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Tidearticle

Examining Planetes' Ending Credits

Planetes is a great show on the whole, but certain parts of it aren't looked at enough, particularly its ending credits. Through a triumphant-sounding song combined with visual imagery and impressive time-skipping techniques, every time you finish an episode, you're treated to cheery reminder of what drives the main character despite everything he goes through. Whilst he may grow older and suffer setbacks in his life, his childhood dreams still exist. And although he is far from fulfilling them in his current position, that doesn't mean he can't grab whatever he can get whilst waiting for the day said position now longer restrains him.

Whilst the ending only captures a small part of what humans go through whilst growing older and is never given physical form within the actual show, it is still an impressive piece of animation that shows exactly what you can accomplish with credit rolls. Most anime credits, whether they be openings or endings, are lifeless on a visual level – telling us nothing other than "this exists" without any actual meaning to its existence. Always saying "hey, this character is in the series" or "hey, we're foreshadowing a plot twist that will totally become relevant nine episodes in". Planetes' ending credits rises above those trappings and not only breathes life in its visuals, but even if you don't know the main character on account of never having actually watched the show, you can still get an idea of who he is and what you have to look forward to as you follow his journey of making it as a space garbageman just by watching said credits alone.

Most people skip ending credits after finishing an episode. If more of them were Planetes', they'd be less likely to do so.

  • Agreed. I hate when the credits are just clips of the actual show. I don't like the spoiler scenes and I don't like just watching things that already happened. I am a huge sucker for a lot of the music though haha. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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Tidereview

Kaitou Le Vin: a manga with Mission Impossible theme

Most shounen or seinen manga theme which popular in public are about adventure, action, martial arts, horror or drama theme mixed with love or friendship elements. Reader can be expected hooked by story development or cliffhanger situation at the end of chapter and want to know what happen to main character on next chapter. This repetition theme is good for publication but get boring if mangaka unable to improvise his/her story into different level or story development. For example, Fairy tail or Case Closed (Dectective Conan). Nevertheless, those series still popular today due by their rich art.

Kaitou Le Vin, however, introduces genres that rare to be exploited, action, thriller and deception. The setting is similar to "Mission impossible" series but it only focused for rare wine. The story evolve around wine burglar group with same name. Each member is a specialist in their field, such as actor, tech geek, female fatale, jack of all trade and leader.

In addition, they are perform mission for good cause or gentlemen thief style. Their client often victim or original owner of target wine which lost the item ages ago and it fall into wrong hand today. It was Kaitou Le Vin's duty to return the bottle wine safely into the client.

The first mission is good one and expect to be more exciting in next story arch.

  • Haha, what people will do for wine... – Tatijana 9 years ago
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Tidereview

Anime Review: Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan has been heavily hyped for a long time, and as a result, it comes with high expectations in terms of quality. Given the subjective nature of any form of art, series can often fail to live up to this either because they were proclaimed to be far better than they could ever realistically be or because the characters just aren’t as well rounded as they should be.

Based on the AMVs on YouTube, you would be forgiven for thinking that Attack on Titan is simply a collection of blood stained battles with impossibly tall foes. Indeed, such scenes are not uncommon in the show and it certainly is not one for the faint of heart. In fact, the bloodshed at times nears the levels prevalent in the early success of VHS anime such as Akira and Ninja Scroll. This is not however all there is to the show.

The main characters all come with a lot of baggage and succeed in avoiding the pitfall of simply being ‘cool for cool’s sake’. Mikasa in particular embodies the modern ‘strong female lead that has long been a staple of anime, and the mix of her general drive and emotional responsiveness to the other main lead, Eren, makes her a real stand-out.
In summary, the show is almost mis-sold by the bloody fan videos and an almost simplistic synopsis. Dig beneath all this and you will find a real gem of a series that more than deserves the tag of ‘modern classic’.

Rating: 5/5

  • I love this series. Attack on Titan is a masterpiece in my opinon. The series manages to balance the somber world with hope for humanity. It has so far lived up to the hype and I hope it continues to do so. – Jiraiyan 9 years ago
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  • I absolutely agree. It was such a pleasant surprise for me, and if the second season can achieve a similar quality, I'll be very happy indeed. – mattdoylemedia 9 years ago
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  • You had me at: who were of course behind Ghost in the Shell: SAC – Tatijana 9 years ago
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Tidereview

anime

Anime Review : D-Frag!

The off the wall harem comedy known as D-Fragments (or D-Frag! for short) has been gaining some notoriety online on late. The general set-up of the show is nothing particularly unusual: a delinquent starts his new high school with a desire to make a name for himself, but is forced to join a game creation club run a group of near-psychopathic women. With only a slight twist on so many other series, this should come across a just another generic show. It should do, but it doesn’t.

The heart of the show is in the wonderful cast of characters, and in particular their eccentricities. While it would be true to say that at a base level not one of them is original (one even has more than a passing physical resemblance to Revy of Black Lagoon fame), each of the various leads does an admirable job of drawing you into their weird and wacky world … with one exception.

Sakura, the pink haired tomboy of the group, is given a lot of time to grow in the source manga. Some of her scenes with the aforementioned delinquent, Kenji Kazama, not only give away that she is a legitimate genius, but also give a wonderful insight into how her mind works. In the anime however, a lot of these scenes are either cut completely or altered to the point that Sakura becomes nothing more than ‘that pink haired on that likes water’. The writers obviously realised that this an issue however, as the eight volume of the manga came packaged with an OVA adaption of the popular ‘Shrine Water’ story arc, itself a vehicle to further progress Sakura as a character.

The humour in the show is pretty much spot on if you’re looking for something that borders on the bizarre, and Kenji is perfectly cast as the sane straight man that has to deal with his club mates’ destructive nature. In all, this makes for a thoroughly entertaining, but ever so slightly insane comedy that stands out far more than it has a right to. Be warned though, if the idea of a board game based around gathering intergalactic porn magazines offends you, you’re onto a loser here.

Rating: 5/5

  • Yay to picking random anime and having it turn out to be a good watch. That's basically how I pick.... but perhaps I should be reading these tides and picking based on them. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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Tidearticle

Why does Aniplex of America Hurt the Common Collector

Aniplex of America in recent years has been purchasing the distribution rights to many of the more popular series. When distributing their content they create expensive collector's edition that can cost upwards to $200. Is it right for them to be doing this to the common fan of the series that may just want to own Fate/Zero on Bluray for a reasonable price? Or is it their right to charge however much they want to because they own the distribution rights?

The prices Aniplex of America use seem to reflect the Japanese Anime Market mindset, where they charge a large amount of money, because if they get at least a couple of people to buy it they will have made their money back. Though these prices seem to mainly affect their series on Bluray and not on DVD. An example of this is you can get the first 6 episodes of Aldnoah Zero on DVD for a retail price of $39.98 USD, while the Bluray edition is priced at $94.98 USD. Though this can be added to the extras added to the Bluray release.

So, do you think that Aniplex of America's pricing is fair to the common anime collector? If yes, why do you think that? Also if Aniplex of America created a line of Value Blurays would you be interested in purchasing it?

  • I can completely get on board with this Anger Train, so many times my wants of collecting a series/a special edition box set of something has been dampened because of the extortionate prices. Take the Fate/Zero Part 1 box set, even after I subtract what I assume the DVD/CD are worth, I'm still going to shell out nearly $12.50 per episode! I'm a big fan of Fate/Zero, but sadly not that much of a fan. (Great article by the way) – Isaac Bernamont 9 years ago
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  • And the sad thing is, Aniplex's prices are reasonable compared to the anime prices in Japan. – Flawfinder 9 years ago
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  • Alas, it's not just the US either. For a while, only the special edition of Durarara was available in the UK with a jumped up price and nothing but a series of art cards to warrant the price. Then there are the series that are only available in the US and not in the UK (such as NISA's 'Our Home's Fox Deity'). The pricing on anime can be a nightmare at times. – mattdoylemedia 9 years ago
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  • Sadly they probably will learn this lesson to late. Much like Bandai America did. Luckily you did mention that they reflect the Japanese Anime Market, which is what causes this prices to be so high in the first place. Keep up the good work Dandylion. – ajester 9 years ago
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  • Yeah... those prices are pretty ridiculous. Especially when considering what it costs to toss something on a blu-ray. My only assumption is that they figure not enough people know about or would purchase these so they figure they have to have high prices. Maybe they bank on the people who do know and enjoy these anime's to enjoy them so much that they will be forced to purchase them. It's a sticky situation, a normal blu-ray of an american cartoon/film has a higher target audience than anime, so maybe they have to raise the prices to compete with that? And although I KNOW anime is enjoyed buy all age groups, I'm willing to bet a large amount of anime watchers are young people without money who would rather stream or illegally download than purchase something. So maybe this inflates the costs as well? Either way... it totally stinks. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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  • Because Aniplex was not interested in causal anime fans (myself included) who were very poor with no income and they're very low-class cause they can't afford the japanese and american releases on dvds/blu-rays that came with a few episodes and some extra stuff like for example: the blu-ray box set release of gurren lagann was $500 for 27 episodes and i was like WHAT IN THE FUCK!?!? O_O Then there's 3 special edition dvd/blu-ray box sets of madoka magica that came with a few episodes that they have to separate for each of them with CD's and stuff for $95-$120....so yeah it's too fucking expensive!!!! no wonder people pirate anime. - superautisticworld – superautisticworld 5 years ago
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Tidearticle

manga

"Why does my heart go doki doki?" The most serious situation in yaoi

Yaoi and shounen-ai genres (also may known as BL-Boy's Love) depict male/male romantic and/or sexual relationships in manga. Yaoi and shounen-ai have an extremely common trope. When the person initiating the relationship (term for the initiator is 'seme') tries to kiss/grope the other party (uke) or force sexual intercourse, the victim of the harrassment blushes and has a throbbing heart inside while externally screaming out "No!" and trying the shove harrasser away. This situation is called 'romanticised rape' and is shown in the form of 'true love'.

In yaoi, with this trope, the tension between the seme and uke is tried to be constructed and when seme acts too possesive, stalks uke and forces kisses or sexual intercourse, it is easily represented as "Loving so much that not being able to control one's self", however, it should be realised that this is what 'sexual harrassment' literally means. Yaoi is a great genre with big potential; sexist clichés used as a plot device only creates the oppressing gender norms and ruins the yaoi's possibilites to open up a door wich genres like shoujo or josei cannot do easily.

Writer's note: "Doki" is the Japanese sound corresponding to "thump" in English.

  • Is it not "shounen-ai" instead of "sounen-ai?" – ZeroReq011 9 years ago
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  • Ah yes it is. The h button is problematic ın te keyboard, i double check everytime but i didn't notice, thanks. – Allthefujoshiunite 9 years ago
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  • I've noticed this in Shojo-ai, yuri, and josei as well. It's in all three of the genres even if it is more present in Shounen-ai and yaoi. – Animegirlinglasses 9 years ago
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  • I wanted to write an article like this but I do believe you've captured the fundamentals of all I would say on the subject. I have always, ALWAYS hated rape in yaoi and I really do hate that it is one of the most basic ingredients to many stories that the genre produces. It is never okay and I do appreciate mangakas who can realistically portray the effects it has on characters like in the manga examples you mentioned (Yuutsu no Asa and Ten Count). And what I really dislike are the rape stories that magically blossom into a romance tale. The seme is not questioned or "punished" in a sense for his horrible behaviour, which is never okay. And also as you mentioned, I do believe it becomes a problem when readers of this material try to justify the seme's inexcusable behaviour. But it would seem that overtime, being exposed to such a trope again and again desensitizes you to an extent. Great article! – charlmeister 9 years ago
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  • @Animegirlinglasses I read shojo-ai/yuri/josei occasionally, though not as frequently as yaoi but you are right; reason behind us seeing the trope this often in manga is because this understanding is inherent in our culture. Stalking someone is equated to loving too much etc exists in real life also. @charlmeister I think you also should write about this because we have to talk about this issue over and over again, it's so important. There is another thing I've noticed; if the story is fluff and contain almost nothing explicit (only holding hands/kissing), the there is mutual love but if sex or smut involves, then rape is used as a plot device. I personally like smut, however I feel like it is used as an excuse to justify two men having sex (like homosexuality needs to be justified...*sigh*). I also like Harada sensei's works, she never sugarcoats these issues. Thank you both for the replies, I really appreciate the feedback! ^^ – Allthefujoshiunite 9 years ago
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  • I read a few yaoi in my life, but not too many. Quite often (and as you mentioned) the situation there goes from consensual to something almost rape like, and that has to do with power-play I suppose - as it's considered to be a turn-on in practically any culture. We have more than enough western counter-parts that play out the 'romanticised rape': the big (and mainstream) leaders in the game being 50 shades of grey and twilight. Bottom line is that this type of relationship is, on some level, desired... Human psychology. We like violence: violence + sex + semi-consensual response = gold mine. Manga, books, and movies didn't invent this: it's been around since the down of time. Great topic – crispychips 9 years ago
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  • This is very interesting, as someone who doesn't have a wide knowledge of manga, it was illuminating to see the different aspects possible for analysis. – SamHersh 9 years ago
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  • Yikes. And agree with you completely. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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Tidearticle

anime

Bleach: The Hollowfication Question

Ichigo Kurosaki from the anime Bleach gets thrown down a path of violence, death, and corruption. But it is a path he believes that he must take if he wants to protect his friends. The path he chooses though is a road littered with enemies. With each enemy seeming to be more powerful than the one preceding it, Ichigo continuously needs to become stronger.

Each time he grows stronger, however, the source of his power becomes darker, and he soon realizes that his soul is partially possessed by an evil spirit—his inner Hollow. The presence of his inner Hollow burdens him, so much that he almost loses control of his body, and meanwhile, he is suddenly faced with an incredibly powerful foe. As a result, Ichigo doesn’t know what other method to turn to, other than by controlling and using his inner Hollow to boost his power.

Is it logical for the hero of a story to use or join sides with evil in order to bring about a desired good. Or does this confuse society, and make the line between good and evil too blurry? And most importantly, is it moral to use an evil means to meet a just end?

  • Ah, that definitely is a colorful type of discussion. Good & Evil, work hand in hand. They need to exist for the other to as well. Within this article it "literally" works together. – ChrissyC 9 years ago
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  • I think this makes the line a little blurry because from the perspective of the reader whatever side the hero joins is the good side. So that makes it more confusing to the reader about which side in the conflict is truly good or evil. I think though that the ends justify the means, if we are able to create peace through one large final conflict than I think the world needs the conflict. – Dandylion 9 years ago
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  • I've always liked the blurring of the lines in Bleach as it pertains to Ichigo's Hollow side. It helps provide a balance between good and evil, and in doing so helps Ichigo become a more 'complete' character. Were he simply a boy who did what was right with no darker side to play off, he would seem far more dull I think. Am enjoyable article. – mattdoylemedia 9 years ago
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  • Honestly the lines between good and evil should be blurred more often. In many shounen anime and manga the lines never get blurred. The fact that Ichigo is fighting with his inner evil and might end up in the "evil" category is a very good story. Also, it would be a great character arc to see him go through. – Animegirlinglasses 9 years ago
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  • Manga can often be very narrow in its depiction of good and evil. I believe Ichigo's inability to control his hollow is partly due to his unwillingness to accept that it is a genuine part of him. – Jiraiyan 9 years ago
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  • I think disregarding the end justifies the means is a little too easy. I think the statement means something more like "The end result produced so much good, that the evil results of the means are outweighed. So in the example, one man being super wealthy is really good or bad. I suppose it's good for the guy and his family, but because he stole and hurt so many people the end does not justify the means. The means created more harm than the end caused good. So if the character in the manga does a lot of good and there is little harm from using the hallow, then yes the end justifies the means. But on the other hand if the hallow took him over and destroyed the world.... that'd be a different story. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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  • Tatijana: I understand where your argument is coming from. It's very close to consequentialism, in which the morality of an action is weighed based upon the consequences that take effect as a result of the action. However, consequentialism is a messed up moral-theory because it disregards the objectivity of morality; it takes away Truth. Consequentailism says that doing something bad can bring about a greater good. But that's a flawed way to approach the subject of morality. It devalues the idea of right or wrong and reduces moral objectivity to a set of consequences that result from an action. Actions made should be based on conscience and Natural Law, even though those both have some flaws too. The loophole, you might be interested to know, is provided by the Principle of Double Effect. Ichigo's actions still don't qualify for this, but allow me to explain. The requirements for the Principle of Double Effect to take action are 1) the action of the person must be good or indifferent. 2) the person must have good intentions. 3) the evil effect cannot be the means to the good effect. d) the good effect must balance the evil effect. Once again, this is just a loophole, and overall, Ichigo's predicament is quite messy insofar as morality applies. Great discussion and please comment if you want to take this further! – Dominic Sceski 9 years ago
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Tidearticle

Nisioisin, Nietzsche, and the Tyranny of Morality

Nisioisin, the creator of such anime, manga, and light novel works as Zaregoto, Medaka Box, Katanagatari, and The Monogatari Series, writes in such long, descriptive, and tangential strokes that it wouldn't be unfair to say he likes hearing himself talk. Amidst his stylistic tendencies tough, a core theme recurs throughout all of his stories. It is one that he is sympathetic to, one that may be described as “Nietzschean.” Without knowing better, many people believe there is an absolute, irreplaceable, inviolable, and ultimate truth.

That truth, to these people, demands them, without objection, to conform their behavior and beliefs to truth. In both their respective works, Nietzsche and Nisioisin express and illustrate what they believe is the actual reality: That those demands are all just self-delusions. Like an abyss full of nothing, nothing in life has meaning. Morality doesn't exist in nature. There is no such thing as objective good or right, objective wrong or evil. Morality is all arbitrariness in self-denial. It is all stuff that people made up.

Yet as Nisioisin characters like, but not exclusive to, The Monogatari Series' Kaiki Deishu and others point out in one way or another. Life having no inherent meaning doesn't make it completely pointless. Quite the contrary, it means that life is full of endless possibilities. All people need to do is acknowledge and embrace the arbitrary. They should believe, behave, and act on what they feel.

  • Very nice text, I really like the writing style! – Daziigirl 9 years ago
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  • Thank you for the comment. – ZeroReq011 9 years ago
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  • I love Nisioisin, as a light novel author he is one of my favorites, especially because he shares his own kind of point of view with you. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts on it. Good job on this post! – AyakaHoshina 9 years ago
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  • I was never able to get into the Bakemonogatari, even after watcing the first episode twice but after reading your article, I'll give it a shot again. Thanks for the great post! – Allthefujoshiunite 9 years ago
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  • Morality is always such a big pile of gray. I think that's why so many anime's/stories in general at least touch on morality if not focus on it. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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