Thursday, January 26, 2012

Wandering Son Graphic Novel Volume 1 Review

I've previously reviewed Wandering Son in my Top 15 Anime column. In it, I called it the 8th best anime that I have ever seen, only being beaten out by Ryohgo Narita, Ghost in the Shell, and Neon Genesis Evangelion, among others. My praise for the graphic novel is no different. And though I have read far fewer manga than I have watched anime (62-273), I am stunned to look through my list of manga I've read and find that no other manga has been better, in my opinion.

I'll give my own plot summary of Wandering Son through one volume. SPOILERS AHEAD, people. But after the summary, I'll try to keep is spoiler free.
Wandering Son starts off with Nitori-kun and his family moving somewhere else. The point being, there's a new kid in town and his name is Nitori-kun. And his sister's teacher actually mistakes Nitori-kun for his sister, Maho.

[Editor's note: If you start reading left to right (aka, the American way), you'll find a quite long essay written by the translator about honorifics and personal pronouns in Japanese. This essay takes up almost three pages of the back of the volume. This is astounding for a manga. I have not read another manga that does this. But the essay is written like a true pro and anyone unfamiliar with the Japanese language should definitely read it before starting to read the first volume. I did not. I wish I had. Fortunately, I have taken a semester of Japanese and have watched all too much anime.]

He's placed next to our female protagonist, Takatsuki-san, when seated in his new 5th grade class. The story grows from here. We learn that Nitori wishes he was really a girl and Takatsuki wishes she was really a boy. This begins to escalate when Chiba-san (a popular and pretty girl in their class who has a crush on Nitori-kun) suggests they do a gender-bender play for the 6th grade sendoff assembly. I'm sure this is normal in Japan, to send of 6th graders in grand fashion. Well, grand compared to what we do, which is nothing. It culminates with Nitori-kun and Takatsuki-san taking the train a very long way away for their home (it's never defined where, but far enough that they wouldn't be seen by any of their friends) dressed as a girl and a boy respectively. The first time Takatsuki-san did this (which she did alone), she was even mistaken for a boy.

I'll try to keep it spoiler free from here on out. Aka, END SPOILER.
What makes Wandering Son so good is that it tackles things that I have never seen any other manga or anime do before. This is a manga about a 5th grade boy who wants to be a girl and a 5th grade girl who wants to be a boy. How sophisticated is that?

But it's not just about that. There's Maho who finds his cross dressing deplorable. And there's Chiba-san who has a crush on Nitori-kun and thinks he looks cute in girls' clothing. But not just that, there's Takatsuki-san, who is going through puberty while relating more to being a male.

Think about that. If any girls read this, think back to when you were (and excuse my rudeness) having your first period. Likely, you were frightened. Takatsuki-san appeared to have been informed by her mother about the goings on of that, but it's so complex. She's trying so hard to make herself more relatable to being a male when her body is going through something like that, which is inherently female.

The one criticism I find with this manga in general (which the author Simura Takako admits to) is that the characters look very similar. I had a hard time distinguishing between Chiba-san and Takatsuki-san and Maho and Nitori-kun and all the other characters. The translation, however, is done brilliantly. It makes sorting through these characters much easier by giving each of them a distinctive voice without the use of the multitude of personal pronouns that the Japanese language has.

Despite this setback, the charm of this series really is its characters. In the anime, Kosuke Hatakeyama and Asami Seto bring Nitori-kun and Takatsuki-san to life (as do the rest of the cast). I realize now that it's the writing of the dialogue that really brings the words to life on the page and the actors made it that much better. The point being, the dialogue is brilliantly done and this manga touches on a very sensitive topic in both Japanese and American cultures.

This first volume really just scratches the surface of what's going to happen in the manga as a whole, but it provides a look straight into Nitori-kun and Takatsuki-san hearts and souls, about what both characters want as people and as a male and female. It's a beautiful commentary on gender confusion in people, and especially in teenagers (who are going through some of the hardest and most confusing times of their lives). Having watched the anime, I'm looking forward to seeing how far the story goes through volume two.

If you have the chance to read the series or watch the series, I highly suggest doing so. Amazon and Right Stuf have the first volume for sale while Crunchyroll has the series subbed on its website. Again, this is in the Top 10 of the anime I've watched and the manga I've read. It comes with high praise in my book.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

State of the Industry, January 19

This week, let’s take a look at the anime industry.

Just last year (2011), Tokyopop shut its doors. In 2009, ADV split off into various separate entities. Also in 2009, Central Park Media shut down. In 2007, Geneon shut down.

And now, to start off our year, we hear from Bandai Entertainment. And it’s not good news. Bandai is going to continue to distribute its currently licensed shows until those respective licenses expire. Ok, good news. But they’re not going to license anything else and they’re not going to release new sets (like the Anime Legends line) of any of the shows they currently own. Bad news. And more bad news, the licenses for Gosick and Nichijou (both could be potential cash cows for some other company) have reverted to their respective Japanese owners.

What is the cause of all these closures in the anime industry? Well, a lot of things could be argued. My personal argument is that, while anime fandom has grown, there’s not a big name show like Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon around anymore. They opened people up to anime back in the 90s. Now anime depends on word of mouth between high schoolers and college kids, like myself, to tell their friends.

What’s the cause that a lot of people talk about? Fansubbing. That’s what I’m going to try to focus on here (but everyone knows my focus goes everywhere).

First, I’m going to paraphrase what Greg or Chris Ayres (I don’t remember which) said earlier in the year, around the time that Bandai announced its eventual closure. They said that fansubbing is basically the only thing that we as fans can do to help the industry.

We can’t license the shows we want with the snap of our fingers. We can’t stop the net from distributing anime illegally. What we can do is stop downloading it ourselves.

I have (regrettably, in some ways) a subscription to Crunchyroll.

I’ll tell you why it’s regrettable: Crunchyroll started as a fansubbing group that SOLD anime to the people that wanted it. It wasn’t until 2009 that they turned legal and now Crunchyroll is the biggest streaming video service that brings anime straight to your home within hours of the Japanese air date. Why it’s regrettable is that they were selling illegal material to people who wanted high quality subs, then used that profit to turn themselves into a legitimate company.

But the point is that Crunchyroll has tons of streaming anime and I want it in “720p.” So I pay for a subscription for that service.

And what are fansubbers doing now? They’re subbing shows purely out of the want to release these shows illegally. They have their “reason,” but most of them are flimsy at best. One of the best is that they don’t like Crunchyroll’s subs are up to their standards. My response would be: Well who the hell made you the standard king? Crunchyroll’s subs get the job done, and it’s legal, and that’s really all you need to know.

I mean, between all the legal simulcast options, there are very few shows this anime season that aren’t being streamed by Crunchyroll, Funimation, or some other company. Crunchyroll holds the monopoly on simulcasts, Funico picks up the ones Funimation is interested in, and the rest go to whoever wants them. This season, the only show that falls under the latter category is Phi Brain.

So there really is no need to download fansubs unless you’re a videophile that will only watch it in true 720p. There are so many legal options, even if it means watching it in SD with commercials a week later. Boo freakin’ hoo. At least you can get anime. Ten years ago, even five years ago, we weren’t this lucky.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Dragonball Evolution Review

In my infinite wisdom, I have decided to sit through an hour and a half of Dragonball. That normally wouldn’t sound so bad. Until you add Evolution to the end of the title. There’s going to be heavy spoilers throughout the review, but it’s not like anyone cares anyway. But just so you know.

And I’m going to have to do this review in increments. Through the first ten minutes, through the first plot point, through the second plot point, and then the final section. Otherwise my brain would explode from my childhood being destroyed.

Through the first ten minutes, I have a lot of complains. First off, I’m pretty sure there was CG sweat coming off of Goku’s brow. Ok, George Lucas, throw some CG gophers into Indiana Jones. I’m not going to care. But CG sweat? Even if it wasn’t there, it just looked really dumb.

Second: really? Piccolo controlled the Oozaru to destroy the Earth? No. Fucking no. Frieza and the Saiyans had an agreement that the Saiyans would help annihilate an entire populace off of the planet and in exchange, Frieza wouldn’t kill everyone (and we all know how well that worked out). The purpose of the agreement was to sell the planet to the highest bidder, of course. But no. This incarnation (if we even want to call it that) has Piccolo, a Namekian, controlling the apparently only “Oozaru” (not Saiyan) to destroy the Earth for god knows what reason.

Third: Gohan knew nothing about the Dragonballs. He didn’t know it would grant wishes. He didn’t know there were seven others (though I would assume he guessed there were at least three others). Also he wasn’t GODDAMN ALIVE when Dragonball started.

Speaking of people in general, Goku wasn’t 18 years old at the start of Dragonball. He was 11. Though he thought he was 14 because he had trouble counting. So he certainly couldn’t be in high school. Which he is in the movie.

One last thing. Really? They called him Pee-ccolo in the opening explanation thing. Thank god Gohan called him Piccolo later. Like a normal goddamn person. And now they have Master Roshi calling Gohan Go-haan. A long a sound. It’s horrible.

One thing I have to commend the movie for is Goku’s pacifism. It wasn’t in Dragonball of course (since Saiyans were more destroy everything and revel in the fight type of people), but I like it. That said, it’s the only thing I’ve liked through the first 30 minutes.

And in the first 30 minutes we meet Bulma. The girl who wants to find the Prometheus Orb, which has five stars. But wait! They aren’t Prometheus Orbs, they’re Dragonballs. The girl who knew all about them in the anime doesn’t know a goddamn thing about them in the movie. But who does? Gohan and Roshi through some nursery rhyme and unknown prophecy, neither of which existed in the anime.

But wait, there’s more! Bulma wants to harness the energy of the Dragonballs to do something good for the world: create an infinite supply of energy. Not get a boyfriend. What happened to the cowardly, self-centered woman I knew? I miss her. And her capsules don’t open with a comical, Adam West Batman-esque poof. It transformers open.

If anything, at least they kept Goku’s awkwardness. Even if they changed what kind of awkward he is. And Roshi’s pervy-ness.

Chi-Chi. Her father is the Ox King. The feared man of Fire Mountain. And trained by Master Roshi himself. He is not a man that would frown on fighting. Yet apparently no one in Chi-Chi’s family would understand that she’s a fighter training for the World Martial Arts Tournament.

Then we learn that Aang – er, Goku – has to master all four – er, three – elements in order to defeat Fire Lord Ozai – er, Demon King Piccolo. Really, Hollywood? That’s the best you can think up? Copying off of Avatar is the best you can do? You’re already copying off of a source material that continues to sell like hot cakes for FUNimation, yet you want to change nearly everything about it.

And literally everything else that happens up to the second plot point can by summarized by: Yamcha is a douche and Goku learns to be the next Avatar.

Then, then, get this, Master Roshi uses a Kamehameha Wave to revive Goku. Revive him. Not by the Dragonballs, which was done later in Z, but with an energy wave of great destruction.

And apparently the Dragonballs will revive Shenlong. Not summon him. Revive him. I had no idea Shenlong was dead. Or that Piccolo had to pray to revive him. Piccolo is one half of the man who created the damn things, you think he could summon – er, revive – it pretty easily.

Hollywood. This was your chance. The Oozaru and Shenlong were both huge. Gigantic. They were amazing creatures that you dwarfed in the movie. Both the Oozaru and Shenlong were significantly smaller than they were in the anime. Magnitudes smaller. Exponentially smaller.

I do like how Goku was wearing his signature uniform. But no one knows why he’s wearing that because it’s never explained. It’s also never explained why Goku has to become the Avatar.

Looking past the fact that Dragonball Evolution absolutely destroyed my childhood from the inside out, it’s just a bad movie. I mean, it’s fancy looking and the fighting was ok at best, but there are so many things that I would like to know. Like who created the Dragonballs? Or where did the Dragonballs go? It’s clear to me that their target audience was fans of the manga and anime series. But they changed it so much that no one who likes movies can like this and no one who liked the original series can either.