Otaku Links: An extra large helping of Internet

Otaku Links

harimenui

Last week I was too busy galavanting around New York City to post my usual roundup, so enjoy extra links today! Here’s what caught my eye this week:

  • Are you an Anime-Planet user? Do you hate having to manually update your profile with all the Crunchyroll shows you’re watching? In that case, you’re going to love their new partnership, which allows you to watch CR shows from your profile and opt to have them update automatically, too. Check out the press release—actually, I wrote it! And if you’re also on Anime-Planet, let’s connect.
  • Yes, it’s possible to learn Japanese by watching anime. But you’ll need to grab your textbook and turn subtitles off for a change. Koichi shows you how.
  • The always edgy VICE Magazine interviews Richard Garfield, the inventor of Magic: The Gathering, and manages to make the game sound approachable and cool. If you’ve found M:TG too complicated in the past, check out the way Garfield lays it out in this Q&A.
  • The Fullmetal Alchemist mangaka just completed her third “human transmutation.” So geeky, so cute.
  • Apparently while I was in New York, the entire world became obsessed with Twitch Plays Pokémon, a version of Pokémon Red being played by 80,000 or so people all at once. For me, the easiest way to keep up is by reading the live update stream on Reddit.
  • Tony has been blogging at Manga Therapy for four years now! Go congratulate him and if you know/are an illustrator, let him know. He wants to start building anime themed infographics, which we could always use more of.

Incredible Harime Nui cosplay by Rato. Check out her other costumes, too. 

“Write. Every day.” Anime journalism the L.B. Bryant way

Careers

LB_Bryant

Anime journalism might not be as much of a moonshot as I thought. After your huge response to my interview with Lynzee Lamb, I knew I had to keep these coming. And as it turns out, professional anime journalists really do exist! (Do you know one or are you one? I’m definitely looking for more people to interview.)

Today’s interview is with L.B. Bryant, another industry professional whom you might know as @otakureview. I asked him the same questions I asked Lynzee, but his answers show that no two anime journalists are alike. Bryant shared his daily routine, his favorite part of being a journalist, and his advice to fans who want to do the same.

Otaku Journalist: Tell me about your current jobs. Where do you work for a living?

L.B. Bryant: Currently I’m the Content Director for Ani.me, an associate editor on Japanator and a manga reviewer for ICv2.com.

How does that break up into a typical day or, if easier, week?

A typical day goes like this for me: I wake up between 7-8 am and spend an hour or so drinking coffee and waking up. Between 8-9 am I am scanning the headlines of various blogs and websites looking for news to write about. Between 9-11am I am working on articles and planning out the posting schedule for the day. Eleven to 12 is lunch. From 12-2pm I am back to work on articles, reviews, features and whatever else I need to get done. From 2 pm on I am watching anime DVDs or simulcasts depending on the day and which ones I need to have done for a review or a podcast.

I typically TRY to stop working around 4:30 pm but that doesn’t always happen. In fact it rarely happens. It’s not uncommon to find me watching anime that I have to review or working on articles all the way into the evening.

Did you have to learn Japanese in order to report on anime news?

I taught myself how to read hiragana and katakana but I’m not even in the vague realm of fluency so no.

What are the best parts about being an anime journalist?

Interacting with readers at conventions or even in the comment sections of the articles I write.

On the flipside, what are some sacrifices you’ve had to make?

I wouldn’t say that I’ve had to make any major sacrifices though I do occasionally have to forget about having a social life because I have to get ‘one more article’ written or work on watching an anime/reading a manga because I have a deadline approaching.

What is your advice to fans who want to become journalists? 

Write. Every day. Doesn’t matter if it is a personal journal entry, a news article, a review or a shopping list. Just make sure that you’re always working on your writing skills so that you can be the best that you can be.

A life update and a book update

Uncategorized

I hate “blogging about not blogging” type posts. But I’ve been off my game and I want to let you know what I’ve been up to in the meantime. I’m llustrating mainly with selfies, because I work from home in my sweat pants most of the time and I’ve had a lot of occasions to dress up lately:

Katsucon 2014

killlakillkatsu

Donned my Yaya Han cat ears for a day at Katsucon. Spent most of it waiting in lines, so sorry if I missed you/your panel! Next time I will pre-register for sure. Had a great lunch with reader/fellow journalist the Paper and caught the last 30 minutes of Charles’ “Spirits, Wheels, and Borrowed Gods” panel. Bought some new Gunpla, including a master grade Strike Rouge from Gundam SEED/Destiny. Also Bearguy San III from Gundam Build Fighters, complete with a light-up GP base. Saw LOTS of Kill La Kill cosplay.

New York business trip

nyc_selfie

Took pictures in the snow in Manhattan. Checked in on Foursquare at Foursquare. Tumbld about visiting Tumblr HQ. Spent most of my interactions with Tumblr employees discussing our many feelings about Attack on Titan. Ate Japanese curry and French macarons. Spent lots of face to face time with my boss and coworkers, who are normally on the other side of the country. Worked in an office for once! Rode Amtrak both ways and was overjoyed to hear that Amtrak is now testing a residency program for writers. I’m never so productive as when I’m on a train!

Progress on the book cover

oj_book_sketch

Skyped with Kevin while I was still in New York, and we now have a cover sketch! I wanted to give Kevin free rein with his signature style I love so much, so I gave him a prompt—”super sentai journalist” and asked him to run with it. He didn’t disappoint and I especially love the sentient laptop sidekick! We’ll have a color version to show you by March 15.

What has everyone been up to while I’ve been gone? Apparently anitwitter people are rewatching Gundam Wing, and the rest of you are glued to Twitch Plays Pokémon.

I’m a professional anime journalist! An interview with Lynzee Lamb

Careers

lynzee_lamb_glamour

In my journalism career, I haven’t found writing about anime to be lucrative enough to do full time, no matter how fun it may be. I shared this in my advice to a reader with the caveat, “I really want a passionate anime fan to prove me wrong and make a living off of their reporting.”

Lynzee Lamb has done just that. She’s an associate editor for Anime News Network, author of The List column, and an all-around hardcare anime fan. (She also finds time to update a pretty cool blog about gender and sexuality in anime.)

However amazing it is to be a professional journalist writing exclusively about anime, it’s not all as glamourous as Lynzee’s photo might suggest. I asked Lynzee about the day to day life of an anime journalist and here’s what she had to say:

Otaku Journalist: Tell me about your current job. What do you do for a living?

Lynzee: My current job is broken up into a variety of projects, the largest is writing daily news for Anime News Network. I also contribute to the Interest section, which is similar to a newspaper’s Arts & Entertainment section, and write a weekly column for the Editorial section.

How does that break up into a typical day or, if easier, week?

I work as many hours as I can get which is necessary in this line of work. I work six days a week, most of which is a split shift. I work 3-4 hours in the morning and 3 hours every evening except for Friday. Friday is my only, 100%, day off. I work weekends as well. Thursdays are the busiest because on top of my regular work hours, I also have to put together my column.

Did you have to learn Japanese in order to report on anime news?

I took Japanese in college as a general interest because anime was already a hobby for me at the time. Actually, by college, I’d be more or less consistently watching series since middle school. I’m hardly fluent, however, but I can read katakana, hiragana, and a bit of kanji. Having an idea how sentence structure works is also really useful. Reading Japanese fluently isn’t a requirement, but it is a much sought after skill.

What are the best parts about being an anime journalist?

For me, I’m a news junkie. Of any kind. I like knowing things first which is one reason why I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in the first place. The other is because I want to make a worthwhile contribution for readers so they can make informed decisions. I am a big believer in the Fourth Estate. On the other hand, a lot of those things don’t play into the entertainment news media, whether it’s E! or anime news. You do, however, get to meet great people and write about fun topics.

On the flipside, what are some sacrifices you’ve had to make?

Let’s talk about the fandom for a second. I’ve written for local papers and ANN simultaneously. Dealing with anime fans means getting laced into, threatened, or mocked on social media about cartoons. While major news publications get their fair share of abusive comments (especially regarding politics), they’re usually between commentors. I don’t know what Anderson Cooper’s twitter account looks like, but it seems like the more exposure your name has the more likely people are going to seek you out to ruin your day.

What is your advice to fans who want to become journalists? 

Become journalists first. I’m serious. There’s a whole level of training that goes into being a journalist above a competent ability to write and it’s important. I have encountered so many “citizen journalists” who have no idea what the SPJ Code of Ethics are, the difference between libel and slander and how to prevent being accused of it, and how to establish sources.

How to thoughtfully address diversity as a journalist

Journalism

rainbow_basin___245_by_emperpep-d3iyp4h

Journalism is awesome because you get to go face to face with people of so many different backgrounds and perspectives and share their stories.

But there’s a reason so many people are reluctant to talk to the media. One thoughtless mistake by a journalist and a person could feel like they’ve been used to create headlines. Reporters need to remember that they’re writing about real human beings, not just facts and figures.

Your goal as a journalist is to balance your duty to people on both sides of the article: to your sources, and to your readers. Your sources deserve to be represented accurately, and your readers deserve the truth. Since you can’t do that second part without doing the first one, it’s important to avoid misrepresenting a source’s background.

Today I’m writing about two difficult situations I’ve found myself in as a reporter regarding a source’s background, and how I resolved them.

Scenario #1: Gender diversity

Two years ago, I was interviewing a Homestuck cosplayer at Otakon. We were discussing the fandom and it was going well. Only, part way through, I noticed that the cosplayer was wearing a gender-neutral costume. Their name was gender-neutral as well. I was bound to use pronouns in my story. But I couldn’t just ask, “Are you a boy? A girl?”

The way I resolved this situation was by asking an indirect question, which appeared to seek an answer about something else while giving me the information I really needed.

I said, “I’m pretty new to Homestuck. Is this a cosplay, a crossplay, or something else?”

“It isn’t crossplay, just a regular cosplay. I’m dressed as a guy named Karkat,” the interviewee, whom I now knew identified as male, responded.

Just to be safe, I also asked if the interviewee had a blog or Tumblr, which he did, and if I could look at it for more research. On that blog, he used male pronouns consistently.

Maybe you’re wondering, “Why didn’t you just ask outright to avoid misgendering him? Reporters are supposed to ask the hard questions, right?” In this case, it wasn’t at all relevant to the subject of the story. If I were writing about gender identity in Homestuck fandom, it’d be a totally different situation. But in this case, I didn’t want to give the interviewee the wrong idea about what my article was going to be about.

Scenario #2: Language diversity

More recently, I was preparing for a phone call with a source on the other side of the country. We’d exchanged a few emails, and I noted his English was choppy but didn’t think anything of it. I’m usually pretty good with accents. But after five minutes on the phone listening to him speak, I wasn’t able to understand more than a third of what he was saying! 

The way I resolved this situation was by getting off the phone.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” I said, “but I think my phone is cutting out. Can I send you my questions through an email message instead?”

He agreed, and promptly sent me answers to my questions. I edited them for grammar before publishing because—you guessed it—language diversity was not at all relevant to the story. The only relevant thing was representing my source’s views correctly, and I assessed that I would not be able to if I couldn’t accurately transcribe what he was saying over the phone.

Probably, my source saw through my phone excuse. His accent is pretty thick, so I’m probably not the first American reporter he’s had trouble with.

How would you have resolved these two situations? What would you have done differently?

Illustration by emperpep