[987] do we even have to ask?

console

< Piro >

"Sakuracon stuffs"

Friday - April 6, 2007

Ah, one of those rare occasions where I'm actually ranting while away from home. I'm sitting here with a little time and a wifi connection, so I'm taking a few minutes to update my schedule at Sakuracon this year, as there are some things that have changed.

First off, I don't have a booth in the dealers room this year because I didn't bring any merchandise with me. I'm here really to show my support for the Sakuracon folks on their 10th anniversary. :) My plan was to do my panel and then do my signing stuff at whatever time the scheduled for it. The problem is that my scheduled autograph time is on Sunday... during which i'll actually be on a plane back to Michigan ^^;;; Oops.

Since i won't be sitting at a booth in the Dealers room, this rather limits my ability to sign stuff for people ^^;; I did manage to work things out so i'll have a little time after the Megatokyo Q&A panel Saturday to try to take care of people the best i can (see below for more details). I'm also going to try to see if there is somewhere in the dealers room where i can sit and take care of people who just happen to find me ^^;;

Here's the schedule for Saturday April 7th. Hopefully, if you are at the con, you look at your RSS feeds :)

6:00pm - 7:30pm - Megatokyo Q&A panel, which will be very laid back and casual. 6th floor room 606. 1.5 hrs.
7:30pm - 8:30pm - Megatokyo Autographs. Right after the MT panel. I ONLY HAVE ONE HOUR - They will be setting the room for another activity, so i have to be quick and out of there by 8:30. 6th floor, room 6E (Turbostage). 1 hr.

Also of note... I am working on a drawing for the Make a Wish foundation Charity Auction, so if you are at the show and would like to support Make a Wish, stop by the Charity Auction on Sunday Afternoon at 3:00pm on the 6th Floor, Main Stage 6ABC. I won't be there, but my drawing will be :P

For those of you not here at the convention, i hope the SGD wasn't too jarring. I'm arriving home Sunday night and I'll finish up the Seraphim Check and post that. I'd still like to do 3 MT comics next week if i can, but we'll see. We are going to be moving our warehouse to a new location in the next few weeks so as you can imagine it's going to be an interesting month :)

[previous rant] - [rant archive] - [next rant]

< Dom >

"Weaned off of formula"

Wednesday - April 11, 2007

[Dom] - 23:00:00 - [link here]

There've been a lot of factors contributing to my lack of rantage, including tax time (I owe the Internal Revenue Service a truly disgusting amount of money, what with my paychecks being ungarnished and all), Guitar Hero coming out for the Xbox, work (both freelance and office), and the ever-present spectre of WoW.

I've also started watching anime again with the advent of the spring season, which has drawn me in more than any of the winter season's offerings. I'm not going to talk about what I'm watching right now - that's a topic for another rant, especially because of my policy of watching 3-4 episodes before passing judgment. What I am going to talk about is a topic that was common in responses to my "Ebb and Flow of Interest" rant. More than a few people, who I imagine are a little bit newer to the hobby than I am, suggested that I watch such shows as Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece to renew my interest in anime.

Now, a lot of you out there are guffawing to yourselves "Lawl, what Narutards!" I won't, because these people were earnest and don't deserve the same mockery as people who go to classes with ninjer headbands on or run around stabbing palm trees (long story - it makes more sense if you are staff for Anime Expo). Besides, there was a brief period of the late 20th century where I actually read and enjoyed the first few chapters of Naruto as part of my subscription to weekly Shounen Jump. God, 2000 seems like so long ago, doesn't it?

So anyway, here is a simplified version of why Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece in anime form have not, do not, and will not float my boat.

I've been reading Shounen Jump since around 2000. It's a fine, respectable magazine to read, with plenty of readers from all demographics. However, it also has a distinct formula, which most of its fans are well aware of. My friend Shimapan recently told me about the "fourth saying," which is a fan joke about other parts of the Jump formula.

The "fourth saying" is a reference to the three-part Jump motto 「努力、友情、勝利」 (something akin to "Hard work, friendship, and victory"). These themes run pretty strong through every Jump manga ever printed, even in the comedy and romance stuff. Over time, fans have developed a fourth one that goes something like 「悪そうな奴は大体友達」 ("The villainous-looking dude is usually a friend."), which is pretty light-hearted as modified mottos go. The more cynical Jump fans have modified the motto to be 「努力、友情、勝利、アニメ化」 ("Hard work, friendship, victory, and an anime adaptation").

What does this mean? Well, it means that once you've read a couple of Jump manga, you have a very good idea of where the rest of them are going, ESPECIALLY out of the ones which get turned into anime. As any casual reader of Harlequin romances or Hardy Boy mysteries can tell you, you get really tired of the formula after a while. The Bleach anime, One Piece anime, Naruto anime, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and so on, they're all part of the same formula Jump has been encouraging for decades. I won't insult you for enjoying them, but I don't enjoy them myself.

I hope this clears up any questions people may have had about me not watching formulaic anime based on Jump manga. And just in case, I'd like to let everyone know that I love reading Eyeshield 21 because it's football and makes me laugh, and I like reading M Zero because Yasuhiro Kanou's art and writing amuses me (something you may remember from my long-past Pretty Face phase). So it's not like I hate randomly on any Jump stuff out there - it's just that I've read more than enough of it and have become picky in my old age.

As a note, Shimapan also told me that Eyeshield 21 may get converted into a stage musical soon. If this happens, I will HAVE to go to Japan to see it, as it will be Football: the Musical.