Potluck: Google News Keyword Surfing

I stumbled upon the Google AJAX Search API yesterday afternoon and managed to find some results for keywords ‘anime’ and ‘manga’ over the past few days that I felt worth commenting on and linking.

- James Thorpe of the Boston Phoenix complains about how music searches on YouTube often produce “anime versions” of songs and says that such music “[has] all been set to anime by the friendless teenage autists of America, for reasons inaccessible to neurotypical man.” He goes on to clarify that this phenomenon is not limited to anime – I believe the term for generic music & TV/movie mashups is fanvids – as other people have set pop songs to House clips (something the doctor would likely abhor) and one dedicated person has cut together parts of Starsky & Hutch in time to hundreds of different songs, some of which work so well that Thorpe “resent[s] being made complicit in someone else’s insanity”.

I agree that many of those videos are lazy combinations of song and continuous footage – I have seen a fair number where a single fight scene from Bleach, Naruto, etc., has metal or emo laid over it unimaginatively. But there are examples of music and anime being edited together in an artistically inspired fashion – just peruse the past nominees of AMV.org’s annual Viewer Choice Awards (free account needed).

- The Russian Times reports that Japanese PM Taro Aso is supposedly negotiating with the owners of the Doraemon franchise to introduce a new character based on the real-life cat of President Medvedev’s son, Ilya, who is a big fan. Ilya has a Neva Masquerade named Dorofey that was bred in St. Peterberg. The article also includes some possible renditions drawn by the Times’ “own enthusiastic manga artist Chalov-san”, one of which looks a lot like Chiyo’s father from Azumanga Daioh.

- An article in the Meriden Record-Journal talks about a small anime club for middle and high schoolers in Cheshire, Connecticut, that was started by a teen (not teenage) librarian. The piece is pretty generic but some highlights are a high school sophomore saying anime “[is] like animated soap operas” and the teens watch subs because “the Americans tend to pick the worst voice actors for this stuff”.

- Jason Yadao wrote about Broccoli’s U.S. retrenchment in his Honolulu Star-Bulletin Cel Shaded column and began by saying “[t]he manga industry is increasingly becoming a showdown between the haves and the have-nots” and placing Viz firmly among the haves. I had forgotten that Broccoli had put out COSMODE USA but I do certainly recall eventually receiving a dust cover in the mail for one-shot Yoki Koto Kiku, which I enjoyed when I read it in Jan. 2007. (Here is a side-by-side of the paperback and dust front covers.)

- About.com’s manga critic, ahem, guide Deb offers an otaku gift guide that suggests Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan (review), Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventures in Japan (review), and a subscription to Yen Plus among other things. There are also different lists for what might be attractive gifts for shonen readers or for shoujo fans to receive.

- Marty Padgett of the Car Connection described the 2010 Madza3 as having a “manga-like smiling front end”, likely derived from the slant-cut headlight design. When I look at the front, I think more of that pair of mischievous Siamese felines from Lady and the Tramp or a jovial ghoul of some sort. Poor visual comparisons, I know, but whatever. Moving on.

- Finally, the Japan Times had an article about what Miyazaki said while he was at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo last month. The acclaimed, white-beared director lamented that kids are spending too much time in the virtual worlds of television, games, comics, etc., when they should be out in nature, exploring the wonders of the outdoors. He described his creative process as “looking at the children in front of [him]” and trying to understand their world with no intention to make something with universal appeal. He humbly said he doesn’t expect his films, or any film for that matter, to find wide attraction 30 years after their release, save for in a historical sense. (A reminder: The Castle of Cagliostro has its 30th anniversary next year.)

He did show a bit of pragmatism on behalf of his studio when he remarked at the end, “It’s silly if a film is unprofitable. [...] If I think that’s going to happen, I don’t want to be involved.” That appears to fit with his earlier statement that his studio “want[s] to make films that people can’t forget for the rest of their lives”, which I would interpret as works that have a deep impact on the generation that sees it and hopefully the generation that crops up after them. This story reminded me that I still have see some of his more heralded films (e.g. Porco Rosso, Nausicaä, Totoro) in order to further my cultural literacy – I only have seen Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, the end of Cagliostro, and bits of Howl’s Moving Castle.