Piracy, Netflix, and the slow crawl of "Cool Japan"

The Washington Times this week reported on the entertainment industry's wringing of hands over recent data showing that Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" is the second most daily pirated TV show in the world right now after "Game of Thrones":

[...] [T]he fact that Netflix shows are also being voraciously downloaded illegally renews industry worries that there are no clear solutions to piracy. Entertainment industry executives had hoped Internet-based services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime would persuade those watching pirated videos online to begin paying or subscribing legally — much the way music lovers embraced iTunes, even if they had grown up illegally downloading files on Napster. But even Netflix, which at $8 to $9 per month for a streaming-only plan costs a fraction of a typical cable bill, may not be able to curb online theft.

Netflix has a different take, however. CEO Reed Hastings pointed out that piracy in Canada has declined since Netflix was introduced 4 years ago. The Post continues:

“I think people do want a great experience and they want access. People are mostly honest,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in an interview with Stuff.tv in May 2013. “The best way to combat piracy isn’t legislatively or criminally, but by giving good options.”

This reminded me of a recent Tofugu video, which reported on Tokyo's move this summer to crack down on manga and anime pirates. Essentially they're saying "Thanks for supporting our entertainment industry, but please stop!"

This is an issue I've discussed with friends before, and as Tofugu's Koichi asserts, it's somewhat gray. Now I'm not advocating for piracy here, but I do very much understand the impulse to seek out and illegally download that which is cannot be obtained by other means. Japan is sitting on a largely untapped goldmine.

For over a decade now, Tokyo has promoted a "Cool Japan" campaign to grow Japanese soft power and exploit the popularity of Japanese culture. Anime, manga, and video games are integral parts of "Cool Japan," yet the respective industries have been slow to adapt.

Outrage, indeed!

Why are there hardly any Japanese films and TV shows available on Netflix? Why are so many popular anime and manga titles unavailable in the US and other countries? Probably the same reason media are so expensive in Japan - the J-entertainment industry is very cautious about how it licenses its content and wants big profits. The fact that shows like Doraemon are now making their way over to the US is encouraging, but then again the blue robo-cat has been around for almost 50 years now. It's about time...

Japanese mobile app blog App Woman voices similar concerns pertaining to Japan's video game industry. "Where is Cool Japan Headed?" asks a recent article.

「COOL JAPAN」の象徴のひとつ、ゲーム。

日本では、今やゲーム機よりもスマホで遊ぶことの方が主流の様。ところが、世界49ヶ国と比べてみると、日本の「モバイル、タブレット」ゲームの利用率はそれほど高くないのです。

According to a recent study by market research firm Kantar Japan, more Japanese people play games on mobile platforms than consoles now, 48.7% vs. 41.4%. The report shows that Japan has the lowest rate of mobile game play among the Asian countries studied. In other words, the mobile game market is booming! The article goes on to point out that Japan has no shortage of big name titles and series, including "Dragon Quest," "Mario," and "Pokemon."

And yet Bloomberg ran a piece just this past May in which Nintendo president Iwata basically said that they'll have to fire him before Nintendo starts selling games on mobile platforms.

To be fair, not all Japanese companies are clinging to the well-worn path. Softbank just last year dove head-first into the US mobile carrier market with its acquisition of Sprint, and also bought a majority share in Finnish company Supercell, the maker of the popular mobile game Clash of Clans. Square-Enix has also been steadily porting Final Fantasy and other titles to mobile. And let's not forget about my favorite Japanese mobile developer, Kairosoft, which has been localizing its sim titles for a while now.

There is no clear way to measure the success of  "Cool Japan," but I would argue that the sustained level of international anime and manga piracy is a good indicator that there is a big opportunity for Japanese entertainment companies, if only they would take advantage.

Just Another Manga Monday #9

Our featured manga this week is よつばと！, or Yotsuba&! in English. It's eleven volumes (so far). I own all of them but honestly I'm writing this before I've read the latest two. I'm taking a break since I read through the first nine too quickly and want to savor the last two.

But first! If you look a couple lines up you may notice that surprisingly this edition of "Just Another Manga Monday" is not written by Julz or Blue Shoe. In point of fact (you can never say "in point of fact" enough) this is my first time writing on the topic of manga. I haven't read many different manga but the ones I do like I read a ton of. Yotsuba&! is one of the chosen few.

The manga follows the misadventures of a strange, young Japanese (or is she?) girl named Yotsuba who recently moves to a new house with her father (or is he?). The stories are often laugh out loud hilarious. I don't like to read overly serious manga, and in the others I like there are always humorous parts, but I've never read one that caused me to burst out in a startle-my-wife level of laughter before. It's a manga unlike one I've seen. It's light hearted but never too goofy, it's thoughtful but never too serious. It's a manga that you can read any time and just feel better. This is all due to the eponymous character of Yotsuba.

Cicada-Yotsuba

Yotsuba is six years old, incredibly positive, and insatiably curious. All the stories center around her adventures and how they affect the people around her. The cast of characters is small and only consists of her father, her father's very few friends, and the family next door. It's drastically different than any other manga I read in that it has no overall plot. Each volume is broken up into stories. The first one has seven. And they actually are stories, not chapters. Each one is just a glimpse into the life of Yotsuba and the antics she gets up to. Sometimes one story will lead into another. For example, in one they plan to go camping and in the next they go camping, but just as often you'll go from eating ice cream to catching cicadas. For me, I crave continuity, but even though it sounds disjointed there is enough that connects the stories to prevent them from feeling too episodic.

Yotsuba&! isn't without it's flaws. Maybe flaws is an unfair word since the manga succeeds at what it sets out to do: share with you interesting stories from Yotsuba's life. That part is great but when I started the series I expected it to be more. In the first couple volumes you are presented with some mysteries: Where did Yotsuba come from? Where's her mother? Why does she randomly use English words? Hints are dropped which add to the mystery and my curiosity. Then those hints stop and that whole mystery is abandoned. Was it ever supposed to be a mystery? Is the author saying "it doesn't matter where she came from, just laugh at her going to the convenience store by herself."? Like I said before, I crave continuity, and I hoped this would turn into that overall plot that Yotsuba&! lacks. This probably only bothers me because I'm used to reading story driven manga. Even the episodic ones I read have an overarching story (Mushishi for example). I brought this up with my wife who is also a Yotsuba&! fan and she said this wasn't unusual for manga. I guess I don't read enough. Paul pointed out when I described this to him that it sounds like a newspaper comic. I guess it is in a way. I could draw a ton of parallels between this and Calvin and Hobbes. The benefit of Yotsuba&! being in manga format is that each story isn't limited to four panels. I'm digressing.

Many of our readers are studiers of Japanese or at least interested in Japanese culture. So am I, which is one of the main reasons I love Yotsuba&! so much and why I heartily recommend it to any likeminded people. Since I grew up in the northeastern US my childhood was pretty different to the kids of Japan. Even though I would never trade my summers of barbecuing with the neighbors or trick-or-treating on Halloween, I still wish I could somehow share in this collective childhood that it seems like a lot Japanese people have. There are the staples like catching cicada, or visiting the grandparents in the 田舎, or joining in a festival, or watching the fireworks in summer (well, I guess Americans have that one too). By reading Yotsuba&!, in a way I feel like I can get a sense of what it's like. Even if you don't care about any of that, at least Yotsuba is funny.

I rate Yotsuba&! four silver moons and one half star (my own personal rating system). It's good, I think you'd like it.

By the way, even if you've never heard of Yotsuba&! I'm sure you've seen one of the characters, ダンボー:

Originally from Yotsuba&!, someone from Amazon.com thought it was cool and made him their mascot. He's become quite famous from photographers taking artsy pictures of him.

Japan and High School

Have you noticed that "high school" seems to be a fairly popular theme in Japan? What I mean is that here you see high school settings and characters everywhere - movies, cartoons, comics. Often seems like for most Japanese people "high school" equals "hey-day."

In the West, or in the U.S. at any rate, I think the "good old days" that many people have come to wax nostalgic for are more often the days of university or just young adulthood in general. In pop culture, at any rate. That's not to say we don't have our share of movies, TV shows, and literature featuring high schoolers, but I think they often appeal to the limited audiences. If I had to compare, I'd say American entertainment tends to be more dominated by college and post-college themes.

Are Western and Japanese media really so different in this aspect? I think so, and here are a few observations I've made as to why.

Exhibit A: Manga and Anime

I lump these two together because more often than not they go hand in hand (a large number of anime series are taken directly from manga). Of course not all manga are high school-themed. There's a wide enough variety of Japanese comics and cartoons out there to satiate a veritable army of nerds.

I'm hardly claiming that all or even the majority of manga and anime have to do with high school. However I think a relatively large percentage do.

While doing a little research, I came across a Japanese blog with an entry about the most popular manga in Japan during 2009. According to a survey conducted by Nikkei Entertainment Magazine, the popularity of many series is shared across demographics (more so considering age than gender, though).

Of the top 20 manga listed by the survey, 5 of them featured high school students or settings (君に届け; 桜欄高校ホスト部; 名探偵コナン; xxxHOLiC; おおきく振りかぶって).

That means that in 2009, 25% of the top manga were high-school related.

When you consider other big titles like Death Note, Slam Dunk, and Boys Over Flowers, there's a pretty strong case for the argument that "a lot of manga and anime have something to do with high school."

Exhibit B: Movies

When it comes to Japanese movies, many of the more well-known titles don't have anything to do with high school (though Godzilla may well step on a few schools). A lot of the more classically popular films fall under the 時代劇 (period drama) or fantasy/scifi headings.

Looking a little closer, there are a number of Studio Ghibli (makers of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away among many others) movies with high school student protagonists: 猫の恩返し (The Cat Returns), 海が聞こえる (Ocean Waves), and the upcoming コクリコ坂から(From Kokuriko Hill).

How many Disney animations with high school characters can you think of?

Couple this with the fact that like anime, a lot of Japanese movies come from manga series. Thus you have Death Note (the movie), Boys Over Flowers (the movie), Gokusen (the movie), etc.

And let's not forget one of the most (in)famous movies to come out of Japan, Battle Royale, originally a novel about adults sending high school students to an island to fight to the death.

She's a winner!

Exhibit C: Video Games

These days there are almost as many different kinds of video games as comics. Plenty have nothing to do with high school, but the genre does creep into even this medium.

To start, once again we have many manga spin-offs. More Death Note, Slam Dunk, ad nauseam.

If you're a fan of Japanese games, you may be familiar with the Persona (Shin Megami Tensei) series. Not quite at the same level of name recognition as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, but it's been picking up steam over the years, especially due to its recent releases for the Nintendo DS. Essentially its a series about high school students who can control demons or spirits.

Many high school-themed games don't make it abroad for one reason or another, and thus I don't have very much information or even an English name to offer you. One Google search for "high school protagonist games" turned up this title from 2004, Kuron Youma Gakuen Ki (Story of the Nine Dragons Academy?), which appears to be about a high school boy who decides to be come a treasure hunter (a legitimate pursuit in this game's world) and transfers to a special academy in Tokyo.

I was also recently playing a baseball/high school game called Atsumare Pawa Puro Kun Koshien, in which you can take the roll of either the coach or team captain of a group of high schoolers and must train and lead them to victory. In Japan, the best high school baseball teams qualify to enter a nationally televised tournament that's held annually at Koshien stadium (incidentally not too far from where I live). It's basically the equivalent of high school students getting the chance to play at Fenway Park. The goal of this game is to get your team to Koshien. If you fail, apparently your life and the students' baseball careers are over.

I also have a game called Inazuma Eleven, which is similarly about a soccer team of high schoolers with big ambitions. I believe that one has made it out of Japan.

There are also plenty of other games, often of the dating orientation, that are centered around high school life. I haven't played any of these, though, as I find them creepy.

Why don't many of these games make it out of Japan? For some reason they're not anticipated to sell well abroad. In many cases  I believe it's because Japanese people just have more of an affinity for high school than we do abroad.

Implications

So the high school theme appears more often in Japanese pop culture than in many others. What does it mean? I don't know - you tell me. It could be that despite the wads of homework and sometimes slavish dedication to a club or sport, high school provides (or provided) the last memories of freedom for many Japanese people, and that's something they cherish.

One of my friends theorized that the Japanese have more of an appreciation for that "time of innocence," and that high school marks the time before adulthood when some things are still pure. That could be. It might go partway to explaining one of the more prevalent fetishes associated with, uh...lower Japanese culture.

What do you think? If you've spent some time in Japan or have consumed a lot of Japanese media, do you think Japan is more fascinated with high school life than other countries? If so, why do you think that is?

I'm curious to see what you come up with.

Update: Some good stuff in the comments. From Ryan Cecil:

 "I wanted to say that I do agree with your friend about the "Age of Innocence." It was first brought up to me by a Japanese friend, explaining why high school students don't have part time jobs. "We Japanese like our children to be children." Having a job just doesn't seem right for a child, so that's a good reason to prohibit it.

It's also brought up a little bit in my debate classes, when students talk about school uniforms: "We feel like students when we wear school uniforms." So the high school atmosphere thing is important not just to nostalgic adults, but students too. Also, I think you can look to the way (it seems) certain events are ubiquitous at every school, such as sports day, cultural festivals, and certain school trips. I think creating "happy high school memories" is real important to Japanese people.

There's also the way, compared to Americans, Japanese high school students are more naive about... almost everything. I think they feel like they're "supposed to" be naive, especially the good kids. (Maybe it's subversive to be a precocious high school student here)."

Think that's well put. Perhaps because in many cases Japanese people have to make a very quick transition to adulthood, this last period of youth and innocence is especially valued. I'd love to have a native or two weigh in on this.

One thing that gives me pause, though, is my perception that a lot of high school students are (a) sexually active as are teens in other countries and (b) often work part-time jobs though they're not supposed to. According to my understanding of the concept, (lack of) sexual awareness and experience are cornerstones of "innocence," so I'm not too sure it's something Japanese youth really possess. Though that wouldn't necessarily preclude them from trying to hold on to it.

Eryk brings up another good point:

"I think high school is interesting because it is a period that blends care-free living, protection, and a very real community with a shared set of seemingly insurmountable problems. College is too care-free to inspire the drama needed for good storytelling; and the social cohesion isn’t the same. "

Adversity can really help build great relationships, and it could be that all the hard work and drama of high school make for not only good memories but also strong friendships. Some of your classmates become your buddies in the trenches, struggling a'la J-drama to overcome the odds and win that baseball championship or study your ass off and get into Tokyo University.

And some perspective from Kaori. I recommend reading the comments if you're interested, but here's part of her thought:

"I agree with you and a lot of the comments. High school really is pretty much our first taste of freedom, and the fact that it's within a certain boundary (because let's face it, your still kids) makes it all the more exciting. It's probably a mix of innocence and adolescence."

Just Another Manga Monday #8

Shojo Showdown!

I picked two random series off of my shelves to read and compare. The two selected were MeruPuri and Tail of the Moon.

MeruPuri is a short series consisting of only 4 volumes and written by Hino (also author ofVampire Knight). Tail of Moon is quite the opposite in length, comprising 15 volumes.

There were three main factors I considered in this Shojo Showdown! - plot, characters, and X factor.

Plot:

MeruPuri- A girl who is a descendant of magical royalty from another world carries an old heirloom mirror as a necklace. Little does she know that this necklace serves as a portal to another world. In dire need, a young prince uses this mirror as an escape and winds up with our young heroine. Placed under a curse, the young prince turns older when he is exposed to darkness. In his new form, he is attractive to our heroine and she does not know how to deal with her new crush.

-Tail of the Moon-- The heroine, Usagi, lives in a ninja village and is far from qualifying as a ninja. She is finally given an assignment to travel to another village so that she may wed and give birth to the children of a well-respected ninja named Hanzo. She immediately falls in love with the man, but is rejected just as quickly. He refuses to marry anyone, especially a bride-elect who is unqualified as a ninja. Usagi must train hard to qualify and also try to thaw the heart of Hanzo.

Bottom line: It's a tie. Both manga have interesting storylines and a theme of love.

Characters:
-MeruPuri-- The main characters are Airi, the story's heroine, and Aram, a prince. Over the course of the series, they develop enough for the reader to develop an understanding and empathy for these two characters. Because the series is so short, though, the other characters are not as well-developed. There is an older brother to the prince (comic relief), a servant to the prince, another prospective love interest for Airi, a fairy, the queen and others who play minor roles, but nothing like the main two. The author does a good job in developing the relationship between Airi and Aram, and raising the level of romance as the prince gets older.

[Image- MeruPuri, entrance of Aram's older brother/comic relief]

-Tail of the Moon-- Usagi and Hanzo are very well-developed (especially Usagi). By the end of the series I felt like I knew her personally. Other major characters include Usagi’s sidekick Mamezo (she raised him), other possible love interests for Usagi, other possible love interests for Hanzo, political figures, and family members. This series is about ninjas and the reader gets to experience training as well as assignments.

Bottom Line: -Tail of the Moon- wins. The characters are developed a great deal more than in MeruPuri-.

X Factor (that extra something):
-MeruPuri-- For me, the X factor in -MeruPuri- was the mental creep out. Airi is 15 and falls in love with a 7 year-old. He transforms into the body of a 17 year-old which is fine, but still has the mental capacity of a child, which, as I said- creeps me out!

-Tail of the Moon-- Ninja training!! It was awesome reading about ninja life, training and assignments. It makes you feel like you are there. Also, the ending! I’m conflicted about the ending of this manga. Maybe it’s because I didn’t want to see it end after 15 volumes, but I did not like the way it was concluded, though at least it’s memorable. I can’t remember how half of the manga I’ve read terminate.

[Image- Tail of the Moon, Usagi is on a ninja assignment]

Bottom Line: MeruPuri -…definitely loses in X Factor. -Tail of the Moon- wins.

Winner: The winner of Shojo Showdown! is -Tail of the Moon-!

It's such a fun read! I could read the series over and over again.

Just Another Manga Monday #7

American Manga? Yay or Nay?

Every time I walk into a Borders, Books a Million or Barnes n Nobles I immediately head straight for the manga aisle. I can’t even control it anymore; it’s just instinctive. Over the past couple of years I’ve noticed some American mangas permeating the section…which I do not appreciate. I think the first title I saw that confused me was a World of Warcraft series. I guess there is a general assumption that anyone who reads manga is therefore nerdy and must be into video games as well. Next, I saw a Star Trek series. I don’t think it was too long after the newest movie came out. Once again, I was turned off and never opened it. Last year the newest craze in American manga was the Scott Pilgrim series *(though actually Canadian). I admit I was a little intrigued because my friends were so into it and it was rumored to have many nerdy references. Eventually I saw the movie, courtesy of my brother. I decided to give the series a read, but I was more curious to see why it is placed in the manga section as opposed to the graphic novel section.


Now, I don’t know if there is a definition of what ‘manga’ is supposed to be in the United States so I’m just going to go with what’s obvious to me based on years of experience. Words tend to change their meaning based on geography and culture so if you’re in Japan you can probably offer some different insights and I can’t wait to hear them. (For example I was thinking of the word ‘anime.’ In Japan doesn’t it refer to any cartoon, whereas in the states it would only be used in the context of Japanese animation?) Well, anyway, ‘manga’ to me is a Japanese style comic book, generally read from left to right, which follows certain themes (friendship, love, conquering opposition, etc.).

In reading Scott Pilgrim I tried to determine- would I consider this a manga?




Similarities and Differences:
Style. The most obvious difference to me was the artistic style. The characters are drawn in a more ‘chibi’ fashion I guess you could say- short, stout. Maybe this is because they’re *North American and fatter? The eyes are still drawn large but the style is just a little sloppier in comparison to Japanese books. It is not as inspiring or breath-taking to me. I wouldn’t consider it art as I would often consider the other manga that I read.

Ultimate Venus and Scott Pilgrim

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.

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Alichino and Chobits below

Content. The content is so very very different. I don’t think I’ve ever read a manga where a character is called an ‘Asshat.’ I guess that’s something a translator would never put in. Maybe I’m not reading vulgar enough manga to make the comparison, but I stick to my guns that the content is different. The sense of humor and references are very *North American. I don’t know if I can describe it any better than that; it would be like trying to describe British humor. You know it when you see it but can’t especially put it into words.


Themes. Friendship and Love. Finally a match! Based on the themes alone, I would put Scott Pilgrim into the manga category. The series is basically a gigantic love triangle. Scratch that.. octagon? Too many to count. But within the story exists the overlying theme of true love between Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers and the relationships with many friends along the way. Now I can be nitpicky here and point how completely different the dynamic in these friendships are between those of other manga friendships, but I was just happy to find a match. Unfortunately that is still in the back of my head. They’re so *North American about it. Sarcasm, making fun of each other, the prolific use of ‘your mom’ jokes…


In conclusion, I’m going to have to say that… whoever decided *North American graphic novels like Scott Pilgrim should go into the manga section is a complete Noob! The artwork doesn’t do the category justice and the content doesn’t fit the spirit of the genre.

If you liked the movie Scott Pilgrim though you should definitely give the books a read (there’s only six). Like all book/movie pairs there are many differences and you will be surprised.

* = Edited as of 4/08/2011

Just Another Manga Monday #6

Death Note is a pretty popular title here in the states. I imagine it would be decently popular in Japan as well. Usually I am not particularly drawn to many of the mainstream titles promoted in the US, but I won’t knock ‘em before I’ve tried them.

I was introduced to Death Note at Otakon 2007 (an anime convention located in Baltimore) through a screening of the Death Note Live movie. It was interesting…a long film, twisted, calculating, entertaining and surreal. I wanted to learn more. I started reading the manga series and was given the complete box set as a gift one year.

There are 12 volumes + a bonus 13th on “How to Read” the series. This 13th volume is full of character profiles, interviews, origins of chapter titles, story commentaries, design secrets, rules and tricks, and the pilot chapter. Yes. The series is that involved. Let me tell you a bit about it.

The death note is a notebook. Shinigami, or gods of death, use books called death notes to kill human beings. To start the story, one Shinigami named Ryuk becomes bored with the realm of Shinigami and drops his notebook in the human world. A human boy discovers it and opens it to discover the death note rules inside, the first of which being “The human whose name is written in this note shall die.” [Also included with the box set is an additional booklet with all the death note rules.] This boy’s name is Light Yagami, son of the chief of Japanese police. This makes for an interesting mix when Light decides to test the powers of the death note and his own father is investigating the cases. Light decides to use the notebook…but for good. Killing for good? A highly debatable issue. Is killing off criminals in the interest of justice really fair? The public debates this within the story. Those who are in favor of the killings name their savior Kira. They fear and respect him. Meanwhile, a high level investigator named L has been brought in as a specialist due to the growing number of murders throughout Japan.

The character development is great with several key characters: Light, Ryuk, L, Misa Amane, and Rem just to name a few. This series is mind boggling with its intricate plot details. It is a battle of the wits between Light and L with many twists and turns along the way. There is hatred, betrayal and sacrifice. If you like criminal investigations you will enjoy trying to see where the story is going. Death Note is not the mushy shojo I’ve reviewed before. It is a favorite of guys and girls alike- more just to those who appreciate an intellectual story.

There are several live movies, spinoff novels, and an anime series in addition to the manga. Personally I’ve only seen the first movie and own all the manga. I would like the watch the anime when I have the time, especially because I’ve cosplayed as Misa Amane before. If you would like to see more, here is the main website: http://deathnote.viz.com/

If you’re looking for a manga series that is complex, intriguing, stimulating, and twisted look no further than Death Note!

Just Another Manga Monday #5

Julie's a little busy lately taking care of her new puppy (it's a Japanese breed, so maybe she'll post a few pictures sometime soon), so I'll be standing in this week.

As I may have mentioned, I'm not a huge manga or anime enthusiast. But that's not to say I dislike them categorically. As for manga, I've tried reading a bunch of different stuff, but I find that the genre that most appeals to me is education, if that's a real thing. Of course one of the main reasons for a non-native speaker to read Japanese manga is to pick up the language. I think this has to go hand-in-hand with enjoyment. If you try reading something you don't really like, you'll eventually get bored or discouraged and give up. On the other hand, though, I don't think there's much immediate practical benefit from learning the words for things like "sword of divine destiny" or "robotic fusion core." Sure, you may want to work up to that if your ultimate goal is fluency, but it's not going to help you in daily life. I like to read manga that are more down-to-earth and focus on normal(ish) people and situations.

The first manga I read that I really enjoyed and sparked my interest in this "genre" is called ダーリンは外国人 (My Darling is a Foreigner). Several people I've spoken to about it have been aware of the movie by the same title that came out in 2010, but disappointingly haven't been familiar with the comic. This is unfortunate, because from what I've read and heard about the movie, it fails to do the manga justice. While the cinema version is a love story between characters Saori and Tony (the husband and wife of the manga series), the comic isn't a story at all, per say. It's a collection of little dialogues and interactions between Saori (who is the author and illustrator of the series) and her husband Tony (who writes small essays that are inserted between segments). Their episodes together vary greatly by topic, but tend to gravitate both towards language and comparative culture. Not only is Tony a foreigner living in Japan, but he is also a linguaphile both by interest and profession. As such, he is constantly offering up anecdotes about life abroad or lessons about the languages or histories of foreign cultures.

Tony is also very knowledgeable about ketchup...

There are several volumes out now, including "My Darling is a Foreigner" 1&2, "Inside My Darling's Head" 1&2, "With Baby," and a few that I haven't throughly investigated. At least the first one has also been released in English, though I'm not sure if it's being sold abroad.

If you like language or education-oriented manga, I suggest you give this one a try.

Just Another Manga Monday #4

When I opened up the cover to this week’s manga, staring me in the face was VIZ’s definition of ‘shojo.’ They define shojo as:
“1. Manga appealing to both female and male readers. 2. Exciting stories with true-to-life characters and the thrill of exotic locales. 3. Connecting the heart and mind through real human relationships.”

Interesting. I consider shojo in general to be geared more towards girls with all the mushy romance I think that guys would skim over, but hey, I guess they’re trying to create a new shojo.

This week’s manga is Ceres: Celestial Legend (Ayashi No Ceres). Like last week manga’s Absolute Boyfriend, it was also written by Yuu Watase, author of Fushigi Yuugi. It is also rated T+ for older teen. I would attribute this to violence, sexuality and slight nudity.

Ceres is a 14 volume series (also an anime) based on a global legend about an angel’s cloak. In the legend, an angel is bathing and a fisherman steals her heavenly robes. Without them, she cannot return to heaven and is forced to live out her days on earth and marry the fisherman. One day, she learns from her children where her robe is hidden and returns to heaven.


In this story, Aya and Aki Mikage are 16 year old twins who are descendants of a Celestial angel named Ceres and her fisherman husband. Aya (left), Aki (right):

As the fates have allowed, Aya was born with enough pure blood for the maiden Ceres to find her body suitable, thus, Ceres possesses Aya and demonstrates supernatural powers. The angel Ceres is angered because her heavenly robes were never returned to her and seeks revenge on the Mikage family, most of all her fisherman husband. In turn, the Mikage family is trying to kill Aya to defend themselves from Ceres.

Throughout the series, Aya faces many challenges. She must survive on her own while avoiding the Mikage family, looking for her brother, and trying to repress Ceres’s destructive powers. Along the way, though, Aya is met with help. A boy named Yuhi comes to her aid as well as a mysterious and attractive man named Toya. Even though her life is in danger she still finds time for romance!

I enjoyed this series a lot. Maybe it’s because I’m a little sappy… I cried while reading Steinbeck’s The Red Pony just like I cried while reading this series. Since there are 14 volumes, the author is able to develop the characters in a way that one becomes attached to them.

Just Another Manga Monday #3

The featured manga this week is called Absolute Boyfriend. It is a six volume series, and a complete shojo! This one is definitely for you, girls.

Absolute Boyfriend stars Riiko, a teenage girl living on her own because her parents are away on business. Like many of us at a time, she is lonely and just wants a boyfriend. She meets a shady character who sends her to a website where she orders and receives a customized doll through a free 3 day trial. He is completely life-like, superhuman and naïve to cultural norms. Missing the return date, she now owes them data for their company or a million dollars. She names the doll Night because he is from the Nightly Lover series. Riiko’s neighbor, Soshi, looks out for her. They fight like cats and dogs, but it is obvious they care for each other.
Throughout the series, Riiko struggles through having an AI robot boyfriend and trying to keep it a secret, figuring out who she loves, surviving bitchy high school girl drama, as well as other twists and turns along the way.

The series is rated T+ for older teen. It has a slightly perverted humor. Example (remember to read from right to left):

It was written by Yuu Watase, creator of Fushigi Yugi (one of my favorite anime series) and it is like a reverse Chobits (very popular anime/manga series in which a boy falls in love with an AI doll named Chii). I would recommend this series if you are looking for a laugh and romance.

Just Another Manga Monday #2

This week’s manga is more of a specialty. It is a collector’s series consisting of only two books called The Lady of Pharis. It is a prequel to the Record of Lodoss War manga.

The Record of Lodoss War is a fantasy anime/manga series which focuses on the troubled island of Lodoss, and the struggle to restore balance between the forces of light and darkness. Within ROLW, there is a tale of six great heroes who survived the “The War of Heroes”, a war against demons. The Lady of Pharis series tells this tale of the demon war.





Our heroine is Flaus, leader of the warrior priests. She receives the aid of familiar characters Beld, Wort, Fahn, and Karla. It is entertaining to see these characters young and full of life. Beld is especially amusing as an arrogant mercenary for hire. There are many engaging relationships, such as romance and rivalry. These relationships provide a great background for a ROLW fan, or are simply enjoyable as a one-time read.


There is no rating on the manga, but I would rate it at teen due to violence and nudity. The books primarily consist of battles, so if you enjoy action scenes, you will enjoy them. The nudity is not in bad taste, simply an artistic choice for the demon lord.


If you are a ROLW fan, The Lady of Pharis is a MUST read. If you have never heard of ROLW, The Lady of Pharis is a great starting point which could lead you to Record of Lodoss War: Gray Witch, and Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight.

Just Another Manga Monday #1

The turn of a new year is a good time for reflection. Looking at things here at JADJ, I realize that we're severely lacking on manga and anime-related content. While I'm not a huge fan of the stuff myself, I do acknowledge that there is some good stuff out there, and it can be a tool for learning. Thusly, I've asked my dearest sister, who happens to be a big manga fan, to write a periodic few words on some choice titles that she recommends. And while it's no longer Monday here in Japan as of this posting, it remains the titular time in some parts of the world. The title stands!
-Paul

My onii-chan asked me to blog a little about manga. Easy enough, since I have so much. I figured I'd start with my favorite- From Far Away (彼方から).

This series is categorized as fantasy shojo (for girls), but I would have to disagree. Usually when you read shojo you get weird sappy stories taking place in a high school starring a teenager who has some quirk like a person on their hand (Midori Days) or a gender change (Ranma 1/2). From Far Away certainly falls into the fantasy genre, but I believe has elements that would appeal to guys as well. True, there is an underlying theme of romance, but there is also much about war, battles and culture.
To set the scene, our heroine Noriko is transported from Japan to a magical world as 'The Awakening'. The Awakening can be used to control the Sky Demon (an evil and powerful force) and therefore every kingdom and evil dude is searching for her. A young warrior named Izark, who just so happens to be the human reincarnation of the Sky Demon, saves her from danger, unaware of her identity. The series develops these characters in an interesting way, showing their relationship change as Noriko learns the foreign language and customs.

If you find yourself interested in science fiction and are looking to read a series that focuses on war tactics in addition to character development, you will enjoy From Far Away.

Catholic Manga?

Story from The American Papist:

Apparently a student at John Paul the Great University and an artist in Singapore have collaborated on a Catholic manga featuring St. Paul. The first volume is available now on Amazon.


(Image source: Amazon.com)

As a Catholic I'm intrigued, and I wish I could find something like this is Japanese. I think it's a good idea for making religion a little more...appealing(?) to youngsters. On the other hand, though it isn't really substantively important, I have to wonder whether something created by an American and a guy from Singapore is really manga. Sure, it's drawn in the traditional manga style, but does it have to be Japanese to be manga? Food for thought.

Rangeman!

Recently I decided that my Japanese has been languishing and that it's time to step up my study efforts. You may be able to relate if you've been learning a language for a long time - after a while you start to search for new and varied methods of study. I have textbooks and kanji lists that I could be using. I also have Harry Potter still checked out from my school's library, but I haven't been able to break through that invisible barrier I hit on page 67. I needed something that would expose me not only to new grammar, vocabulary, and kanji, but do so in a context. Books are great for this, but unfortunately they are also an extraordinary effort for me at the moment.

I've never really been able to get into comic books. As a kid I had a few - maybe a dozen or so, tops. I love books, and I like art (assuming the two to be different things here for the sake of my point), but for me, comic books have always been a watered down combination of the two. Much of the appeal of a good book is the ability it has to fuel one's imagination. When you provide the reader with pictures, it seems to me that you are "doing the work for them," so to speak. I mean, what is a comic book but a half-assed cartoon - less illustrations than an animation and no voice work. Sure, comics have redeeming factors, such as their standalone medium, and don't get me wrong - some comics have truly beautiful artwork. I have just always preferred a good book. Maybe it's for that reason, plus the desire to connect somehow to Japan without becoming a "Japan fanboy" that I have avoided manga for all these years. The three key elements necesary for the genesis of such an entity are manga, anime, and video games - the cornerstones of the temple at which they worship. Once all three are present, the building blocks are in place for that "anything Japanese is awesome" mentality. I prefer to avoid absolutes like that outside of the spiritual realm.

The other day I decided to break with my tradition for the good of the language. Yes, I bought some manga. My selection method probably leaves much to be desired, and I'm sure comic book and manga connoisseurs would be disappointed in me. I checked out a local specialty recycle shop, for lack of a better term, which deals chiefly in clothes, video games, and manga. A recycle shop, by the way, is for our purposes a used goods store, although the place I'm talking about has new products, as well. This place has aisles and aisles of manga. Aisles and aisles. What's a guy to do? I approached it the way I approach shopping for clothes. I looked around for a few minutes, seeking something not too dull but not too gaudy, which would serve to get the job done. Search time was a major consideration. I'm pretty satisfied with the results.

Behold -- Rangeman!

Skimmed the first first book and it seemed acceptable, so I bought (all? the first?) six on the shelf for a neat 1008 yen (roughly $11). I'm a decent way through the first one now, and it hasn''t disappointed. The book tells the story of a 16-year-old boy named Renji (in English it would probably sound more like "Range," hence the title), opening with a scene in which he declares his affection for a girl and is rejected, resulting in his 99th successive "defeat." As the story progresses, we see both that Renji is desperate for a girlfriend and that he doesn't know how to deal with ladies. Not only is he desperate to the point of obsession, but he has some strange, if not overly romanticized ideas about how to sweep a girl off her feet. Add to this a sprinkling of social awkwardness and inexperience and you have a recipe for failure, as his track record demonstrates. You would think he'd have learned by now. I must say, though - 99 cracks at getting a girlfriend by age 16 is quite impressive.

At the point I've reached, he has finally secured his first real date (kind of...he tells her to meet him at a certain train station and runs away without waiting for an answer) with a cute but coarse girl who was underappreciated by her ex-boyfriend because of her unladylike manners. Incidentally, Renji met her by being hit by her motorscooter...twice. After consulting with and ignoring the advice of his friends, who tell him that his plans are dumb, he decides to go wait for this girl 3 hours early, so that he can brag to her that he waited a long time for her arrival. He oversleeps, however, and wakes up with, *gasp*, less than two hours to spare. This is where things turn from Japanese romance cliche to a different kind of Japanese flavor. On his way to the train station where he's meeting her, he cuts through a park and is bowled over by some scrawny Power Ranger-looking dude. All of a sudden, some professor with a striking resemblence to Dr.Wily rolls up in a heart-shaped, mini UFO-thing and begins arguing with the Power Ranger guy, as a huge badass-looking robot appears out of nowhere and starts ambling towards them. The Power Ranger and Dr. Wily have some kind of argument - the Power Ranger yelling that he wants to quit and have a girlfriend, and Dr. Wily trying to persuade him to stick with it. Ultimately the Ranger runs away, and Dr. Wily notices Renji, who is sitting on the ground trying to figure out what's going on. Thinking that this is part of a movie scene being filmed, Renji tries to run past the metal goliath, only to get smacked down robot-style. Dr. Wily grabs him with one of his claw-arms and tells him that his only choice is to take the Ranger's place. Renji starts to get seriously PO'ed - he just wants to make it to his date. Then the robot steps on the flowers he had brought for the girl and there is murder in his eyes. Literally, the kanji for "to kill" replace his pupils. The good doctor promises that if Renji does as he asks, he will replace the flowers (which cost roughly $150). He gives Renji a ring and tells him some magic words to say, then turns him loose. Renji puts on the ring and shouts the magic words and all of a sudden is transformed into Rangeman - a jacked Power Ranger. After making short work of the robot, he collects his cash from the Doctor and runs away to his date. After a moment, however, his powers fade and he is left naked and feeble in the street. He hides in some bushes and misses his date.

I have to go back and reread that part, but it seems that the Rangeman's powers are fueled by love or lust or some kind of romantic passion.

Anyway, it's an interesting comic, and I am planning some follow-ups for this post...so stay tuned.

Just another picture of the day 7/25/09

I think most of us already know that Japanese manga are weird, but here's something further. My favorite part is the two exclamation points.