I was surprised recently by the major problems imbedded in the “Youth Protection and Nurturing Ordinance amendment”. Even though the amendment is coming into force just now, I hadn’t heard of it before a few days ago. For a full explanation, please visit this site: http://mitb.bufsiz.jp/

Simply put, even for characters of a story who do not actually exist, and even those who are portrayed not as minors but as adult figures, sales of works in which the panties of these characters can be seen can be restricted if you have a hunch that they appear childlike, for one thing; and more generally, it is an unconstitutional and ridiculous piece of legislation. I’m not talking about children’s books. I mean mass market publications, anime, games, and all manners of works. Both Doraemon and Sazae-san are right out!

http://otakurevolution.blog17.fc2.com/blog-entry-787.html

As you read more about this, please try and think about whether or not you want to live in a society that can pass these sorts of laws without resistance. What follows are my own thoughts. (I will employ the terms “good depictions, bad depictions”, but these are not my conceptions of good and bad. Rather, I only mean how these things are percieved in our modern society. Just making sure [this is understood].)

* * *

In order for people to understand and distinguish between good and evil, it is necessary to have good things to point out and explain that “this is good”, and have evil things to point out and explain that “this is evil”, in the same way.

If we lock a child in a sterilized room, they would not grow into a healthy adult with a normal heart!

[Corrected] Among porn and violent works, there are depictions of acts you are likely to never see in real life, yet which, if seen, would leave you mentally scarred. These must exist within society so that we can explain how they are wrong. If we regulate their expression, then, being raised in a place where such things do not exist, people will not have that chance to learn what is wrong or dangerous.

For example, war is obviously a bad thing, but even so, what do you think would happen if we had a complete ban on depictions of war? Children would wonder if war was good or bad, and what would happen if our society had something called war, and despite this foolishness would unfortunately grow into adults.

For us [humans], at some point on the path to adulthood it is necessary to know about these bad things.

For all the various evils in this world, only through “becoming a perpetrator”, “becoming a victim”, or “experiencing a depiction”, and these three means alone, can we understand them as evil.

Of course, I do not mean to say that “reading depictions of crime will cause you to become a criminal”. The only way one can learn to differentiate between good and evil is to be allowed to apply their own well-developed thought and reasoning to these materials. If you are forced to memorize “this is good, this is evil” out of a textbook, this is is not the same as discernment itself.

At the risk of repeating myself, there are for sale in the market today exceedingly brutal and violent things, and other things that the world has generally deemed unpleasant. I think it’s good for people with proper understanding to say “this is unpleasant”. That is, seeing these portrayals of evil, adults will be able to explain that they are bad, and this itself instructs children in proper thought. If there were no depictions of evil about, we would lose those necessary examples to instruct people in proper understanding, and the basis for knowing what is good and what is bad within society would become flimsy at best. That society would simply be a sterilized room.

If I ever become father to children, in the place that I live in, I believe that it would be impossible to raise them healthily in this weird kind of sterilized society lacking all violent or sexually explicit notions. I do not want to live in that kind of society!

Humankind has been entrusted with much power, but if we abuse that power to do away with things that we do not like, then thinking in that way, we will give birth to this sterilized room kind of society. The purpose of freedom of speech, in my opinion, is to defend against precisely that sort of thing.

[Anyway, I e-mailed the Tokyo Assembly and Tokyo City public contacts with these thoughts, in accordance with the approved format for sending public comments.]

I will hopefully actually be updating this blog within the next week with an actual article, so stay tuned here, too!

…I think I’m bored of Yotsuba now. Actually reading this again just made me want to get the new Azumanga chapters.

The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya (Nagaru Tanigawa/Yen Press again)
Kind of boring. The early stories are all better in the anime, though some later chapters are better, I’ve heard. Also the entire translation is written like this. I was going to make up something here about fansub translators not knowing how to write paragraphs, but I guess it’s light novel style after all. The anime episodes are better but are still boring.

The Summer of the Ubume (Natsuhiko Kyogoku/Vertical)
kransom told me to buy this before it came out here, and so I did. Unfortunately, not only is this a real novel, but it’s actually good and well-written, which left me totally unqualified to say anything about it. I will instead note that most people seem to have called it a “supernatural horror”, which it isn’t, and insist on comparing Kyogoku to nerdshoe authors like Neil Gaiman/Stephenson.
Personally, I thought the mystery solved through a very long history lecture at the end reminded me more of Umberto Eco, but there’s no reason to go around reducing things to comparisons like that. Just go read it, okay.

Kannagi v1/2
(I read the subtitles, you see.)
There wasn’t really enough plot to sustain this. The individual episodes were mostly good, but none of them actually led into each other at all, and you just had to pretend that the weird serious drama in episode 2 merited it suddenly coming back at the end of the show.
Maybe if the author had written more of the plot out it could’ve been interesting, since it was at least more leftist than Kamichu, but instead some completely different series about maid cafes got stuck in the middle. Yamakan’s director power somehow made this and Kanon watchable, but I end up regretting it afterwards…

Umineko no naku koro ni, episode 6
I can’t mention any plot details until it’s been translated, but after reading it I don’t think I got any clearer picture of the mystery. It looks like episode 7 will reveal a large part of that, so it’s just a little more waiting either way, but it made reading such a long episode seem a little pointless.
There were a few great scenes, but overall the whole thing is by design stuck until the actual end, and I think he’s just padding it out now. Watch out if you start reading it (e.g. if someone translates the prologue), because the first few scenes will just confuse you until you get to the end 15 chapters later.

——-

January 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Shinpen, Boujouki”
Suwa Sakae, “Unabara no Tsurugi” (possible alternative, “Unabara no Ken”)
Doya Ippei, “Juujutsu Kyouryuu Hiwa: Tamasudare”
Mura Shigeru, “Manga no Kakikata”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Nomura Shigeo, “Mizuki Shigeru no Manga”

Notes:
Okamoto Satsuko is the younger sister of Shirato Sanpei. She was also responsible for illustrations in “Douwa: mo Kichi” in the magazine’s first issue, a work written by Ri Haruko, Shirato’s wife.
“Nihon Ninpou-den” is a series of illustrated historical essays focused on portraying history from the common person’s perspective. Perhaps inspired by the ninja-heavy content of the magazine, the author states that the essays will be about “ninjas,” though he defines a “ninja” as an individual who works behind the scenes in order to move history, and goes on to say that it is possible for just one person to change history. This inaugural essay also discusses the Kennedy assassination, stating that the Warren Commission is a “big lie,” and implies that American gas corporations were responsible for Kennedy’s death, as his goals of peace in Vietnam would cut into their profits. As the magazine is still primarily focused towards younger readers, the essay is written in language easy for an elementary-school student to understand.
The reader’s corner includes a letter from a middle school student complaining that he is made fun of for reading manga at such an old age.
The editor’s corner introduces “Nihon Ninpou-den” as a work that has a new way of looking at history, then encourages magazine readers to read the articles, even if they don’t like history.

February 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Aa, Mujou”
Kusunoki Shouhei, “Senmaru”
Doya Ippei, “Juujutsu Kyouryuu Hiwa: Tamasudare”
Mura Shigeru, “Manga no Kakikata”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Mizusawa Shuu, “Metsubou no Naka no Honshitsu”

Notes: First issue to break 150 pages.

March 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Kamisama”
Kusunoki Shouhei, “Senmaru”
Doya Ippei, “Yawara Musashi”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Wakagusa Manpo”
Mura Shigeru, “Manga no Kakikata”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Doya Ippei, “Goshin Hijutsu Kouza”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”

Notes: “Meyasu-bako” is a serialized column beginning in this issue where various authors would contribute essays, normally political in nature. This issue warns children to not drink the powdered skim milk given to them at school due to the discovery of high levels of strontium-90 in powdered school milk.

April 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Kengou to Tabamochi”
Mura Shigeru, “Isoppu-shiki Manga Kouza: ‘Dounattenno’, ‘Kore wa Tamaran’”
Doya Ippei, “Goshin Hijutsu Kouza”
Mura Shigeru, “Gekiga Shoushi”
Azuma Shinichirou “Rotarii”
Kusunoki Shouhei, “Senmaru”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Wakagusa Manpo”
Maekawa (Maegawa?) Umita (??), “Ninja Iku Tokoro”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”

Notes: “Meyasubako” is a continuation of last issue, blaming capitalism and the relentless pursuit of profit for the presence of strontium in school milk. The author encourages readers to not believe their teachers, as he states that they will be fired if they don’t try to make their students drink powdered milk. Wakagusa Manpo (I believe, my notes are unclear) picks up on this theme and encourages schoolchildren’s mothers to protest this situation.
A note in the margins of a page in this issue urged Tsuge Yoshiharu and Kuki Makoto to contact the magazine ASAP.
First issue to break 170 pages.

May 1965
Front Cover: Sanpei Shirato
Sanpei Shirato, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Koufuku no Amaki Kaori”
Takano Yukio, “Noppo to Chibi wa Hoshi o Mita”
Doya Ippei, “Yawara Musashi”
Maegawa Umita, “Ninja Ootori”, “Ninja Iku Tokoro”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Azuma Shinichirou “Rotarii”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Wakagusa Manpo”
Oomura Eiji, “Haiboku no Gunzou”

June 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Kodomo no Kuni”
Kusunoki Shouhei, “Senmaru”
Kagemaru Jouya, “Mokugekisha”
Maegawa Umita, “Ootori Hitoriaruki, Dokutori no Fukumaden”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Azuma Shinichirou “Rotarii”

Notes: “Mokugekisha” identifies itself as a work by the Gekiga Shudan, a group of gekiga creators.
This issue’s “Rotarii” is an essay titled “Manga and Gum,” where the author argues that manga needs to be a product more like gum in that it is enjoyed by children and adults alike. The author then goes on to say that in order for this to happen, there first must be more manga for adults, like the works that appear in Garo.
This essay is followed by an open call for works to be published in the magazine. The first guideline given for submitted works is that they “must be interesting.” Shirato also makes an appeal here, calling on authors to submit their work so that new talent can be found and fostered. Shirato says that a submitted work’s content, not art, is most important, as art can be improved later.

July 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Kodomo no Kuni: Kusatta Kuni”
Ogawa Akira, “Tatakai Aru Kagiri Ni”
Maegawa Umita, “Ootori Hitoriaruki, Dokutori no Fukumaden”
Maegawa Umita, “Ninja Yuku Tokoro”
Masai Shigei (?), “Kanzen / Perfect”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Mura Shigeru, “Rotarii”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Wakagusa Manpo”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”

Notes: This issue’s “Meyasu-bako” was on the theme of how the Japanese people could not ignore what was happening in the Vietnam War.

August 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Kodomo no Kuni: Senso to Heiwa”
Tsuge Yoshiharu, “Uwasa no Bushi”
Masai Shigei, “Gokiburi Oyaji”
Ogawa Akira, “Tatakai Aru Kagiri Ni”
Sasaki Mamoru, Okamoto Satsuko, “Nihon Ninpou-den”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Azuma Shinichiro, “Rotarii”

Notes: Tsuge Yoshiharu’s debut issue. As was the case with many manga authors at the time, his address is listed in the margins.
Beginning with this issue Mizuki Shigeru’s spot in the magazine is moved from its normal placement, the comic immediately following “Kamui-den,” to the very back of the magazine. This becomes Mizuki’s regular space, meaning that the magazine is bookended by Shirato in the front and Mizuki in the back.

September 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Hakanai Yume”
Masai Shigei, “Hitchpoppo Gekijou: Koroshiya Kagyou”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Wakagusa Manpo”
Hoshikawa Teppu, “Kao no Magatta Otoko no Monogatari”
Tsurita Kuniko, “Hitobito no Maisou”
Tsurita Kuniko, “Kamigami no Hanashi”
Chin Shimei, “Ochoko de Nomanai Sake”
Watari Nijuushi (?), “Mahiru”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Azuma Shinichiro, “Rotarii”

Notes: Hoshikawa, Tsurita, Chin, and Watari’s works were submitted entries exhibited in a special “new authors collection” section.
Masai’s work is a self-parody of the magazine.

October 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Shinkoudan: Tougyuu”
Tsuge Yoshiharu, “Suikashu” (?)
Ogawa Akira, “Tatakai Aru Kagiri Ni”
Masai Shigei, “Hitchpoppo Gekijou: Bocchan Koroshiya”
Kidou Jouji, “Hashiru Satsui”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Azuma Shinichiro, “Rotarii”

Notes: Kidou Jouji is a pen name for Tanima Yumeji, shoujo horror manga-ka. He also wrote episodes of Ultra Q under this pen name. He also wrote erotic gekiga under the pen name Dei Zunin.

November 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Mammoth Flower”
Kaji Issei (?), “Maguso Monogatari”
Masai Shigei, “Ikitai”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Aozora-Taro no E-Nikki”
Takayuki, “Furupan / Kopan”
Kidou Jouji, “Nanjamonja Ninja”
Kurokawa Shin, “Meyasu-bako”

Notes:
Kaji Issei (possible misromanization) is a pen name used by Hiroshi Hirata, best known in America as the author of Satsuma Gishiden.
Published letters from readers are from markedly older readers beginning around this issue, such as a student studying economics and Marx at Kyoto University who writes in for this issue to voice his love of Sanpei Shirato.

December 1965
Front Cover: Shirato Sanpei
Shirato Sanpei, “Kamui-den”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Fuku no Kami”
Mizuki Shigeru, “Kobu, Shinkoudan: Sore Kara no Musashi”
Tsuge Yoshiharu, “Unmei”
Kaji Issei, “Ai, Shinshaku Bushido Monogatari”
Hoshikawa Teppu, “Tsuki to Sensou”
Fujisawa Mitsuo, “Aozora-Taro no E-Nikki”
Masai Shigei, “Kinkai wo Motte 50 Nengo ni Ikou!”
Mitsuhashi Makoto, “Aru Hi, Wakamono wa Tabi Datta”
Kurosaki Shin, “Meyasu-bako”
Azuma Shinichiro, “Rotarii”

Notes: “Rotarii” is placed towards the front of this issue and discusses the debates over history textbook approval and Japanese historical revisionism.
While a large number of works are still samurai and ninja-themed, manga about war, specifically the Vietnam war and the social movements surrounding the war, are becoming more prevalant around this time, especially from newer authors such as Hoshikawa.

Of course, to start off this series of posts, I’m going to basically mess up my entire theme by starting with a professionally published book from 2007. I did, however, purchase this book at C77, and it’s the closest one to my laptop, so I’m going to start with the first volume of Manga Ronso Boppatsu (マンガ論争勃発, “Manga Debate Eruption”, alternatively “The Manga Criticism War Erupts!”), authored and edited by Kaoru Nagayama, author of Eromanga Studies　(East Press), and the journalist Takashi Hiruma.

Manga Ronso Boppatsu is a collection of nearly fifty short (2-6 page) articles on a variety of topics, most of which center around a single expert or critic’s thoughts on the topic at hand. The authors of the book state that the idea behind the book is to listen to various positions on each of these hot topics, such as the globalization of manga, creators’ rights, and the limiting of free expression in manga, so that constructive discussion can start taking place rather than the mindless, polarized shouting matches that’re all too easy to fall into when debating these issues.

I ended up getting this book (and its sequel) thanks to a tip from Vertical’s Ed Chavez, who sent me off in the direction of the far-left corner of the Big Sight’s East-3 hall, where I found a rather large table staffed by just one guy, who I assume was one of the authors of the book. The placement of their booth was a bit odd to me, as it was down in one of the doujinshi-selling halls (as opposed to the upstairs industry hall), but up against the wall where non-doujinshi products like markers and corn dogs are sold.

This was actually a rather appropriate place to stick these guys, as while their book is released by a professional publisher (Micro Magazine), the subjects covered in the volume either deal directly with doujinshi events like Comiket, or are extremely relevant to the ideals embodied by these events themselves: Spreading manga culture and providing a space where individuals can distribute works of free expression. I’m not just making this stuff up, either–the Comic Market Preparation Committee and the National Doujinshi Event Liaison Group are both prominently given credit for cooperation right next to the authors.

I mentioned that Manga Ronso Boppatsu is the closest book to my laptop, and there’s actually a reason for that; it’s basically the only thing I’ve been turning to as of late when I feel like educating myself on manga. While I’m still working through it, the articles I’ve read so far are all very informative and provide thoughtful views on whatever topic is at hand. Of course, there is a trade-off to gathering the breadth of experts that the book jams into a little over 200 pages, and that is that a relative lack of depth in any given article. However, the articles are all excellent primers on their respective topics given by some of the most respected individuals in their fields. Since it’d be nearly impossible to give my thoughts on each individual article, I’m simply going to spend the rest of this post below the cut translating each article’s title and the primary individual consulted or interviewed (when applicable), and strongly suggest the volume (available for purchase at Amazon and bk1.jp, among other places) to anyone with an interest in a mix of solid journalism and on-the-ground, current commentary on the state of manga and doujinshi.

Chapter 1: Manga is Spreading Across the World

The Current State of Manga Culture in Chinese-Speaking Regions¹ – Au Yeung Yu Leung, otaku researcher

The Deep, Broad Universe of Manga in Korea – Sun Jung-Woo, manga critic

Japanese Manga in Thailand – Nekoshima Rei, manga author

The State of the Medium and Regulation in the USA – Odagiri Hiroshi, American comic researcher

Why Anime and Manga are Popular in France – Etienne Barral, journalist

In Spain, Manga Represents Japan

Let’s Guide Foreign Fans to Japan – Okada Maki, Japanese Resident Ambassador to Denmark

Manga Was a Worldwide Niche Industry – Nakano Haruyuki, manga researcher

Unauthorized Translations of Manga and Anime Found Online

Asian Piracy

Get Your Politician Involved – Sakai Masayoshi, associate professor at Waseda University GITS

What’re METI’s Policies?

Chapter 2: Doujin Culture: Sustaining the Japanese Content Industry

Doujinshi / The Manga Authors from Comiket – Misaki Naoto, doujinshi researcher

The Charm of Doujinshi Events

Testing Out Dispatched Editorial Departments – Nakamura Kimihiko, member of the Comitia executive committee

Do All Manga Lovers Come to Comiket? – Fudetani Yoshiyuki, co-representative of Comic Market, editor

Chapter 3: Manga and Copyright

The 1999 Pokemon Doujinshi Crackdown Incident　- Sakata Fumihiko, Gataket representative

The “Doraemon – Final Episode” Doujinshi Incident

Is This a Black and White Situation? – Takekuma Kentaro, author, editor

The Meaning of Manga Plagiarism Verification Sites

Lessen the Scope of Copyright and Enforce it Strongly – Shirata Hideaki, assistant professor in the social sciences department of Hosei Univ.

Let Copyright Holders Decide – Matsumoto Leiji, manga author

Chapter 4: Expression’s Ground Zero

The Front Line of Censorship

From the Desk of a Professional Eromanga Editor – Shiyoama Yoshiaki, eromanga editor

Manga Authors’ Voices – Tamaki Nozomu, Yamada Sansuke, Hoshiai Hiro, manga authors

The Josei Crisis

Chapter 5: Obscenity and Harm

The “Harmful Books” Controversy

The Beginning of Doujinshi Censorship

The Day Otaku Moved Government – Nishikata Kouichi, former representative of the Manga Defense League

The Yokohama Conference and AMI – Dan Kanemitsu, translator

The Shobunkan Trial – Yamaguchi Takashi, lawyer

Higurashi / School Days / The Tokyo Trade Center

Chapter 6: The Current State of Censorship and Self-Censorship

Determining Harmfulness and Zoning　- Aoyama Ayako, section chief for youth affairs for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Self-Censorship and Divided Exhibition

What is CERO Inspection?

Chapter 7: Freedom and Censorship

What Was the Virtual-Ken? (The Investigative Committee on the Protection of Children from Harms Brought on by the Virtual Society) – Maeda Masahide, professor in the college of general education at Tokyo Metropolitan University

What is Radical Feminism? – Nakasatomi Hiroshi, associate professior in the administration and social sciences department of Fukushima University

Manga Does Not Induce Crime – Saito Tamaki, psychiatrist, critic

Do the Problems of Expression and Censorship Oppose Each Other? – Ito Go, manga critic

Are Symbols and Reality Connected? – Ueno Chizuko, profesesor in the graduate school of humanities and sociology at Tokyo University

Expression Must Not be Restricted by Law – Chiba Tetsuya, manga author

Chapter 8: The Mass Media and Manga Culture

Misunderstanding and Prejudice

Media Literacy and the General Public – Ootani Akihiro, journalist

Otaku and the Media

Chapter 9: Manga’s Freedom

Being Prepared to Risk Your Life Over Freedom of Expression – Satonaka Machiko, manga author

Leniency in Japanese Culture – Azuma Hiroki, critic, philosopher

The Future That the “Anything Goes” Ideal Holds – Ichikawa Kouichi, Yasuda Kahoru Comic Market co-representatives

1. the term “manga” in Japanese can be used to denote comics of any national origin, and while these articles are focused around Japanese comics, each country’s domestic works are also frequently discussed

Over the first two episodes the characters explain that they are in the inaka, which is a very specific place in the Japanese heart: Higurashi was set there, for instance. But if this were the real-world inaka the buildings would be medieval Japanese. Instead they’re medieval European, and they must have been that way all along (if the buildings were new this couldn’t be inaka). So this story takes place in a very strange heart, where distant Japanese and European memories are blurring together, and cannot be reasonably distinguished from each other. Underneath all this confusion, though, lies the shimenawa. This is a land of kami and not of God; there’s a familiar Japanese kokoro, exemplified by Kanata, that is meant to give the series its iyashikei underpinnings. In the first two episodes, this spirit is emphasized not once, not twice, but six times! Okay, tell me if I’m overreading this.

The first point is the matsuri, obviously. Not only is there shimenawa, but Rio is holding the a wooden dipper you see at Shinto shrines. The second point is the matsuri’s conclusion, where Rio takes on the position of the otome who defeated the oni. For this she dresses up as a mountain ascetic. (One nice thing about this show is that women are shown playing men’s roles in a very traditional society.) Kanata plays her flute and the villagers actually think the oni came back.

The third point is Kanata saying yoroshiku to the building on her first morning at Platoon 1121. I’m not really sure in what context someone would say “Pleased to meet you” to a building in America, but it’s a very Japanese thing to do, and definitely not one of those Japanese things officially approved by the government. You might not think this is on purpose, but when we contrast it with Kureha’s worldview below I believe it definitely is.

The last three are gimmes: Noel’s last name is Kannagi, an old word for miko (you might be familiar with it?), they all belt out “Itadakimasu!” before eating, and the entire plot of the second episode revolves around looking for a ghost. That links directly into the second part of my story, so let’s get to it.

Kureha: The Voice of Bushido

Again, superficially, Kureha is a pathetic character because she’s still fighting for the Helvetia in a war that seems not to be going too hot– after all, there’s a platoon of 5 untrained girls on the front lines. But she’s a pathetic character in ways that are much deeper than that. She’s fighting for the perverse, fanatic bushido of urban, industrialized Meiji Japan in a place where pure, untainted kokoro reigns supreme. To put it in terms you nerds might understand, she’s fighting to turn the iyashikei into a mecha anime.

This is expressed in three different ways in Episode 2:

1. City vs. inaka. This is the number one item, and it can’t be emphasized enough. I know I’ve been going on about what appear to be “Shinto values” for the whole first section, but that’s just because of the four years of liberal arts bullshit I went through, which culminated in me debunking myths about Shinto for my senior thesis because there’s no such thing as “kokoro studies” in America. It’s difficult to articulate what constitutes kokoro in terms of concrete values, because the language we have to use is so strongly influenced by Western concepts, but the mere effect of living in the city versus the countryside is the biggest marker. Kureha hates living in the inaka. It’s boring, nothing happens, etc. But she wouldn’t want to live in the city either, because she wants to fight. So, she’s “spiritually” homeless. Instead she clings to material things like the tank, and meaningless structures like who cleans the bathroom on which day. Kanata, on the other hand, is at home in the inaka. She humors Kureha, but she can see that she’s going to be great friends with everyone, so she doesn’t worry.
2. Order vs. yuruyuru. Kureha is obsessed with following proper Army procedure, in a platoon made up of five people who are all friends. She has Kanata do a salute to the flag, and makes her ask permission to speak, and so on and so forth. This is where the show links into modern Japanese culture a little bit. The spirit of following hierarchies to the letter became an obsession in Imperial Japan, and it’s still prominent in the Japanese business world. But it’s never been in tune with inaka values. So, Kureha is fundamentally dissatisfied with the condition of her platoon: it’s too small, and not at all kept in ship-shape. But Kanata appreciates the incomplete and left-alone state of the platoon as something of beauty.
3. Professed atheism vs. familiarity with the unknown. I guess the show leans on this a little too much, but that’s nice for me because I’ve made a study of it, and it plays out well in Episode 2. Kanata isn’t scared of ghosts, because her country town has always thrown matsuri giving thanks to them. Kureha is a city girl where such quaint and foolish concepts as having a matsuri for ghosts are scoffed upon. But the show throws that smugness right back in her face. When they go out to hunt for a real ghost, Kureha is a scaredy cat and her military routine falls apart.

Unfortunately all this pathos has been so far been exploited for moé, and the not-too-subtle joke that she’s a cute girl acting like a tough guy. I hope Kureha has a backstory; that’s something future episodes will have to prove.

On a completely different note

Two other things that I loved about this show. First, Imperial Japanese (military language) is used much more frequently than in previous shows that have actually attempted to set themselves in Imperial Japan like Taisho Yakyuu Musume, and its use appears to be almost completely ironic, for the reasons I’ve outlined above. The guy who takes Kanata to Seize is on friendly terms with her and is speaking to her warmly, but when he leaves her at the gate he seems to remember his “official duty” and breaks into a string of tired-out, empty Sino-Japanese. Similarly, Kureha’s vocabulary is littered with ridiculously melodramatic expressions like “KAISAN!” (“DI-SMISSED!”), while Kanata, the girl we’re supposed to appreciate as the more mature of the two, is giving it her best shot but making slipups like “wata… jibun”.

Secondly, there was a scene with the owl they caught that referenced a recent Japanese television meme, Popo-chan. If you’ve read this far you probably got that reference, though.

Who the hell cares?

I think Imperial Japan was a necessary, and well-executed, but ultimately unsatisfactory part of Japanese history. It’s unsatisfactory because they bombed Pearl Harbor — duh — but that was due to a carefully constructed ideology that was out of sync with the peaceful life of pre-Meiji Japanese farmers. This show throws those two worlds into contrast. Otaku have a strong conservative and pro-Empire bent, for reasons I’m still trying to figure out, but in this show iyashikei very nearly asserts itself politically. It will be exciting to watch these undertones continue to play out in future episodes. Of course, it could just take a turn towards fantasy, but it’s had a great start.

Anyway, I’d love to hear some more informed comments on this. Tell me what you think.

There were a whole lot of incidents I had no idea about, but first, the standard host of “incidents” that you’d expect in a thread like this:

• The first post is, of course, “Nagi-sama virginity incident” (quickly followed by “the ‘incident’ part was the people who posted in response to the manga, right?”)
• Electric Soldier Porygon incident
• episode 4 of Gurren-Lagann (lol)
• a pretty exhaustive list of Yashiganis (1, 2, 3, 4, Valanoir
• Asuna’s cremation in Negima!
• The existence of Tsuyokiss (or maybe it was all a dream…)
• The existence of the Idolm@ster anime
• The existence of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
• The existence of Buddha Saitan
• The ending of Kashimashi TV
• Endless Eight
• etc etc

Stuff like that makes up a good half of the thread or so. However, the other half is full of hilarious stuff that may have otherwise been lost to my poor memory and the straits of time!

• Red tinting on the Japanese Spirited Away DVD release (English article, image)
• TV Tokyo pushes back Inukami episode due to world table tennis championships running long, man who set his recorder to automatically tape Inukami during the normal time slot sends cremated remains to TV Tokyo in protest (article)
• Episode 26 of Animentary Ketsudan, a right-leaning 1971 historical anime series where the first 25 episodes are about important decisions made during World War II, becomes an episode about Kawakami Tetsuharu’s decisions as the manager of the Yomiuri Giants. Apparently the episode was originally going to be on the final days of the war, but mounting pressure by parent groups over the program’s politics lead to the change.
• Nippon TV, Tatsunoko Pro, and Kuri Ippei are sued by Katsukawa Katsushi over claims that they plagarized his character design in their show Doteraman, temporary pulling the show from the airwaves. (Katsukawa would later lose the suit)
• Incredible scheduling botch when TBS tries to push Ichigo Mashimaro ep 5 back by 5 minutes in order to air a special live news report on a hurricane. (youtube)
• Broadcasting error on 8/15/2007 leads to a 65-minute long frozen frame of Sanji’s eyebrow (One Piece) on one channel. Japanese
• The Musashimaru Tragedy
• Episode 17 of Samurai Troopers is accidentally broadcast in lieu of episode 18, forcing the production company to shorten the show from 40 episodes to 39.(image)
• The staff of the Prince of Tennis anime decided to make a staff doujinshi of the series and sell it at summer Comiket 2004, but are forced to give it away for free when the original author takes notice. (scans on nico)
• Spanish terrestrial broadcast TV channel “La Sexta” airs ero-anime Daiakuji without actually knowing what it is, causes general moral outrage
• The ending of Might Gaine, where the characters find out that the ultimate enemy is actually Takara and other toy companies. (No really, I’m not kidding)
• The opening credits of episode 11 of City Hunter 3, broadcast on Christmas Eve 1989, featured a one-frame flash of Aum Shinrikyo leader Asahara Shoko. This was apparently done as an production in-joke, as one-frame insertions like this are present in shows like Urusei Yatsura and Patlabor TV, and there was no backlash at the time. In 1993, Yomiuri TV asked them to remove this for later rebroadcasts as they were afraid that uncredited insertion of living people’s photographs might lead to a image rights issue. However, TBS would later attack Nippon TV over the original sequence during the heated weeks after the Aum sarin gas attacks, saying it was a subliminal message. (Image here, video footage of an indescribably bizarre cult-recruitment tool/Aum video game which features a clip from the video here.)
• Not in the thread, but related to the above 2 entries: The 6th show in the Yusha/Brave series, The Brave of Gold Goldran (Might Gaine was show #4), had a one-frame flash in the opening credits of the first 13 episodes where, in the background of a scene where the titular robot could be seen, the phrase “An anime that’s easy to make toys out of / by Sunrise” can be seen handwritten in the background. Oh, those crazy disgruntled Sunrise animators! You can catch it at around 1:12 of this video.

1. Samurai Gun.
2. RGB Adventure.
3. Renkin San-kyuu Magical? Poka~n.
4. That one show that was like Mai-HIME, but all the characters were gay men named after rocks.
5. That Hercule Poirot anime where the main character was a girl with a pet duck.

I was going to put Fantastic Children and Project Blue Earth SOS in there, but you guys all watched those, right?

TV

12/04 Weiss Survive R
Originally by Bushiroad, script by Takao Yoshioka, directed by Kenji Satou, produced by Studio Hibari
Second season of a moe card-battle advertisement anime. Someone tell me what Bushiroad has to do with Gainax’s canceled project Bushilord.

12/27 Yume wo Kanaeru Zou (The Elephant That Grants Dreams)
Originally by Keiya Mizuno, script and direction by Akitarou Daiichi, produced by Studio DEEN
Anime version of this drama series about Ganesha squatting in people’s apartments and helping them find the meaning of love.

01/02 Cobra The Animation: The Six Heroes (Cobra the Animation: Rokuden no Yuushi)
Originally by Buichi Terasawa, script and direction by Osamu Dezaki, produced by Magic Bus
New Space Adventure Cobra TV series, combining classic pulp SF, terrible CG, and Terasawa’s love of women’s asses.

01/03 Haruka na Toki no Naka de 3 – Owarinaki Unmei
Originally by Koei, script by Kouji Takamura, directed by Shigeru Kimiya, produced by Yumeta
A reverse harem series that you don’t care about.

01/04 Chuu-Bra!!
Originally by Yumi Nakata, script by Reiko Yoshida, directed by Yukina Hiiro, “lingerie design” by Takahiro Yasuda, produced by ZEXCS
“middle school girls x underwear = slightly H girls comedy”

01/04 So ra no Wo to (Sounds of the Skies)
Written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, directed by Kanbe Mamoru, produced by A-1 Pictures & Aniplex
An original anime project by Aniplex about five girls in a military unit guarding a fortess nobody lives in or, apparently, cares about. They learn how to play music instead.
The trailer wants you to know that the world is full of sad things, but also has happy things, and doesn’t say or show anything about the plot.

01/04 Stigmatic Qwaser (Seikon no Qwaser)
Originally by Hiroyuki Yoshino and Ken’etsu Satou, script by Makoto Uezu, directed by Hiraku Kaneko, produced by Fuzz Entertainment
Fanservice-based chemistry fighting show. Brought to you by Champion Red Ichigo, the manga magazine dedicated to selling porn to minors.

01/04 Gag Manga Biyori+ (A Good Day for Gag Manga Plus)
Fourth season of a comedy anime which is apparently pretty good, when anyone manages to translate it.

01/05 Ladies vs Butlers! (Redii vs Bato)
Originally by Tsukasa Koudzuki, script by Tamai Tsuyoshi, directed by Atsushi Ootsuki, produced by XEBEC
ANN: “The school romantic comedy revolves around Akiharu Hino (Kazuyuki Okitsu), an ordinary high school student who unfortunately looks like a juvenile delinquent. He enrolls into an academy that was once a school for upper-class ladies, and he is placed in the school’s newly established servant training department. The students there are raised to be either maids or butlers, and Akiharu finds himself in the middle of the bickering cliques.”

01/06 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (The Idiot, the Test, and the Summoned Creature)
Originally by Kenji Inoue, script by Katsuhiko Takayama, directed by Shin Oonuma, produced by Silver Link
ANN: “The story centers around Akihisa Yoshii, the “baka” of the title. His academy rigidly divides up the student body into classes based on the results of tests. The prodigies are in the A class with reclining seats complete with air conditioning, but Akihisa is in F class, the lowest rung of the school ladder which is furnished only with low, decrepit tables and worn-out straw tatami mats. The school happens to have developed experiments to summon fantasy creatures, and Akihisa decides to rally F class to take on the higher-tiered classes and seize their perks. The F class uses the summoned creatures in an all-out battle for school supremacy.”
Made by the SHAFT B-team, which is why it kind of looks like Pani Poni Dash.

01/06 Omamori Himari (Guardian Himari)
Originally by Matra Milan, script by Katsumi Hasegawa, directed by Shinji Ushiro, produced by ZEXCS
ANN: “The slapstick romantic comedy centers around an ordinary 16-year-old high school boy named Yūto Amakawa who is protected by a spirit — specifically, a beautiful, sword-wielding cat spirit named Himari. Yūto is descended from a family that has subjugated demons since time immemorial. The charm that once protected him is now impotent, but fortunately, at that same moment, Himari appears before him as his new guardian.”

01/06 Dance in the Vampire Bund
Originally by Nozomu Tamaki, script by Hiroyuki Yoshino, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo & Masahiro Sonoda, produced by SHAFT
A loli vampire princess buys an island in Tokyo Bay to start a new country (“bund”) for vampires on, and various people try to kill her. Hiroyuki Yoshino sure gets around!

01/07 Dulalala!! (not “Durarara!!”)
Originally by Ryougo Narita, script by Noboru Takagi, directed by Takahiro Oomori, produced by Brains Base
Another “random people running into each other” action series by the author of Baccano, this time about a motorcycle-riding dullahan named Celtie. Some info here.

01/07 Hidamari Sketch ☆☆☆ (Hidamari Sketch Mitsuboshi)
Originally by Ume Aoki, script by Naoko Hasegawa & Natsue Yoguchi, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, produced by SHAFT
Third season of SHINBOxSHAFT laid-back art student adventure.

01/07 Ookamikakushi (Abducted by Wolves)
Originally by Konami & Ryuukishi07, script by Touko Machida, directed by Norihiro Takamoto, produced by AIC
A mystery story about secrets in “the old part of town”. Set in the same year as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, maybe just because the author likes it.
Ryuukishi07 has somewhat bad luck with anime adaptions, but his stories are interesting.

01/09 The Phantom Thief Reinya (Kaitou Reinya)
Originally by Up-Front Style, script by Kenichi Kanemaki, directed by Takahiro Yoshimatsu, produced by Stingray
Star vehicle for the Morning Musume member Reina Tanaka.

01/10 Hanamaru Kindergarten (Hanamaru Youchien)
Originally by Hayato in Young Gangan, script by Yuichiro Oguro, directed by Seiji Mizushima, produced by GAINAX
Slice-of-life comedy about a kindergarten class. Isn’t this staff kind of overkill?

01/14 Nodame Cantabile Finale
Originally by Tomoko Ninomiya, script by Kazuki Nakajima, directed by Chiaki Kon, produced by JC Staff
The third and last season of classical music series Nodame Cantabile, about a man who wants to be a world-famous conductor and his pianist girlfriend.

01/24 Katanagatari
Originally by NisiOisin, script by Makoto Uezu, directed by Keitaro Motonaga, produced by WHITE FOX
Anime version of Nisioisin’s 12-volume series, released once a month, about a samurai from the No-Sword School sent on a quest for 12 swords – he is the only one who wouldn’t want them for himself.
The novels have some bad reviews.

02/– Heart Catch Pretty Cure!
More magical girls. No info yet.

Movies

These are theatrical release dates, which don’t mean anything if you’re outside Japan.

12/12 Space Battleship Yamato – The Revival (Uchuu Senkan Yamato Fukkatsu-hen)
Originally by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, script by Buryuu Ishihara & Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, produced by Yamato Studio
The Nish needs more drug money.

12/12 One Piece – Strong World
Written by Eiichiro Oda & Hirohiko Kamisaka, directed by Munehisa Sakai, produced by Toei Animation
The 10th (and best?) One Piece movie.

12/19 Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva
Originally by Level-5, script by Aya Matsui, directed by Masagazu Hashimoto, produced by PA Works

01/23 Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1st
Written by Maki/Masaki Tsudzuki, directed by Keizou Kusakawa, produced by Seven Arcs
Adaption of the first season of the anime, this time with more explosions. Nanoha’s eyes are getting really big.

01/23 Fate/stay night – Unlimited Blade Works
Originally by TYPE-MOON, script by Takuya Satou, directed by Yuuji Yamaguchi, produced by Studio DEEN
Adaption of the last route of Fate/Stay Night. Unfortunately by the generally-disappointing DEEN, so it might turn out badly.

02/26 The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu)
Originally by Nagaru Tanigawa, script by Fumihiko Shimo, directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto, produced by Kyoto Animation
The more interesting story that was left out of the second TV season.

OVA

12/04 Denpa-teki na Kanojo #2
12/23 Utawarerumono #2
12/23 Hellsing #7
01/22 Quiz Magic Academy #2
01/27 Darker than Black Extra Episode #1
A side story for the first show included on the second DVD/BD for DTB2.

02/20 Gundam Unicorn #1 on PSN
First episode of new UC Gundam story set after Char’s Counterattack. Features a masked man named “Full Frontal” who is the leader of “The Sleeves”, thus bringing back old-style stupid Gundam names.

02/– Dante’s Inferno, An Animated Epic
An anime movie coming with EA’s game of the same name.

–/– Halo Legends