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Monday, November 26, 2007
Mangaka or MANGAKA? Artist or ARTIST?
I've recently been reading a book called Adult Manga which came out in 2000, which deals with various aspect of the world of manga during the 90s, including the otaku community and issues on censorship during that time.
One chapter is titled "Manga Editors and Unusable Artists," and it talks about the increasingly creative roles that editors were taking during the 90s. On the topic of "unusable artists," the chapter recounts various editors lamenting the situation that artists were in at the time. One mentioned that with manga becoming so commonplace, they had to take risks picking artists who were willing to be more experimental, but often times it seemed the artists didn't have the enthusiasm to try something new. Another editor talks about how the current generation of manga artists aren't really manga artists. He compares the previous generation of mangaka, and how they consisted of people who lived in and addressed issues of their time, with mangaka of today, who often seem completely disconnected from reality. In other words, they were just people who grew up just reading manga (a topic I discussed in a previous post). This same editor basically says that too many of the artists only know how to draw cute girls. The book then goes on to mention one particular artist who seemed so far removed from the public that he hadto ask his editor for relevant story topics.
I found this to be extremely relevant to my own situation, as I am both an artist and an otaku, and I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of just wanting to draw cute girls and just ignoring the real world and sticking with anime and manga. For me, it is a struggle to appeal to others and to express myself, as often times the art in which I am most invested is not the most aesthetically pleasing, at least in terms of moe qualities and the like. Reading the chapter on unusable artists has refocused my attention, and I realize that I must at least take the occasional look into the real world before I can progress artistically. I also need to improve my ability to draw cute girls as well, but the former must come before the latter if I dare to try and make a difference with my art.
That said, I'm still an otaku and I'll still be making incredibly dorkish posts just like this.
One chapter is titled "Manga Editors and Unusable Artists," and it talks about the increasingly creative roles that editors were taking during the 90s. On the topic of "unusable artists," the chapter recounts various editors lamenting the situation that artists were in at the time. One mentioned that with manga becoming so commonplace, they had to take risks picking artists who were willing to be more experimental, but often times it seemed the artists didn't have the enthusiasm to try something new. Another editor talks about how the current generation of manga artists aren't really manga artists. He compares the previous generation of mangaka, and how they consisted of people who lived in and addressed issues of their time, with mangaka of today, who often seem completely disconnected from reality. In other words, they were just people who grew up just reading manga (a topic I discussed in a previous post). This same editor basically says that too many of the artists only know how to draw cute girls. The book then goes on to mention one particular artist who seemed so far removed from the public that he had
I found this to be extremely relevant to my own situation, as I am both an artist and an otaku, and I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of just wanting to draw cute girls and just ignoring the real world and sticking with anime and manga. For me, it is a struggle to appeal to others and to express myself, as often times the art in which I am most invested is not the most aesthetically pleasing, at least in terms of moe qualities and the like. Reading the chapter on unusable artists has refocused my attention, and I realize that I must at least take the occasional look into the real world before I can progress artistically. I also need to improve my ability to draw cute girls as well, but the former must come before the latter if I dare to try and make a difference with my art.
That said, I'm still an otaku and I'll still be making incredibly dorkish posts just like this.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sowing the seeds of a Doujin Event in the US?
A few months back DL Site began allowing international submissions, which is something I was pleasantly surprised about. It's not so much a matter of quality, as I know that a lot of the work submitted to DL Site so far is not what one might call the most... technically sound, but it's the thought and spirit that count.*
I begin to wonder then, with this opportunity, if it's possible to establish some form of Japanese-style doujin event in America. I vaguely recall someone actually attempting this, but I haven't heard about it since, and if anyone has any updates or information or even URLs to point me to I would be grateful. That aside, I have a basic idea of how to at least lay a foundation for this sort of thing. Keep in mind I have no economic sense or experience with creating organizations, so be sure to scrutinize me as I'll be needing it. I also have no idea about the legal ramifications.
There's already a similar structure in the form of Artists' Alleys at your typical anime convention, only the tendency is to sell individual drawings. To test the waters, how about creating an Artists' Alley with certain stipulations, i.e. that everything to be sold has to be some form of comic or book? The requirements would be fairly lenient in terms of what qualifies as a comic or book, and it would also be announced well in advance to give people time to work towards that goal. Depending on how successful it is, maybe it could become a key feature of that con and slowly expand.
*As for me, I have been tempted to try and create a body of work to submit to dlsite. If ever you see me on there, all you need to know is that my doujin will be Ogitudinal.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
I HAVE NO REGRETS IN MII LIFE
I've been playing my Wii lately, except that instead of playing actual games I've been making Hokuto no Ken Mii's.
Some of them look really good, some of them not so much.
My favorite one is Jagi because I had to pull some serious magic with him.
Some of them look really good, some of them not so much.
My favorite one is Jagi because I had to pull some serious magic with him.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thrice-Removed from Reality: Anime in the Current Age
The anime we see today is the product of a generation which grew up watching anime produced by people who grew up reading manga. We are twice removed from reality.
Hayao Miyazaki has lamented before that people spend too much time watching anime, stating that if you have time to watch Totoro 100 times, that time should have been spent actually being in nature. Similarly in the field of video games, Shigeru Miyamoto is well known for taking inspiration from various times in his life in making some of his classics. The Legend of Zelda is based on Miyamoto's exploration of the caves and forests around his childhood home, and Pikmin is based upon his gardening in his current adult life. Both men have produced great works, and both emphasize that one should not be too disconnected from reality.
At the same time, however, much of the progress in the history of the arts has been in the form of response to previous works. Impressionism led to Post-Impressionism led to Cubism and so on and so forth. There is nothing necessarily wrong with making art in response to art, and thusly there is nothing necessarily wrong with making anime in response to anime. If anime and manga are such a part of Japan's culture and increasingly world culture, then doesn't it too become a part of reality?
What is perhaps most interesting to me then, are the works which exist in the world of otaku but manage to push the content back into reality. Genshiken is probably my favorite example of this. Genshiken is initially devoted to introducing the reader to the world of otaku. Once the reader is firmly entrenched in the trappings of otakudom however, the series changes to being about pushing otaku into the real world, as time passes, graduations occur, and the characters have to confront their relationships with others. Moe itself, I think, has origins in subtly nudging otaku towards reality, with the complex emotions brought on by games such as Kanon and Air.
The problem, as I see it, is that while much of the anime made today is a reaction to anime made in the past, it often does not any sort of concerted effort to look deeply into the anime of the past. References are made, homage is given, but criticism is lacking. Not every title is like this, and even among the ones that do fall into this category, you will find many shows that I am fond of. If an anime is going to be twice or even thrice-removed from reality however, it does no good for the viewer or the creator to be ignorant of this.
Hayao Miyazaki has lamented before that people spend too much time watching anime, stating that if you have time to watch Totoro 100 times, that time should have been spent actually being in nature. Similarly in the field of video games, Shigeru Miyamoto is well known for taking inspiration from various times in his life in making some of his classics. The Legend of Zelda is based on Miyamoto's exploration of the caves and forests around his childhood home, and Pikmin is based upon his gardening in his current adult life. Both men have produced great works, and both emphasize that one should not be too disconnected from reality.
At the same time, however, much of the progress in the history of the arts has been in the form of response to previous works. Impressionism led to Post-Impressionism led to Cubism and so on and so forth. There is nothing necessarily wrong with making art in response to art, and thusly there is nothing necessarily wrong with making anime in response to anime. If anime and manga are such a part of Japan's culture and increasingly world culture, then doesn't it too become a part of reality?
What is perhaps most interesting to me then, are the works which exist in the world of otaku but manage to push the content back into reality. Genshiken is probably my favorite example of this. Genshiken is initially devoted to introducing the reader to the world of otaku. Once the reader is firmly entrenched in the trappings of otakudom however, the series changes to being about pushing otaku into the real world, as time passes, graduations occur, and the characters have to confront their relationships with others. Moe itself, I think, has origins in subtly nudging otaku towards reality, with the complex emotions brought on by games such as Kanon and Air.
The problem, as I see it, is that while much of the anime made today is a reaction to anime made in the past, it often does not any sort of concerted effort to look deeply into the anime of the past. References are made, homage is given, but criticism is lacking. Not every title is like this, and even among the ones that do fall into this category, you will find many shows that I am fond of. If an anime is going to be twice or even thrice-removed from reality however, it does no good for the viewer or the creator to be ignorant of this.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Reasons to Give Thanks
I am thankful for the fact that even two years after my discovery of Ogiue, that I am still being provided with excellent material in the form of Genshiken 2.
I am also thankful for the fact that despite its official November 26 release date, some book stores are already selling Genshiken Volume 9. Thus, I am thankful that finally, you can experience the complete joy of Ogiue and that I may finally discuss her with you in full detail.
I'd like to see Ogiue cook a turkey. It would probably come out as good, but not great.
Dear Kyoto Animation, Please Push Your Envelope
Kyoto Animation, also known as KyoAni for short, has been the darling of the anime fandom for quite a while, ever since they began doing animation productions rather than simply animation. As far as I can remember, what initially got people's attention was Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu! and the fact that the powers that be had decided to take it away from GONZO.
It was a success.
Then, of course, there was Haruhi. And Air. And Kanon. And Lucky Star. And Clannad. This isn't necessarily in the right order, but that's not the point. All of these have been smashing successes, and this success is quite well-deserved.
I wonder a bit though, about KyoAni's lack of truly original works. It makes me think of GONZO, which has tried numerous times to form its own original ideas, instead of adapting existing works, with limited success of course, but they try. It makes me think of Sunrise, where the first true animation production done by Sunrise was the highly unusual Zambot 3.
I want to see what KyoAni has to offer.
I am not putting down adapted works. Way too many of my favorite anime have been adapted from manga, novels, and other mediums for me to even suggest that. Nor am I doubting their abilities to produce experimental and original work of a high quality. No, quite the opposite. More than anything, the KyoAni adaptation of Lucky Star and the ingenious way it both took in otaku culture and tried to directly influence it, something almost impossible with the original manga, is evidence of a sleeping behemoth just waiting to do some real damage.
Let's wake the beast, Kyoto Animation. I really want to see what you can do.
It was a success.
Then, of course, there was Haruhi. And Air. And Kanon. And Lucky Star. And Clannad. This isn't necessarily in the right order, but that's not the point. All of these have been smashing successes, and this success is quite well-deserved.
I wonder a bit though, about KyoAni's lack of truly original works. It makes me think of GONZO, which has tried numerous times to form its own original ideas, instead of adapting existing works, with limited success of course, but they try. It makes me think of Sunrise, where the first true animation production done by Sunrise was the highly unusual Zambot 3.
I want to see what KyoAni has to offer.
I am not putting down adapted works. Way too many of my favorite anime have been adapted from manga, novels, and other mediums for me to even suggest that. Nor am I doubting their abilities to produce experimental and original work of a high quality. No, quite the opposite. More than anything, the KyoAni adaptation of Lucky Star and the ingenious way it both took in otaku culture and tried to directly influence it, something almost impossible with the original manga, is evidence of a sleeping behemoth just waiting to do some real damage.
Let's wake the beast, Kyoto Animation. I really want to see what you can do.
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