing it’s end and with Miku doing the trademarked mention of the place she was in during Intergalactic Bound the show came to an end but of course because this is a concert that was a fake out for the obligatory encore that was pretty short but enjoyable and surprisingly closed with Highlight by KIRA which was a welcome surprised as I had forgotten the setlist at that point and I was just happy to had been there and experience the magic of miku as dumb as it sounds.

Now could it have been better? yes, will I still condemn and talk shit about the event organizers? yes, did I have some of the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert? abso-fucking-lutely. I loved every second I spend there and I’m glad I got to experience it at least once, now we just need to go to another one with a better setlist and holograms but I still won’t ever regret going to this one, it was an experience that will linger in my mind forever.

[wanderersrest]

Wanderer's Rest Presents: A Not-So-Comprehensive Mecha Anime Recommendation List

Mecha anime. You know them. Shows featuring young folks and their giant machines, fighting against enemies that range from mythological beings, dinosaurs, space fascists, aliens, kaiju, angels, war profiteers, and many more! Chances are likely you can think of at least one mecha anime series, whether it be something as mainstream as Gundam or Evangelion, or it's something as obscure as Flag or Dai-Guard (at least I think Dai-Guard is obscure). You want to get into mecha anime, but you don't know what to start with. That's what this list is here for! Specifically, I'm going to list shows based roughly on what your preferences are. I'll try to cover a fair bit, so strap in.

Unless I state otherwise with the recommendation, you can most likely find any series recommended on here on Crunchyroll.

Recommendation 1: Dai-Guard

Speaking of Dai-Guard, go watch Dai-Guard. It's basically "What if our alien-fighting giant robot was piloted and maintained by regular office workers?" the anime. Complete with all of the red tape and corporate backstabbing that ensues. It's also relatively short, clocking in at 26 episodes, so be sure to check it out when you get the chance.

Recommendation 2: Gun x Sword

Do you like Westerns? Do you like sci-fi? Do you like western sci-fi mash-ups that also have what is basically a Mexican Super Sentai/Power Rangers giant robot in it? If yes to that last one, you might want to check out Gun x Sword, a western sci-fi mashup complete with a Mexican-themed Super Sentai robot (I'm not kidding). It's a tale of revenge, and how far one is willing to go to exact it. So if that sounds interesting to you, then check it out.

Recommendation 3: Magic Knight Rayearth

So, uh, this is a magical girl series. A magical girl series that has giant robots in it. Rayearth is great. Definitely check it out, especially if you really like magical girl shows. Also full disclosure: Rayearth is pretty much the only magical girl series I've watched outside of the Madoka Magica movies. Also, I will say that Rayearth is based off of the manga, though the two diverge heavily after a certain point, both with drastically different storylines a la Fullmetal Alchemist and FMA: Brotherhood.

Recommendation 4: The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar

Content warning: GaoGaiGar has a lot of strobing lights throughout the show, moreso than Rayearth and Patlabor.

GaoGaiGar is a classic giant robot series. More importantly, it came out in a time when everyone was trying to imitate the hot stuff that was Evangelion. It's the classic "anime series designed to sell toys" style specifically, but it really rocks. Most people say that it gets good around the half-way point, but I would argue that it's the first half that allows us to have that great second half. It's a great series if you're looking for something to watch on a Saturday morning, especially if you enjoy waking up to what is quite possibly the most hot-blooded mecha show after Gurren Lagann and G Gundam.

Recommendation 5: Patlabor

If you like political thrillers and giant robots with lots of worldbuilding, I'd highly recommend Patlabor. Now depending on which you prefer, the recommendation gets a bit more specific. I'd specifically recommend watching the Early Days OVA first as a primer for what the series is all about. Then, if you're hooked, I'd continue in production order, which is:

Early Days OVA -> Movie -> TV Anime -> New Files OVA -> Movie 2 -> Wasted XIII

A lot of people like to say the movie timeline is better, but I personally think that sells the TV series short. Especially since the TV series has a lot of character development that the Early Days OVA and movies can't include due to their length.

Patlabor is streaming on HiDive.

Recommendation 6: Back Arrow

There haven't been as many mecha shows in more than a decade, but Back Arrow is definitely a series that scratches that itch. Like Gun x Sword above, it's also one of those weird genre mash-ups, trading in western & sci-fi for medieval European fantasy with wuxia... and also sci-fi. Not helping things is that both Back Arrow and Gun x Sword are directed by Goro Taniguchi. Also the main character spends the majority of the first episode naked, and the second in nothing but a pair of underwear. It's weird. It's great. Definitely give it a shot.

Recommendation 7: Psalm of Planets Eureka seveN & After War Gundam X

If you're looking for something with more romance in it, I'd definitely give either Eureka Seven or Gundam X a chance. Both are fairly long and have a similar vibe with regards to their main couples, though I think Eureka Seven is more realistic with its relationships. It's because of their similarities that I'm recommending both series, especially since Gundam X predates Eureka Seven by almost ten years. They're both great, and definitely worth checking out.

If you're going to watch Gundam X, please keep in mind that the series was cut short in its run for a lot of factors outside of its control.

As of this writing, neither the original TV series for Eureka Seven nor Gundam X is available for streaming. If you're really lucky, the official Gundam YouTube channel might stream Gundam X one day. Don't count on it though.

Recommendation 8: Brave Bang Bravern

I know I've been post a lot of gifs with this list, but for this recommendation, I want you to go in blind. It's of vital importance that you go into Bravern blind. Just do it. Take my word for it. It's great. Very hotblooded. Much robot.

Recommendation 9: SSSS.Gridman & SSSS.Dynazenon

If you're big into tokusatsu, then you need to check out both SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon. Gridman might be stretching the definition of what a mecha show is (on the other hand, so does Evangelion), but Dynazenon absolutely is a mecha show. Both are great though, and definitely worth a watch.

Recommendation 10: Mobile Fighter G Gundam

G Gundam is probably the second most hot-blooded show in all of mecha (tied with GaoGaiGar, and somehow surpassed only by Gurren Lagann). It is not the best series to get into if you want to get a basic understanding of what Gundam is like in general like either the Witch From Mercury or 00. But neither of those series have the Erupting God Finger. Nor do they have a Mobile Suit piloted by a horse. Checkmate atheists.

Conclusion

There are so many mecha shows out there, which is not surprising since the genre's roots go back as far as the 50's with, depending on how you define the genre, either Astro Boy or Tetsujin 28-go. While they aren't as numerous as they were in the past, there are still a lot of shows in the genre. So many shows in fact, that I didn't even mention some other great shows like Turn A Gundam and Shin Mazinger Z. Heck, I haven't even gone through a good portion of the genre itself, as I haven't gotten around to watching seminal works such as Getter Robo, Giant Robo, Armored Trooper VOTOMs, Fang of the Sun Dougram, Aura Battler Dunbine, or the Vision of Escaflowne. Don't even get me started on either finishing all of Gundam or starting Macross. That doesn't even touch on the fact that I ignored a lot of the "Not Like the Other Mecha Show" series like Evangelion, Code Geass, or Gurren Lagann (I mentioned GL a few times though, so that's worth something I guess). I really can't blame anyone for seeing this and going "Meh. I'll just watch *insert show here* instead." But if you're willing to go in for the long haul with any of these series, I can vouch for these series (and a couple others like Turn A). So yeah, check these out if you have the time. Also check out Turn A Gundam if you haven't already (but only if you've watched a lot of Gundam).

[xbuster]

Do not watch Precure with Crunchyroll subs (that means downloading torrents provided by SubsPlease and Erai-raws since they just rip them from Crunchyroll. Use Serenae's subs since they're dedicated to fansubbing Precure for use.

They have their problems like not using the correct localization for Ellee (spelling it as Elle except in rare cases like her parents saying her name) and mishearing "oni-san" as "onii-san" and not realizing how little sense "onii-san" would have made in that context, but they're at least more committed to accuracy and have the opportunity to fix their subs if they get something wrong.

And maybe it's because I've done my own fan translations, but I also just preferring fansubs when I can if they're at least trying to provide quality subs.

[duhragonball]

Jaco the Galactic Patrolman Ch.1-5

After the premiere of Battle of Gods, and the crossover appearance of DBZ characters in Toriko and One Piece, Akira Toriyama published a new manga, entitled Jaco the Galactic Patrolman.  The series ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from July to October 2013.

It’s weird, because 2013 wasn’t even that long ago, but it feels like a different era to me, at least in terms of how I consumed anime and manga.  At the time, I was interested in the new Jaco series, but I was also resigned to the fact that it would be years before I could read it.  As it was, I managed to snag a fansub of the Battle of Gods movie around that time, as the DVD was released in Japan in late ‘13, but the movie wouldn’t reach the U.S. until the following year.

Since then, new Dragon Ball movies have premiered in the U.S. within months of the Japanese release, and the delay seems to get shorter each time.  A lot of new anime, including Dragon Ball Super, has been simulcast on Japanese television and Crunchyroll. 

Also, scanlations for new manga seem to be a lot easier to find than they used to be.  I read all of Jojolion through a website dedicated to providing translations of current manga titles, and the only reason I’m not reading JoJoLands right now is because I wanted to wait a while and let a few chapters build up before I start. 

The idea that I would have to wait for a proper English language version of a new release had become so alien to me that it seemed genuinely frustrating that Stone Ocean was exclusive to Netflix, and we all had to wait for episodes to be debuted in batches across 2022.  But back in the early 2000′s, that’s how it was for everything.

Anyway, I wasn’t too concerned with Jaco as a character, but then he showed up in Resurrection F, and like, a bunch of episode of Dragon Ball Super, so I kind of felt like I had missed out on something.  But I never felt too motivated to sit down and read this thing, even after it became available in English.  But that’s what the 2023 Dragon Ball Apocrypha Liveblog is for, folks.  I made a list of all the stuff I hadn’t gotten around to checking out, and now I’m finally getting to it. 

Chapter 1. Jaco is on his way to Earth for a mission, when he accidentally collides with the moon and damages his ship.  He crashes in the ocean, and has to carry his ship ashore onto an island.  There, he meets the island’s sole inhabitant, Professor Tokunoshin Omori, who gives him food and shelter while he tries to repair Jaco’s ship.

Over the course of the story, Jaco tosses out tidbits of outer space lore.  For example, he knows all about Earth because the Galactic Patrol has sent robots disguised as insects to gather information.  Jaco learned all Earth languages thanks to a technology that uploads the information into his brain.  Why doesn’t he possess the knowledge to fix his own spaceship?  Because he skipped that lesson.

Omori is a scientist, and back in the day the island was a government research facility working on developing a time machine.  Then one day there was a terrible accident which killed Omori’s wife.  After the government pulled up stakes, he stayed behind, living in isolation near his wife’s grave.   He asks Jaco if they have time machines in space, and Jaco says there’s no such thing, because it’s extremely dangerous to manipulate time, and so it’s expressly forbidden in intergalactic law.  

Omori mostly wants Jaco out of his hair, because he’s a misanthrope who prefers living alone. He still cares, though, and the only reason he didn’t take his boat out to rescue Jaco was because of a monstrous shark that terrorizes the surrounding waters after sunset.  But the shark gave Jaco no trouble at all when he splashed down, and later he goes back out to kill it to repay Omori’s hospitality. 

Throughout this chapter, there’s news coverage of an Earthling rocket launch called Twinkle 8, and there’s going to be a pop idol on board.  Omori finds the entire thing to be crass and absurd, just like everything else about humanity. 

Omori’s attitude leads Jaco to question the purpose of his mission.  He was sent to Earth to intercept an alien invader, but since Omori has such a low opinion of his own kind, then maybe the Earth isn’t worth saving after all. 

Fortunately, Jaco has a device which will eradicate all intelligent life from the planet.  When activated, it will release a deadly virus.  I like how Omori’s bitterness turns to dread here.  It was easy for him to complain about the world around him, because he never dreamed he would meet someone capable of destroying it without a second thought. 

Each chapter ends with a character profile.  I won’t show them all, but I’m mostly interested in this one because it has Jaco’s full name. 

Chapter 2.  Omori takes a look at Jaco’s ship, and they continue to talk.  He’s surprised by Jaco’s strength, considering his small size, and Jaco defensively says he’s the third tallest of the 38 Galactic Patrollers.  How can they maintain peace in the galaxy with only 38 Patrollers?  Jaco says there aren’t a lot of planets with intelligent life. 

Then a ship arrives on the island.  Jaco spot it from very far away, and he moves out of sight when its passengers disembark to speak with Omori, but he still hears their entire conversation, because Jaco has super-hearing too. 

Basically, they’re from the government, and they want Omori to leave the island, so they can turn it into a resort or something.  Omori is just squatting here, so he has no legal claim to the place.  He pleads with them to reconsider, reminding him that his wife’s grave is here, but they won’t listen.  Jaco waits for the ship to leave before coming out of hiding.  He extends his sympathies...

But he also tells Omori that he spotted an experimental time machine in a secluded spot on the island.  Omori admits that he’s been working on it ever since the accident.  His goal is to use the machine to save his wife and assistants from the accident that killed them.  But he says it doesn’t work.  The best it can do is slow the passage of time to a near-standstill, and it only works for one person.  Jaco decides he can let that slide.

He also throws a rock at the departing ship, and the chapter ends with the people on board using a life raft, since Jaco’s throw was powerful enough to sink the ship.

Chapter 3.  Jaco continues to insist that he is a Super Elite, because the Galactic Patrol is a small organization under the direct supervision of the Galactic King.  Jaco was one of nine people to apply for a spot on the team, and he was also one of the five people chosen.  Omori isn’t very impressed.

I guess that sums up the flavor of humor with Jaco.  He’s got all these super powers and advanced technology, and Omori is sort of impressed, but not as much as you would expect.  Jaco’s got all the resources of an advanced civilization, but he still flew his ship into the moon and he blew off the lesson on spaceship repair.  It’s impossible to tell if the Galactic Patrol should be taken seriously or not.

Omori has now studied Jaco’s ship long enough that he thinks he understands the general principle of its operation, and it all depends upon this unknown substance in the engine.  A laser is supposed to hit it, which produces enough power to fly the ship, but it was damaged in the crash, and it will have to be replaced.  So Omori first has to identify the material and then find out if there’s any of it on Earth.  So while Jaco waits, he watches more media coverage of the upcoming Twinkle 8 launch.  This feels kind of important, although it’s unclear how this could possibly matter to anything. 

Finally, Omori discovers that the unknown material in Jaco’s ship is available on Earth.  The problem is that it’s called “Sky Gold,” a precious metal that costs 76 million yen for the amount needed to resupply Jaco’s ship. 

I like how Jaco’s first reaction to this news is that he’ll have to do part-time jobs to earn the money, like that’s going to be the setup for the true premise of this comic.  I mean, it could have been.  I could see that being a hit.  But Omori’s like “What the hell are you talking about?” 

Anyway, the good news is that Jaco only needs about 19 million yen’s worth of Sky Gold to make it back to his headquarters.  Oh, right, I should point out that his communications systems were also damaged in the crash, so he can’t send out a distress signal. 

Chapter 4.  Jaco and Omori don’t know what to do about the Sky Gold problem, but in the meantime, Omori needs to sail to the mainland to buy more food.  Jaco can only eat milk and cheese, and he just drank the last of the milk, so he’ll need more.  Jaco expresses an interest in the city, so Omori reluctantly agrees to bring him along.

The problem is that Jaco keeps making a spectacle of himself whenever he sees a crime in the city. 

Omori buys some peanuts and Jaco remarks that in his culture, “peanut” is a word they use for a woman’s left buttock.  Omori is intrigued that Jaco’s species has women, and asks if Jaco has a love interest.  Jaco does not, because he’s a colossal dork. 

Chapter 5: While Omori is buying dairy products for Jaco, Jaco wanders off and notices another crime in progress.  This time he sees a bunch of jerks pushing around a teenage girl.  I don’t know if they’re a gang or what, but I like the whole theme of them being dressed up like different soldiers.  The one guy’s got Roman soldier gear, and there’s a Medieval knight with a gun and some sort of samurai, I guess. 

A lot of folks in East City are dressed in weird costumes like this.  It seems to be part of the local culture, and I guess that might explain why Tights looks like some sort of hippie.

So Jaco sees this happening and he leaps to the rescue.

Seriously, I just really dig all these costumes.  See, this is what sets Toriyama apart from all the wannabes.  You or I could go “Uhhh, how about a Super Saiyan 5!  Or maybe Frieza and Cooler fuse and become Coolza!”  Meanwhile, Toriyama actually comes up with genuinely new ideas. 

I mean, the action in this story is pretty similar to that of his other works, but it’s a completely fresh direction.  Jaco is super-strong like Arale and Goku, but he’s an alien who needs to keep a low profile, and his commitment to justice overrides his better judgement.   

 So now Omori is horrified, because this time Jaco’s attracted more attention than they can possibly avoid, and they have to hide from the authorities.  But just as they worry about what to do next, Tights offers to help...

So this is off to a promising start. The stakes are a lot lower than what we see in Dragon Ball, but it’s nice to read a smaller, slower story.   The first three chapters are kind of dull, but a nice, relaxing dull that you don’t mind at all. 

So far, Professor Omori is what makes this for me.  I like his bitter attitude, and how he uses it to mask his obvious grief.  And I think I’d like Tights too, but we really haven’t gotten to know her yet, so I’ll reserve judgement until next time. 

[ankle-beez]

Are there any like less-popular anime you like the dubs over the subs? Like something you wouldn't see see front-page on Crunchyroll, trending on twitter, or airing on Toonami?

Aggretsuko has a REALLY good dub, it was always my preferred way of watching it