Tuesday 7 September 2004

Pic of the day: OK, so perhaps "drowning" is a bit exaggerated. It is a subjective thing after all. Take for instance little Yuzuyu here, who was afraid of getting her head under water even if it was so shallow, she could sit upright in it. (She got over it, though, and everyone is happy.) Screenshot from anime Aishiteruze Baby.)

Drowning in anime

I would think it far-fetched to use "excess" in any sentence containing my name. But ... the fact remains that I have enough un-watched anime on my hard disk now to sit down and do nothing else for a week (probably more) than watch anime. Sleeping and other biological functions, sure, but no work except watch anime. Each episode is typically half an hour, and I have some series with dozens of them. Somewhere around 60 in Akazukin Chacha TV is probably the most, but 30 is not uncommon for full-length episodes such as Uninhabited Planet Survive and Konjiki no Gash Bell, not to mention Sailor Moon Live Action (OK, not literally anime, although the live action is based on the anime). I haven't watched nearly all of Mahoujin Guru Guru either.

I don't just randomly download everything, though. I will usually look at an episode or two at least, and if it is really disgusting I will delete it and avoid it thereafter. If it is really boring, I will not delete it and share it but not continue to get the series. But there are so many that I could want to see, it is just that I want to see others more, and I want to play games more, and write more, and ... well, there simply isn't time. But someday, perhaps ...

***

It is a sobering thought that I would probably have far less anime if I had to buy them in the shop. In all fairness, this is partly because I would hesitate to buy something that expensive unseen. (Japanese media products are surprisingly expensive, both CDs and DVDs ... the time when Japan was a low-cost country is clearly long gone.) But when I don't even bother to watch the series on my hard disk, it is a safe bet that I would not have bought it even if I had seen it. (This is material that has been broadcast in Japan, and as far as I understand Norwegian law, broadcast material can be downloaded from the Net legally. This may change, but I have not yet decided whether I will change my practice. It is cultural exchange, after all, and a good thing. I have bought a lot more Japanese cultural export because of my anime watching than I otherwise would have, as seen by the fact that my coworkers and neighbors don't buy it.)

The most interesting part is probably which anime I choose to watch. There are basically two types that I will download as soon as they are translated by fans, and watch them the same day. One is romantic anime, typically targeting young girls, featuring girls dreaming about a guy and the other way around, often two girls dreaming about the same guy and the other way around, possibly escalating to the occasional kiss and holding of hands, all the while with suitable angst and deep emotions. There should also be cute kids in the family, as with Aishiteru ze Baby above, and Daa Daa Daa.

The other type is romantic anime for boys, sometimes called "ero". Uhm, yes, there is usually pointless nudity or at least panties, and poses. However, that's not why I watch them, to the best of my knowledge. These anime also tend to have lots of crazy humor. In fact, sometimes there is barely any "ecchi" (indecent, sexual) content at all, but it is still crazy funny. Midori no Hibi comes to mind, the story about a girl who becomes a boy's right hand – literally. It is kinda straddling the girl/boy divide, having only a little token ecchi to please the boys, more romance, and plenty of wild ideas. (The show is now licensed for sale in America with English text, I don't know if it is out yet.) Current boy's anime that I watch are Girls Bravo, DearS and 2x2=shinobuden. None of these would be acceptable to my fellow Christians, I am sure, because of the pointless flashes of pointless sexuality. Of course, if I remember correctly, that's pretty much how it is to be a young boy – flashes of pointless sexuality that don't lead anywhere. But that's another story, I guess.

Anyway, I am somehow blessed with a strong resistance to 2D porn. Taking a walk through the main street of Kristiansand (the city where I work) is more dangerous for my chastity, especially in summer. Then again the women here are just incredibly ... OK, anime. Anime. What I'm saying is, I tend to watch the crazy funny shows whether or not there are panties (there usually are a few). I tend to watch the romantic shows if they are very romantic or there are cute babies in them.

And I tend to watch Naruto, but then again almost all people who watch anime watch Naruto, the bumbling Ninja trainee. The story is nice and the visual effects are astounding, the characters are highly developed and their interaction with each other a constant source of amazement. Even so, I piled up like 10 episodes once before I watched again. That never happened with Hikaru no Go, the anime about young people playing the board game Go. I cannot explain what's so fascinating about that anime, but you will know if you see it.

But generally, long anime tend to lose me at some point. After a dozen episodes I can't remember what number I have seen last, and so I don't bother to try. But one day I will surely watch them all! Perhaps. Maybe. If the DSL goes down for a week and Sims2 doesn't come on September 16th as announced... Or if I live a really long, long life, I guess. Perhaps then.