Otaku Links: Cause and effect

Otaku Links

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  • I’d been curious about these illustrations of cat-ear headphones. It turns out they are a real product, but the drawings came first before the artist’s friend engineered a prototype that turned the “ears” into speakers.
  • First her own show, and now her own comic book! Yaya Han has come a long way. Like a lot of east coast locals I’ve been a fan for years and it’s been really cool to watch her become a bigger and bigger cosplay star.
  • Do you think Anitwitter, that garbled Internet space where our self deprecating otaku jokes go to die, needs a wiki? Some Twitter denizens did, and then didn’t, and Moritheil documented the whole short-lived venture.
  • It’s so awesome how I see more and more women at every Magic: The Gathering event I go to. Could it have anything to do with the fact that it’s no longer OK to be a jerk or a bully? Nah, that must be a coincidence.
  • My friend Patrick recently introduced me to We Are Tomodachi, an annual English language newsletter from Japan, all about Japan. A really good mix of travel tips and Jeopardy worthy Japan trivia.
  • Finally, the latest Geeks Next Door comic speaks to me. Crowdfunding is a great tool and some of my friends use it wisely, but no I don’t want to pay thousands for you to go to Otakon if you live two hours away and have a job.

Illustration via Axent Wear

Otaku Journalism on sale today!

Writing

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Maybe it’s because the sun stays out so much longer, but I’m always more productive in the summer. It’s a great time to start acting on your goal to build or expand a writing career. And what better way to start than by reading Otaku Journalism, the ONLY guide written specifically for journalists with geeky inclinations?

Starting now, Otaku Journalism is 50% off on Amazon. I’ve dropped its price from $5.99 to $2.99, effective immediately. The sale will last until next Wednesday, 7/23.

Some recent praise:

“I’ll be honest, I’ve done tons of bits and pieces of writing over the years, and lots of blogging but nothing has really stuck for me, as I realized before and while reading Lauren Orsini’s fabulous book Otaku Journalism. I feel pretty good recommending this book to anyone, male or female, otaku or not. If you’re passionate about SOMETHING, this is by far the ideal book for you to get.” —BJ Wanlund

“Being in this position where I feel like I’m on the edge of the cliff on making the decision to do fandom freelancing, Orsini reassures with proven tactics that I could do just that.With helpful information and examples, it’s a go-to for those willing to take the plunge too!” — Rachel C.

“Honestly, this book should be given out to anyone who’s majoring in journalism. After reading this, I feel like I’m a journalist. There’s everything from pitching, ethics, events, and idea creation. Basically covers everything you need to start a blog or a beat.” — Kevin Raposo

Otaku Journalism has an average reader review of five stars. Ready to see what people are talking about? Check it out and definitely email me about what you think.

More about the book:

The 5 anime I always watch dubbed

Anime

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When i was growing up, your preference for subbed or dubbed anime was an identity, a lifestyle choice, something you wore emblazoned on a button pinned to your backpack. Because back then, subbed anime was hard to find.

Back then, the only ways to get subbed anime both took lots of time and effort. You could save up with allowance or part time jobs to buy three episodes per VHS tape at Sam Goody. Or you could download it, over days or weeks, on Kazaa. Or you waited until Otakon rolled around and everybody crowded into the video rooms to actually watch the anime we couldn’t get. Can you remember a time when the video rooms were as packed as panels are today?

If you weren’t picky, however, dubs were easy. You could just turn on Toonami. We pretty much all started out on dubs. Moving on to subs was an expression of your anime devotion.

Today, subs vs. dubs isn’t the black-and-white debate it once was. Just about every anime DVD comes with a choice, so you don’t have to invest in one or the other. And dubs are far higher quality than they once were, featuring stellar English performances.

I usually watch my anime subbed, since that’s typically what legal streaming sites offer. But when I’m browsing my own anime library, here are the ones I always watch dubbed:

Cowboy Bebop

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This just might be everyone’s favorite dub. We recommend it to our friends who are looking to get them into anime because they can watch it in English just like that Miyazaki film they tentatively tried. I love Wendee Lee as husky Faye Valentine, and Melissa Fahn’s bright, loopy wordplay as Ed. Even background characters show high quality performances in Bebop.

Spice and Wolf

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Brina Palencia is sly and seductive as the wolf goddess Holo and J. Michael Tatum as an understated and businesslike Kraft Lawrence is her perfect foil. Lawrence and Holo have a complicated relationship that is more than platonic, and the nuances of their verbal banter were made more clear to me when I watched it dubbed the second time around.

Excel Saga

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Jessica Calvello famously voice-acted herself hoarse after mimicking Excel’s over-the-top enthusiasm halfway through the series. While no performance is worth an injury, Calvello’s is spectacular, channeling Excel’s turned-up-to-eleven eagerness with laser accuracy. Most of the other voice acting in this show is so-so, but Calvello makes it worth a listen.

Rurouni Kenshin

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When is a dub that I think is good not really a good dub? When it’s a nostalgia pick. This dub is always going to sound good to me because of my memories of watching it with my friends in middle school. Rewatching now, I still think Richard Hayworth makes a great Kenshin; sometimes goofy, sometimes with an edge of something deadly.

Nerima Daikon Brothers

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Longtime readers know that this wacky musical comedy is inexplicably my favorite. I love having the opportunity to turn it on dubbed and sing along. More than any of the voice actors’ performances, I love how director Chris Ayres’ adaptation of the songs into English maintain both meaning and rhyme. I’m fortunate to have had the chance to tell him so!

Now tell me: what’s YOUR favorite anime dub?

Top photo by naniwear, who has it for sale in her Etsy store.

Otaku Links: The Whole Internet

Otaku Links

The Whole Internet

  • A thunderstorm left us without power on Tuesday night, so we went over to friend/neighbor Grant’s place to charge our phones. Fortunately, Grant had just the resource for our temporarily Internet-free lives: this book. Labeled a “Book of the Century” by the New York Public Library in 1995, it’s still available today!
  • Remember when Attack on Titan made a spinoff manga about fan favorite character Levi? Well, Yowamushi Pedal is doing the same thing. Sorry to everyone who thought they’d get a break from me fangirling over Yowapeda until at least October—I guess that’s not happening.
  • What are anime conventions like in Europe? Sounds like the ones in America, but longer lasting with shorter lines. Kuuki went to Japan Expo in Paris and shared a writeup on Organization Anti-Social Geniuses.
  • I love Charles’ Christian blog, Beneath the Tangles, because it analyzes characters in a light I would have never considered. How Rin Matsuoka’s transformation in Free! Eternal Summer mimics a proponent of Christianity’s journey of belief.

Photo via my Instagram

What I learned from ten weeks of Japanese

Japan

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Last night the mood was lighter in my five-student Japanese 101 class. More relaxed. And everyone was talking about their upcoming trips to Japan.

“I’m not looking forward to being there in the summer again. It’s even more humid there than here!” said the man I know only as Jason-san*.

“Just be glad it’s cheaper. I’m going this fall and the cheapest flight I could find was two thousand dollars,” Andy-san commiserated. “What about you, Sensei?”

“Not until winter,” said my teacher, a sweet, petite Japanese woman. “I want to show my son how we celebrate the New Year in Japan.”

I listened to everyone’s itineraries with interest, having nothing to contribute myself. I guess it makes sense that the reason all my classmates signed up was to prepare for upcoming trips to Japan. But when I decided to learn Japanese ten weeks ago, it wasn’t for impending travel.

“How old is your daughter, Jason-san?” our teacher asked. Jason is going to stay with his daughter in Japan; that’s why he’s in the class.

“Nineteen,” he replied. “Ever since she saw Sailor Moon it was always her dream to move to Japan, and now she’s done it!”

“Let’s hope she’s not still watching Sailor Moon,” Andy said jokingly.

“No, she is! It turns out Sailor Moon is back on TV and she still loves it.” Everyone had a chuckle at that.

Ten weeks have gone by since I started learning Japanese, and 101 is now over. (But no break for me; Japanese 102 starts next week.) And while I no longer confuse “chi” and “sa,” I still feel very insecure about my reasons for learning it.

Despite Kit’s gentle reminder, on my own blog no less, I still feel like a weeaboo when I talk about how class is going, a topic that never fails to enthuse me. Unless you count the nebulous word “someday,” I have zero plans to travel to Japan. Yet every word feels important to me because it helps me to understand the shows and comics I weirdly love so much.

I just got back my final exam, and even though I did pretty well, I did spell my own name wrong. In both learning the language and accepting my own reasons for doing so, I still have a long way to go.

*Names changed to protect the innocent.

Instagram of my final exam.