Behind The Nihon Review

Understanding Guilty Crown’s Failure

Sorrow-kun — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:15:35 +0000

My favourite Katawa Shoujo.

It’s very rare for the collective response to an anime as widely viewed as Guilty Crown to be so unified and even rarer when that response skews so strongly to the negative, but that’s where we are after 15 episodes. Right from its debut the show was compared incessantly with Code Geass, propelled by a similar setting and premise and the fact that the two shows share the brains of the writing crew. Those comparisons died down a bit when the differences became clear and very quickly it was apparent that Guilty Crown simply wasn’t going to be anywhere near as fun, let alone as good as Code Geass. The question of what makes Code Geass more entertaining than Guilty Crown has been considered, but generally quickly dismissed with references to Lelouch’s naturally magnetic leadership. I think it’s worth considering at a (slightly) deeper level. (Major spoilers for both titles within.)

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AnimeSuki 2011 Choice Awards: Picking Winners

Sorrow-kun — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:11:10 +0000

The AnimeSuki Choice Awards frustrate the hell out of me. I definitely think it’s a worthwhile idea, which is why I cover it each and every year, as it is a good exercise to see which anime a community of its size rate highly, and Haak does a good job organizing nomination and voting stages, counting votes and announcing winners. But the problem I’ve been complaining for years about now, in this very column, seems to get worse every year. There’s too many categories, which makes the nominating and voting processes (as well as attempts to cover it comprehensively, like this one) a giant pain in the ass. The categories are hella ambiguous too, which makes the nomination process confusing (fortunately the voting process isn’t so hard, because the choices are more limited).

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Copyright © 2012 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Sorrow-kun | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: AnimeSuki Choice Awards, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Colorful, Fate/Stay Night, Hourou Musuko, Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, Mawaru PenguinDrum, Moshidora, Redline, Steins;Gate, Usagi Drop, Working!!

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Winter 2012: First Thoughts

NHRV Staff — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:08:54 +0000

Ahhh the New Year. A time of beginnings, resolutions, and rebirths. A chance for everyone, everywhere, to start over with a fresh beginning. A chance to wash away the bumps, bruises, smudges, and stains of the last three-hundred and sixty-five days so that we may try again for the better. While the Winter season is sometimes considered part of the previous year, we here at NHRV like to use it as the starting block for what will come. Last year had so many great titles that it would be unfair to compare what will come with what has been. Still, 2011 got off to a great start with epic titles like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Level E, and Rio: Rainbow Gate so it is only appropriate that 2012 must do the same to keep up. As Stan Lee would say: “Excelsior!”. Thus, we NHRV’ers have put together our first of the first thoughts for the year How does 2012′s start look so far? Read on and find out!
Introduction by: TypicalIdiotFan

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Copyright © 2012 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By NHRV Staff | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Amagami SS, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Another, Bakemonogatari, Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou, High School DxD, Kill Me Baby, Moretsu Pirates, Natsume Yuujinchou, Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai, Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki, Recorder to Randoseru, Rinne no Lagrange, Senhime Zesshou Symphogear, Sousei no Aquarion, Thermae Romae, Zero no Tsukaima

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Write For The NHRV: Staff Contest 2012

Sorrow-kun — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:00:42 +0000

Not many people noticed when we did this last year.

This year’s NHRV Staff Contest has now officially started. We’re looking for two new staff members to help us with writing anime and live action reviews and/or contributing to the Behind The Nihon Review blog. Applications will be open until Monday, 6 February, so if you’ve ever contemplated joining the NHRV staff, submit yours today! It will be the best opportunity you’ll have to get on board for the foreseeable future.

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Rock Outside Japan

Kylaran — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:40:50 +0000

Triple H Cosplay

I recently had the pleasure of meeting translator and writer Naoki Matsuyama (Twitter) from Contectures, a Japanese publishing company started by literary critic Azuma Hiroki. We sat down at a large café in Shinjuku, the heart of Tokyo, along with freelance translator Ko Ransom (Twitter), who had graciously set up the meeting for me by serving as a point of contact. The three of us talked for almost two hours, discussing topics ranging from anime to American intellectuals and pundits, but there was one overarching theme that held together all of our discussion: Japan reaching out and becoming more global. Immediately, I made the connection between what Contectures was doing and what I often did as a blogger, which was analyzing anime-related topics for a non-Japanese audience.

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Copyright © 2012 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Kylaran | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: ARB, Azuma Hiroki, Blogging, Contectures, Japan, Mawaru PenguinDrum, Rock Over Japan, Triple H

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Industrious Otaku: Doujin as Business

Kylaran — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:00:56 +0000

Comiket. Picture from some random person's Twitter. Note that the number of people in one place is beyond China-level.

Following a brief discussion of C81 in our Three Way Action podcast from New Years, I wanted to do little bit of looking into a relatively interesting phenomenon: consignment sales of doujinshi. Sales of doujinshi via consignment involve circles producing doujinshi for comic markets in Japan contracting the sales of their goods to a store that deals in doujinshi, which in turn sell their goods for them to the general public, sometimes at an increased price depending on demand for the circle, genre, anime, and other factors. It’s an interesting business to look at, considering much of the recent hubbub about Bandai’s withdrawal from distribution in the U.S., and Funimation’s suit against several other entertainment companies. I’m no specialist on the topic, but I do hope that a little bit of research might point out something interesting.

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Copyright © 2012 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Kylaran | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Comiket, Consignment, Doujin Goods, Doujinshi, Rashinban, Tokyo Big Sight, Toranoana

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The Nihon Revue, Episode Seven

Sorrow-kun — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:00:44 +0000

It’s not often that we do two podcasts in two weeks, but it’s the time of the season where we get together to bitch about what we hated about the season just finished. Except, it was kinda hard to find enough shows from the last season that we hated, so we had to reach all the way back to the summer season. Shinmaru joins me for a chat this time, and we finished up by reflecting on his time as a reviewer at the NHRV over the last twelve months. Here’s the list of shows we’ve covered in this episode:

0:40 Un-Go

5:19 Mawaru Penguindrum

9:35 Squid Girl S2

14:35 Natsume Yuujinchou San

17:57 No. 6

23:11 An interview with Shinmaru

This episode runs for 25:31, and we’ve somehow managed to avoid spoilers. So feel free to listen here:

And collectors can get a download from here.

Copyright © 2012 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Sorrow-kun | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Mawaru PenguinDrum, Natsume Yuujinchou, No. 6, Shinryaku! Ika Musume, The Nihon Revue, Un-Go

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Entrepreneurship in Oji-san no Lamp

zzeroparticle — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:00:51 +0000

Though now a byword in the world of startup companies, the term “disruptive innovation” only began to take off around 1995 when business professor Clayton Christensen outlined the idea in his book Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave and extended it in The Innovator’s Dilemma. In a nutshell, disruptive innovation is a product or service that upends existing business models by presenting approaches that are far simpler and more efficient. One need not look too far to find examples like eBooks and the self-publishing platforms that have accompanied them displacing traditional publishers and booksellers or devices like mp3 players which have replaced CD players. In competitive markets, the rise of a new product or service often comes at the expense of an old one. That is what progress is all about and entrepreneurs are the ones who typically push at the edges of the status quo in search of the “next big thing” that will make them rich while (hopefully) pushing innovation forwards.

With that in mind, I can think of few other anime that show this process at work. In the midst of what was probably the heaviest business-oriented anime season with shows like C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control (finance) and Moshidora (general management) airing, Oji-san no Lamp, released as part of the Young Animator Training Project, relayed a simple story about a young entrepreneur named Minosuke, who saw an opportunity and seized it. The premise it carried was intriguing and I came into Oji-san no Lamp with the hope that it would be able to capture the freewheeling spirit of enterprise. Spoiler warnings ahoy!

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4 People 1 Raeg

AC — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:00:59 +0000

What do they all have in common? I hate them.

As the anime community welcomes the Winter 2012 anime season, most would look back at 2011 and recall what made the year. It may be seen as one with a fair share of great anime, especially when it witnessed convention-breaking titles such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Mawaru Penguindrum. It’s common to see people name their favorite anime of the year, and on top of that, reminisce of all their favorite characters which graced each and every season.

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New AGE Gundam

Shinmaru — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:00:07 +0000

God DAMN it, kid, why don't you act like an adult?

We’re 13 episodes into Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (though I have not yet had the time to watch the latest episode, so take that into account when you comment!), and I think by now everyone watching it has to have accepted that it’s a kids show, right? Right? Good! Because I’d sure hate for you to be one of those folks watching AGE with his or her eyes narrowed, angry that it’s not a Big Adult Grimdark Gundam. AGE is full of Gundam lariats, shotas piloting mecha, an officer constantly eating candy bars, warring factions cheering like sports teams, and, oh yeah, a machine that can make whatever weapon is needed for Flit to kick some ass. I am fine with this.

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