Otaku Links: Reading too much into anime

Otaku Links

bearguys

  • Right after Anime Boston, I showed up on Scott and Mike’s Otaku in Review podcast to chat with Charles Dunbar and Vinne Averello about the con. I am not on my best behavior in this podcast, so sorry if I offend you!
  • My friend and mentor Steven Savage just released the second edition of his book, Fan to Pro. I am not kidding when I say this book has been a huge influence on my career.
  • I kind of missed the Dragon Ball era of anime, as I was busy watching VHS shoujo and fantasy at the time. But if it brings back nostalgia for you, you might want to check out Derek Padula’s blog, The Dao of Dragonball. Derek just wrote me to put it on my radar, and I especially like the Philosophy category. (P.S. if you want me to include your site in Otaku Links, just write me!)
  • Did you know Kiryuin Satsuki translates to “Celestial Dragon” in English? Kit explains all the punny names in Kill La Kill in a Study of Anime guest post. (And while you’re there, check out Charles’ site redesign!)
  • And finally, if Takarada doesn’t have a cockney accent in the Kill La Kill dub, I am going to be very disappointed because of this video.

Photo via GundamGuy. (Not my husband; the other one.)

How sports anime could help you get in shape

Anime

kuroko

Is it me, or has there been a lot of great sports anime recently?

First there was Free!, and while I definitely didn’t get into it for the sports, it was my introduction to the genre. After that I watched Kuroko’s Basketball. Now I’m finishing up Yowamushi Pedal and looking forward to the spring season, which features four new sports shows—Abarenbou Kishi!! Matsutarou (sumo), Haikyuu!! (volleyball), Baby Steps (tennis), and Ping Pong (table tennis)—though I don’t know if they’re getting simulcasted yet.

You could say to me, “Lauren, this is just an excuse to look at 2D hunks for half an hour,” and you’d have an argument with Free! and Kuroko. But as I grew invested in Onoda, the scrawny, nerdy protagonist of Yowapeda, and his struggle to become a champion cyclist, I realized my sports anime bender isn’t really about looks.

When you cut to the chase, sports anime is motivation porn. It’s inspirational fantasy that makes physical training look easy and fun, and just might motivate you to get off the couch.

In all of these shows, athletes are training themselves to an excessive extent, and are rewarded with ridiculous results that you couldn’t get in reality (unless you were doping). Nobody ever gets too tired to exchange combative banter. All the characters look and feel awesome while completing athletic feats that even the most fit people would find physically exhausting.

onoda

Unlike reality, sports anime is perfectly fair. Characters who work the hardest perform the best. They seem to know it, too, smiling even as they push themselves to the limit. When Onoda bikes up a steep mountainside with a grin, it makes cycling look effortless and enjoyable. When Kuroko improves drastically through sheer determination, even though he has scant natural talent, it makes me wonder if I have the potential to be more athletic than I feel.

This month, I signed up for a local event called 5k Fridays, in which I will run four 5k races in four weeks. I blame it entirely on all this sports anime. I just want to challenge myself the same way I see in these shows. In Kuroko, they conditioned in the mountains and enjoyed it. In Yowapeda, they biked 1,000 kilometers in four days—on purpose. Next to that, 20k in a month is nothing! If this sounds drastic, don’t worry. I usually run a 5k every week, (just not outdoors or competitively!) so I won’t hurt myself.

Who said anime makes you sedentary? After watching all these athlete protagonists extend themselves, I’m ready to get out of my comfort zone, too.

Screenshots via Kuroko’s Basketball, Yowamushi Pedal

A glimpse at my geeky apartment

Figures and Toys

housetour1

I had a lot of fun answering everyone’s questions at my AMA last week. I realized that one of the questions I got, “Do you own any anime, manga, or figures?” could be easily answered with some pictures of my apartment. So it’s high time I do a tour here.

I live in a one bedroom apartment with my husband, so we don’t have much space to work with. So as soon as you walk in, you know who you’re dealing with. I’ve definitely had some interesting conversations with repairmen about our Gunpla collection!

housetour2John built the custom media center out of Ikea parts. The idea was to have enough shelves and openings out the back to plug in multiple consoles. And if you haven’t guessed by the keyboard on the kotatsu, the TV is actually just a computer with a huge monitor. (The computer was also custom build by John; he’s kind of the best.)

housetour10The kotatsu has been invaluable during the polar vortex, but soon it’ll be time to put the blanket away until next fall. If you were reading my blog back in 2010, you’ll notice that the kotatsu has gotten a bit of a makeover with a new comforter from Target.

housetour3Here’s the board game shelf, which is going to get a lot of attention come International Tabletop Day. The centerpiece is Gundam Destiny Extreme Burst Mode. Both pieces of art are prints from cartoonists we met at the Small Press Expo. The one on the right is Jess Fink, closeup here, and the one on the left is a silkscreen by Jen Tong, closeup here. That’s John’s computer to the right, along with a huge stack of anime DVDs. We’re in the process of uploading our entire collection onto a local media server.

housetour9Here’s the bedroom, which doubles as my office (you’ve seen my desk before). We have a bookcase on either side of the bed filled with even more books, manga, and figures.

housetour5

A closeup of my bookshelf, with my Kuroneko and Elsie Nendoroids, plus a chibi Gundam Unicorn I picked up in Japantown. I used to have hundreds of books, but now that I mostly read on my Kindle app, I’ve pared it down to journalism reference, sci-fi, and the classics.

housetour7

A closeup of John’s shelf with one of my favorite figures in his collection, Char. This bookshelf is mostly Gundam, with some Excel Saga and Genshiken mixed in.

housetour4We don’t keep anything nerdy in the bathroom or kitchen, since there’s too much concern of it getting water damaged. But I don’t think you can stand anywhere in here without seeing something that gives away our power level. There are five of these M:TG Unhinged lithographs on various walls, so you can always see at least one. Down below is a big pile of packaging and old game guides we need to sell on eBay, plus some framed fan art.

housetour8

That’s all the photos for now. Bearguy and Acguy hope you enjoyed the tour!

Otaku Links: Come to my AMA!

Otaku Links

sweaterbabes

  • First of all, don’t forget! I’m hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) at r/anime today about my book and geek journalism in general at 2 PM Eastern. Be there! Please? Update: AMA is live!
  • “LOL Japan is so wacky and crazy!” ← why that might be a problematic, reductive mindset to have when writing about Japanese culture. As this Japan Times author writes, the same argument could be made about any country if you try!
  • On that note, meet Cocorobo, Japan’s anime girl vacuum that is pretty much a Roomba that keeps you company.
  • I just found out about Dr. Nerdlove, an advice columnist for geeks and otaku. I enjoyed this tough-love post on how to avoid getting called a “creeper.”
  • You may have heard about Ewen Cluney through his anime-themed card game Channel A. I’m excited for his latest party game, i.hate.everyone.

Illustration by Alex. Check out her Tumblr!

Things to read instead of the post I didn’t write

Uncategorized

killlakillKill La Kill cosplay group at Anime Boston.

I just got back from Boston Monday night, and I definitely underestimated how long it would take me to recover! Not only were there the long (but fun!) hours of Anime Boston blogging, but on Monday John, Andrew and I decided to walk the Freedom Trail—in below freezing weather! It was definitely a full trip.

So here’s some other stuff to look at:

  • I definitely encourage you to check out the Anime Boston Tumblr. My team and I published nearly 40 posts in three days, and there are some gems in there. My most popular post of the weekend? Anime to cheer you up.
  • The discussions on r/anime. On Friday, I’m doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) here at 2 PM Eastern to talk about Otaku Journalism, otaku journalism, and my recent interviews with professional anime journalists. I’ll post another reminder on Friday so you don’t miss it.
  • Steven Savage, the geek career coach who wrote the introduction to my book (and also to whom my book is dedicated) interviewed me at his site, Musehack, about writing and self-publishing an ebook.
  • If you haven’t seen it yet, the Escapist wrote up my book release. This is the most high profile publicity I’ve gotten for my book so far, and it was neat to see my homegrown book on a relatively popular site.

bostonLeft: on the Freedom Trail. Right: at Logan Airport. The TSA agent who patted me down recognized my shirt and told me she was an anime otaku, too! 

Come back on Friday for your regularly scheduled Otaku Links. Until then, I’ll be digging out of my inbox and getting back to work!