American anime style growing like a tumor

                There is currently a dieses in several new children’s shows. A dieses that pertains to a lot of things, but anime is among them. A dieses which slowly emerges its victims in bad anime and poorly done serotypes. The gaming community is also among those affected.  And it isn’t just kid shows anymore, its toys, advertisements, and children’s games as well. I swear the man at the top of these big corporations see all the money things like anime is making and decide they want a piece of the pie. Well, if the pie was made out of huge eyes, odd hair, and bad voice acting as well as animation than they have succeeded.  But it’s not, so instead children’s shows are now filled with cheap rip-offs and bad plots.

This is one of the only good pictures of the sieres.

Exhibit A, I present you with the series known as Redakai.  I found this little… thing when I happen to wake up late on a Saturday morning and turn on the T.V. I decided to actually watch the show after I noticed the anime like art style. I should have just turned off the T.V. The French-Canadian cartoon is just some sad love child of Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon. But at least both those series had a decent art style. I couldn’t help but instantly notice the out of place cat girl and oddly colored elf. There is also a card game to go with the series, which I can say nothing about as I have never played it myself. I’m going to give them credit though, as I’m not entirely sure they were trying to rip off anime, but I would still avoid the show if at all possible.

                Next, I present you with any of the new Ben 10 series. I’m not going to list them all because there are at least 3 and I don’t want to get specific. I really like the first one, I thought it was fun and cute, something I could watch with my younger cousins. But they turned the series in to what seems to be an attempt to appeal to an older audience. In my opinion this was a bad move on their part; the best part of Ben 10was its childlike theme. I don’t want to watch a show about a 17 year-old with my 6 year-old cousin. The plot just seem to go into circles and the dark and romantic element was not something I wanted to see come on daytime cartoon network. I believe there making a new series now because they had so many issues with the old one, I don’t even think it had a target audience.

The new Ben 10, I think this one is alien force

                But these things aren’t just constricted to children’s shows; they’ve speared into toys and games to. You can see the anime influences in girl’s dolls and boy’s action figures. Just the other day I was looking on the back of my Cheerio and I saw a coupon for some Barbie thing. I would was about to give her a moustache when I got a closer glance at one of them. She had a laptop, and on it was you’re standard game controller. They were trying to make a gamer Barbie. I can’t blame them though, with that new Level up show Cartoon network is doing (they just seem to screw up a lot recently) about those supposed ‘Gamers’. I’m willing to bet that when the actors said they play video games they meant, Halo, COD, and WoW. And the female cast member was just a sad attempt to get rid of rule #30 with her short-shorts and slutyness. I think a lot of places have been noticing the teen market for video games and anime and decided younger children would like it to. But no one wanted this, teens don’t want parents to find out want actually can happen when they start to judge these things. We don’t want the lawsuits that start when these things happen, or the unwanted attention from the media.

The new Avatar: legend of Korra

                I’d like to point out that there is no term for an ‘American anime’ ad the term itself is an oxymoron. I’d also like to say that not all American anime influenced whatever is bad. Avatar: the last air bender and Teen Titians have come up in recent years. And there have been many others that I can’t think of currently. So don’t judge until you’ve seen it.

                                                                                Play Minecraft,

                                                                                                PandaEatingATaco

Cosplay

Halloween is almost upon us, so in preparation for this I figured I’d talk cosplay. Most of you already know what cosplay is, but it goes further than just dressing up as some random character. There are rules, it’s more than just a costume, it’s an art. While you’re not expected to think you are that character, a little bit of acting will go a long way. It’s like you’re in a play, but instead of talking like your character, your trying to look like your character. Standing as your character would stand, sitting like they might sit, and even walking as they might walk. As an example, I was L from death note last year, so I walked slouched, sat with my knees to my chest, and held things in between my thumb and my pointer finger but, I didn’t really talk like L very much, as that would just seem a little weird around non-cosplayers. Things like this can help with things like an inaccurate costume. But don’t expect it to be your savior, costume is very important.

This guy is amazing. Don't ever be dissapointed if you don't end up being this epic. He's probably a pro cosplayer or model

                A cosplay costume should accurately portray the character you are dressed as. It should portray lots of time and effort, the best costume are made with the most quality material. Most people make their own costumes, using their skill and materials they find or buy. Making your costume doesn’t have to be expensive, you can make quality work cheap if you know what you’re doing, but it is time consuming. I’ve never made a complex costume before, but from what I’ve read it’s hit or miss. The best route in doing this is going to a store and buying items that look similar to what your character wears, and then changing them (with sowing, dyes, buttons, chains, ect.) to look more like what your character wears. When comes to hair you can dye or cut it, or you can buy a wig, which range in prices. You can only change your eyes with colored contacts, which should only be used with caution, and make sure you’re fitted for them first, even costume contact lenses can be illegal if you don’t have a prescription.

                But let’s say you what to buy your costume, have it premade for you. This can be an easier and less time consuming route, but unless you know someone, it isn’t going to be very cheap. The internet offers a wide verity of cosplay costumes; but if you want anything quality, expect to pay at least $90. Why is this? You ask. Well, the materials used to make cosplay aren’t cheap, and cosplay isn’t mass produced, so whatever you buy will be costume fit to you. On top of this, most cosplay bought ready-made is from China, this means that shipping goes up, and delivery will now take a month or two. I got some Edward Elric cosplay for my birthday, we bought it and late May and got it in late July. So, punches your cosplay a good few months before you need it.

                If you lack the time to make your costume or buy a quality one there is a solution. Closet cosplay, the art of making do with what you have. Your costume may not be pretty, but it will work. Such as, my school deicide to have costume day both Monday and tomorrow, but I didn’t have enough temporary hair dye for both days. So I decided that on Halloween I go as Edward as planned, but for Friday I would be scout from TF2. I went through my closet and found things that looked like they might work, threw them together and called it good. Do I look exactly like scout? No, do I get the message through? Yes. So it works for me. Well, that’s all I have to say for now. Don’t eat strange tacos,

                                                                                                PandaEatingATaco .   

This is just flat-out adorable. I want kids just to dress them up like this!

Here’s some anime and manga slang

Hello and welcome back,

I know it’s been a while, but I assure you I have not forgotten about The Epic Halloween Event. I just haven’t finished it yet. But I will, I just have to finish up a few anime, it should be done on Halloween. So until then, I figured I would go over some of the terms I might use throughout this blog so I don’t have to define them as I go, this list may be added to as time goes on.

Otaku:  When I say this word do not confuse it with its Japanese term. In western culture it refers to someone who has a huge interest in something, specifically, anime and manga. It is similar to the word ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’ in that sense, which might seem like a compliment. Yet in Japan this word has nothing but negative meanings. Literally meaning ‘your house’ it refers to you never leaving it. It’s like saying ‘you have no life and can only do one thing’. The meaning took a turn for the worst when Tsutomu Miyazaki became ‘the otaku murder’ after killing and sexually assaulting several young girls out of his love for a porno anime.

Manga: is both plural and singular. It refers to the Japanese type comics which read from right to left and, is available for all ages. The whole series often follows one plot and every manga has a distinct art style. ‘La manga’ also means sleeve in Spanish.

Anime: The Japanese word for animation, this doesn’t just refer to cartoons.  Often the animated version of Manga, but it can have its own plot. Anime is available in all genres for all ages.

Cosplay: Literally means ‘costume play’; it is the art of dressing up as a fictional character. The art of cosplay can be done for many reasons and costumes are often homemade or custom tailored. Just because someone is cosplaying doesn’t mean that they are role-playing or actually believe they are the character they are dressed as despite popular belief.

Crossplay: Cosplaying as a character that is not your gender. Simple as that.

Furry: an anthropomorphic character. When referring to an actual person it could meaning someone who likes them all the way to people who think they are them. They are probably some of the less accepted members of society.

Brony: A male viewer of my little pony. I included it because it is often associated with furries, which are often associated with anime and manga.

Kawaii: means ‘cute’ in Japanese. Commonly over used by people you don’t know what their saying. On one website I went on, they thought it was an art style.

Yaoi: A type of pairing( often made for or by fangirls) in anime and manga. Means something along the lines of ‘boy on boy’ literally means ‘boy’s love’.

Yuri: like Yaoi, but girl on girl.

Hentai: animated porn. What gave anime it’s bad name in western culture.

Bishōnen: A young pretty boy who often show up in anime and manga.

Emoticons: as far as manga goes I’ll leave it to uncle Yo.

                That’s all for now. I’ll probably edit this post at a later date as I feel I need to add more. Till next time. Save a starving kid in Africa,

                                                    PandaEatingATaco

Introducing your friend to anime or manga part 1

Today I have decided to write a guide about introducing your friend or family member to anime and manga. Originally this was going to be a short, sweet, generic guide. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that generic was a bad thing, and that there were many was of going about this. So, I’m writing the basics now, but I will probably add on to it in later posts.

                So step 1 would be finding a friend or family member that you wish to share the joys of anime and manga with, once you find them ask yourselves some question. What is their current stance with the matter? What kind of genre are they into? Do they like to read more, or watch TV? How willing are they? Once you’ve done this, you’re ready for the next step

I cannot count how many people have asked me ‘what is a good starter manga for my friend?’ or ‘should my friend watch this anime first?’ The answer is that there is no defiant answer, so I’ve put the next section in a set of Q&A as more of a list of idea’s then anything to be taken to heart. Every human being is different, so you should do whatever you think will work for your friend.

Q: Should I have them read a manga or watch an anime?

A: Honestly, either one works. I started out with a manga, but that doesn’t mean anime isn’t a good place to start. If your friend is a big reader or artist, a manga might be better. But if your friend is a big fan of videos or surfing the web, an anime will probably catch on better.

Q: Does Naruto/Bleach/One piece/some other name make a good first series?

A: The question of the first series has always been a big one, and the debate still rages on the best answer. I would have to say that it all depends on what your friend enjoys. Such as a good choice for a friend who likes ninjas would be Naruto, but a good choice for a friend who likes romance would be something like ouran highschool host club or a friend who likes history or politics might like Hetalia. A really good idea would be to let your friend go through your collection and pick one they like.

Q: How should I deal with a friend who’s never heard of anime or manga?

A: Don’t show them any series yet. You want a positive reaction from them; your best bet is going to come from movies. I would highly recommend things like Kiki’s Delivery service or Spirited away or something else along those lines. If you think your friend can handle a series as a first encounter, then go ahead, but I’ve seen a lot more positive reactions in people who started out with something like Pokémon or Howl’s moving castle than I have with Naruto or Bleach. This is because with a movie, there is no obligation to go home, get on the computer, and look up that series. You watch the movie once, and then you’re done.

Q: What should I do if my friend already hates anime?

A: don’t press them about it. This is a complicated a delicate procedure you’re dealing with. In fact, I will have to come back to this at later date to complete it. It’s so long it will need its own post, so until I finish, don’t do anything you wouldn’t want done back to you.

Well, that’s all I’m going to answer for now. In case of emergency break glass,

                                                                                PandaEatingATaco

Myths and Truths about Anime

Something happened to me recently that has got me thinking. This train of thought is of course in the anime section of my brain, which is why I’m putting in here. I’ve been thinking about that void that is known to exist between Otaku and the other branches of “geek”. This void does not exist between all branches, or all members, but with a few select sub-groups. I’m told that it didn’t used to be this peaceful, before anime and manga become so accepted, one would find all the Otaku in a small little corner of their conventions, being glared at by all of the comic book fans and live-action role-players. One would think that, with all of us going to the same conventions, that there would be less tension, and while now it has lessened, it is quite a ways from gone. The reason behind this could all simple lead up to one of the many myths about anime.

                The other day I was going through a forum for a video game I enjoyed. I was looking for some custom anime skins for my character, but as I went through the website, I found that I had gone to the wrong place. This forum seemed to hate anime; in fact, most of the games community seemed to hate anime. I had looked up some other games, found something similar, and thought nothing of it, until now. In English class today my teacher brought up how we should explain why we liked what we liked, I thought about it and found I could never put my love into words. When I stumbled upon the haters of anime, it struck, I will write about why other people don’t like anime. Gathering all I knew about the hate, I started with the forum in which the idea struck.

                It was a forum for one of my favorite video game, Team Fortress 2. I read over some of these threads, and found that a majority of issue revolve around myths of anime and manga. Now, this is not to say that everyone should like anime and manga, it’s just to get rid of some myths and stereotypes. I’d also like to say that not allof the tf2 community hates anime, in fact I’ve found

a joke about a tf2 anime. You have no idea how much I want this

several Otaku while playing, but that there was quite a few hate threads going around.  Most people don’t mind the tf2 and anime cross-over as long as it doesn’t involve a large-chested 14 year old depicting a character.

 Myth: anime is always about a pre-pubescent child or some chick with a large chest.

Fact: This is not the case. In some anime sure, and I will admit that in some of the more popular anime it is, but a vast majority is about something completely different. There are so many different anime’s and manga’s in so many different Genres that assuming such a thing would be a straight up lie. Sure, in most anime and manga there is a perverted element, and one or two characters reflected an element of that, but it never comes up much, and rarely is it the center of the

Lucky Star, not all anime is like this

series. As far as it being about kids, you’ve watched Pokémon, Lucky Star, Negima, or something else along those lines (probably from the magical girl genre). There is anime and manga for kids, which will often reflect their age

Myth: I watched one or two anime and didn’t like it; therefore I won’t like all anime.

Fact: This is what you sound like ‘I’ve watched one or two movies and didn’t like them; therefor I won’t like all movies.’ You know as well as I that that is a load of stupid. As I said earlier, there are so many different kinds of anime and manga,

Vampire Knight, not all anime is like this

so there is something out there for you. That doesn’t mean you must love anime, it just means that you can’t say you dislike anime for its plot or theme, as that is constantly changing with the story, if you don’t like one anime, try another. If you just don’t like anime in general, find a better reason.

You should know, not all anime make me cringe like this

Myth: All anime characters have large eyes, wild hair, and a wild color scheme.

Fact: Most anime will have a character or two suffer from at least two of these, most will have at least one. But, anime with a more realistic art style exists, things like Death Note and Only yesterdaycome to mind, but there are more than that. Just like every other art form, every artist is different.

Myth: Anime is Japanese cartoons, cartoons are for children.

Fact: You who know anything about anime just laughed, and think I am joking. But I’m not, it happens so much it’s not even funny. People seem to think that if it’s animated, it’s a cartoon, and cartoons are for children. It’s stuff like this that make bookstores put up that sign ‘no manga or graphic novels in children’s section.’ This is also why things like this happen

and this too.

 Most anime is for young adults-adults, most are rated 13 and up. Parents need to know, it’s important, they know their kids maturity. This is the most important fact in this, showing anime to a kid is like giving him a lighter; it must be monitored unless the kid is trustworthy.  

That’s not all the myths, just the ones I found the most important. So, now you can show this to your anime hating friends, or that LARP-er at the con (but good luck, some of them don’t like to leave their little fantasy world.) Honestly, there will all ways be haters, and haters will hate. But know they will be well educated haters who will not hate in ignorance. I hope you have a good week,

                                                                                                                PandaEatingATaco.

Manga, its not about the money

 

                Manga is one of those things that has been around for so long that we have no idea when it really started. It’s similar to collecting things in that sense, the other way it’s like collecting things is that too much is never enough, and it will just keep going and growing. This is fine for a whole industry, manga as a whole needs to grow and spread. But, there is a line, one often crossed, of when it’s too much. This is what is called ‘the ongoing series of forever’, in other words, a series that has seen several opportunities to come to an end, but found some way to pull out another 500 chapters. A prime example of this would be Yu-Gi-Oh! the story about a card game, that wasn’t actually about a card game.

                Yu-Gi-Oh! Started off as what was supposed to be a one-shot, but look at it now. You know a series has gone on too long when they have to change main characters and run in circles for a plot. I couldn’t even stand watching past the first few seasons. Of course, there have been worse, and it is an anime, and once 4Kids toke over the series died, only to come back with its abridged YouTube counterpart.

This is something I would like to see!

                Naruto and Bleach are good manga examples. This is the part where you would call me a hater and tell me about how amazing those series are or tell me how right I am for hating them, so here’s a plot twist, I don’t. They’re both good series, I kept up with them until recently, and then it happened. I won’t be the first to admit that both are rather lengthy and have their down points, this was the everything before the end of book 4 for Naruto, and everything in between the soul society and Espada arc for Bleach. But I stuck through it; I read the boring chapters as many before me had, but something happened that turned me off. If you read the manga for both you know, if you don’t this is your spoiler alert. It happened in Bleach when they killed off Azien and kept the series going, I tried to get through the next chapters, but it just went downhill, I couldn’t stand that I was rereading the begging of the story all over again, so I stopped. Naruto was a much slower process, I guess it happened when everyone started to die multiple times, when the kept saying it was over and it wasn’t. It felt like I was reading some poorly written Naruto fan fiction, not the story itself.

                This is the issue with a single series becoming too popular; it becomes a money making object only. The author no longer cares about story itself, but whether or not people will still pay money for it. It breaks the delicate bond held between reader and author. The reader trust that the author will keep making a good story they want to read, and end it when it’s time, and the author trust that the reader will keep supporting the story. The bond is often broken once the author starts pulling bad stunts or when the reader stops reading or won’t buy any more products. The way we look at that bond has changed over time, and with money becoming the number one priory, it’s headed for the worst. We need to change the cycle, or we’ll be more screwed up then Disney channel.       

                                                                                                                                                                               PandaEatingATaco