Our attachment to fictional characters

    With issue 37 of Fuuka (風夏) by Kouji Seo, released in Japan the last week of October 2014, a group of devoted internet fans lost their minds.  The reason for this was due to the title characters apparent death, leaving everyone to wonder what will happen to the manga moving forward with its main character no longer part of the story.  I thought, why not take a look at the psychology behind people's attachment to fictional characters...I did some research with this one!

    Parasocial Interaction is the term used for a one way relationship between two people, sometimes one of them being fictional.  Person 'A' knows much about person 'B' while 'B' knows nothing or little about 'A'.  Person 'A' feels they know and understand the object of their attention, sometimes to an intimate level.  Yet due to never having the opportunity for social interactions with the person there is always a distance felt, regardless of how much person 'A' believes they understand 'B'.  Many times person 'A' will fabricate portions of person 'B's personality and background to fill in any gaps and to create a sense of continuity and understanding.  Parasocial Interactions are not always a negative thing but studies have suggested that the age a person is and what the personality they attach to is like heavily determines how that relationship will affect their behavior.

    Its interesting to step back from your perception of a celebrity that you know about based upon media information.  Think about how many gaps in that persons personality you have filled in using those bits of data you have acquired about them.   You never truly know anyone, especially those that you will never have personal contact with.  Yet to help us relate to them in a desirable fashion we always apply our own perceptions and views onto other people based upon the information we receive about them, whether its factual or otherwise, but that's getting off track.

    Many studies suggest that we cling to fictional characters and their stories as a way of helping to deal with social rejection and the negative psychological impacts of such rejection.  Its hard to have a negative emotional experience with a fictional character when it's entire purpose is for the reader/viewer to positively relate and identify with them.  The old adage a 'dog doesn't judge you but only loves' can also be applied with fictional characters.  Sure, there are some extreme cases were a character can have an adverse psychological affect on the reader/viewer, mostly in the body image area, but generally speaking fictional characters provide a positive feedback loop.

    It's easy and expected to become emotionally attached to fictional characters.  The character(s) are usually what draws us in to a story and keeps us wanting more from it.  We hope for the best for them.  Success in their pursuits, happiness in their lives and over all positive endings.  When a character that is endearing to the reader is dealt a tragic, especially realist, blow from the stories writer, the reader/viewer can easily feel personally attacked.  Why the hell would you do that?  What was the purpose of such a horrible and pointless act?  You have let me, the fan down, and for that you have lost my fandom

    A problem I have with that type of mentality is the idea that an author has to always bow down to the pressures of the fan base.  I am highly leery of stories created to meet popular demand.  I think their should always be a separation between the creative process of the author and the audiences expectations.  There will never be a case of discovering an author and liking their creations based on their meeting your demands...its impossible to happen.  Instead everyone finds a creator they enjoy and then begin to mentally expect remuneration for their desires and projections from the creator solely based on their enjoyment of that creators previous works.  When an author begins to bend their creative process to meet the popular demands of the audience the way they created stories to build those fans in the first place dissolves and you get an entirely different product.

    I for one like characters being killed off, it takes guts and I respect that.  I lean towards stories set in the real world that have realistic outcomes and scenarios.  Life isn't always sunshine and happiness.  At some point it is filled with overwhelming pain and loss.  Portraying that in a fictional story is powerful and greatly appreciated in my mind.  I am a little nihilistic with my world view (I prefer to think of it as realistic) so I get irritated by constantly positive stories from time to time.  The good guys don't always win, no one is perfect and everyone commits bad deeds from time to time.

    It will be interesting to see how Seo-sensei continues the story of Fuuka.  I'm more interested in the manga now than ever before.  Before this it seemed boring and rote.  He usually adds little bits of realism into his otherwise typical shonen romance fantasy world, but this is a more drastic step than previously taken.  It's a shame though, that the fan base, who are upset by this, can't lay off of the criticism.  There has been a lot of yelling at him via the internet, much by people who can't even legally read his manga and are not actually paying him for his hard work regarding this series.

    No matter how much you want to bend the story to your will it shouldn't bend.  If the ending to a story was known ahead of time there would be little benefit from going through it.  People need to calm down or move on.  Attacking someone because they displease you in ways that do not actually affect your health and well being are pointless and counter productive.  Hopefully Seo-sensei has some thick skin and can shrug this off with out it affecting the plan he has set in motion for his creation.  Lets reiterate that...his creation.

    Now it may seem strange that I take this view point, given half of my purpose for this web log is to criticize and critique things created by other people.  I don't actually expect what I complain about to change the course of any given story.  Instead I am offering a criticism to support issues I personally have with something, explaining why something isn't to my liking as a fan.  Just because I don't like something doesn't mean it's not a quality product though.  But the entire internet and then-some needs to step back from their frothy-ness...but that will never happen as the access and anonymity is to readily available.

    

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki (ポヨポヨ観察日記) is a 52 minute anime adaptation of the 4koma by Tatsuki Ru.  The anime originally aired in Japan through out 2012.

    While wandering the town drunk one night easygoing Moe finds a stray cat and decides to adopt him.  She ends up naming the cat Poyopoyo due to his excessive roundness and he quickly becomes a cherished member of her family.  She, along with her younger broth Hide and hardworking father, gush over the round and fluffy cat.  The series goes through their daily lives and ordinary adventures being cat owners. 

    This is a pretty fun and easy going comedy.  It's like an adolescent version of Chi's Sweet Home as the 3 humans interact and grow to obsess over the odd ball cat they adopt into their home.  A small cast of neighbors and their pets are also introduced through out the series which only runs 4 minutes per episode.  The show is straight forward comedy, with gags, situational humor and goofy character designs.  It's fun and easy going with a catchy opening song.  It is not Chi's Sweet Home and some material my be a little inappropriate for younger viwers...a neighbor cat likes to hump Poyopoyo from time to time...which is done rather comically.

    The series is available streaming on Crunchyroll and I doubt it will ever see any sort of disc release.  The manga is being translated and distributed electronically in North America by JManga.

Tokyo ESP

Tokyo ESP (東京ESP) is a 12 episode super natural action series based on the manga of the same name by Segawa Hajime.  The show originally aired in Japan during the summer of 2014.

    On Christmas night a group of people with various psychic powers hold Japans Diet hostage, going as far as ripping the building out of the earth and floating it above the city.  They demanded that Tokyo be handed over to them in order to create a haven for ESPers.  However, the group behind this effort are not the good guys.  Instead they are terrorists who have waged a campaign of death and destruction leading up to this point.  A small band of ESPers are all that stands between the terrorists and their total control.  The shinning beacon of hope is a member of the group known by people was the White Girl.  The girl, Rinka, finds herself months earlier gaining the ability to phase through objects after she sees a strange floating fish.  She, with the urging of a school mate, Kyotaro who can teleport, decides to begin fighting bad guys, to become heroes of justice.  Little does Rinka know how involved they will get in their fun little hero business, months later facing down the terrorists holding Tokyo hostage.

    As I have mentioned before, this is what you would get if the X-Men were originally created in Japan. That said I actually rather enjoyed this show (as a kid I got into comics with the X-Men but as a teenager the amazingly visceral Image brand started up and offered more awesomeness).  The animation isn't anything to write home about; sometimes the characters are rather plain.  What was well developed was the variety and uses of psychic powers the characters exuded.  The first episode didn't impress me but part of that was due to not understanding what was going on.  The second episode rewinds time a bit and starts from the beginning of Rinka's entry into the world of super powers.  The tone of episode two is a complete 180 compared to that of episode one.  Episode one was intense and oppressive, episode two was light and comical.  Rinka is quite self-sufficient and strong but the sudden realization that something had changed inside of her and she doesn't understand it terrifies her.  This pattern of self reliance on others perpetuates and becomes rather annoying.  Rinka is presented as this self confident and completely capable mature teenager who is strong and reliable.  Yet time after time throughout the show she is also presented as a sniveling and weak 'girl' unable to do anything by herself.  In the middle of the show it begins to devolve into a boring and played out shonen fight training and growth story.  Rinka is schooled again and again by a junior until they both come to life affirming realizations instigated by a talking panda...what the fuck?  Even in the end Rinka has to succumb to the assistance of others.  Why do I make such a thing out of this?  Sure anime is filled to the brim with heroes who can only overcome adversity by relying on others, that's ALL that Dragon Ball Z is, Goku continuing to rely on all of his allies strengths.  It’s no secret that this is a subtle if even intentional way of reinforcing Japans maddening pursuit of social harmony and group unity.  What also upsets me with the treatment of the shows hero is that they set her up to be this strong and self reliant, yet grounded and likeable person, and then reduced her to a stereotypical representation of a weak girl. Even in the end she ends up needing the help of a man...disappointing.

    With that said, I still really enjoyed the show and hope it will get a second season.  The characters, even with their weaknesses, were fun and entertaining.  The show had a good balance of serious drama and goofy comedy.  There were a number of pop culture references; such as one character who looked amazingly like King Leonidas from 300.  The Ghost Busters show up at one point and one girl even emulates Bruce Lee when she gets her hands on a pair of his nun-chucks.  Its super powered good vs. evil done in a modern and enjoyable way with much head nodding to older series' that have tread this path before.  Unfortunately the entire backbone of the story, how and why everyone all of sudden gets super powers is pretty pathetic and annoying.  With all its faults I don't know why I enjoyed the show; I just did, because looking at it from afar it wasn't a good show.  It had a main character that ended up being completely undervalued and an underlying plot that was absolute rubbish.  Either way, I still hope for a season 2!

    The series was simulcast in North America via FUNimation.  I'm sure a disc release will be imminent. Surprisingly the manga has not been licensed in North America, but that may change if the show picks up any popularity.

A Conversation on Otaku

    Long story short, I ended up reading an interesting and thought provoking conversation between Okada Toshio (Gunbuster, Otaku no Video) and Morikawa Kaichiro (professor of modern Japanese studies at Meiji University) on what otaku means in Japan and it's transformation at the beginning of the 21st century.  The conversation is from a book by Murakami Takashi titled 'Little Boy: The Arts of Japans Exploding Subculture'

    I am always wrestling with the identity of otaku in Japan, outside of Japan and with myself.  For the most part I do not identify myself as an otaku.  Outside of my passion for anime I have many other hobbies and interests, some I am even more passionate about.  My life, much to some peoples confusion and disbelieve, is not consumed by my anime fandom.  I try to distance myself from many aspects of otaku culture; aspects I consider attempts to live outside of reality.  I'm not generally an escapist.  I don't pursue things to escape from the real world.  Many of my passions involve learning about and trying to build a greater understanding of the real world and how it operates and behaves.  I play video games, watch anime and movies and read books to be entertained; not to escape. 

    One of the things I have tried to attain since beginning my blogging on anime and related things in 2006 was to attempt to connect with otaku in Japan.  Unfortunately this has been difficult to do.  The one thing that I strive to discuss at length with the Japanese otaku is their impressions and understandings of how and in what forms their subculture has been co-opted by others around the world.

    Below is a segment from the conversation that discuses the current state of otaku as they see it, relating specifically with the moe revolution at the turn of the century.  While not much related to the Japanese view of foreign otaku it is an interesting look into some opinion on Japanese otaku and the direction of current trends.

Otaku vs. Mania

Takashi Murakami: This may be a frequent question, but what is the difference between otaku and mania?

Kaichiro Morikawa: In otaku studies, we often argued about this distinction. Generally speaking, three differences have been articulated.  First of all, mania are “obsessives” who are socially well adjusted. They hold down jobs and love their hobbies. In contrast, otaku are socially inept. Their obsessions are self-indulgent. This point is raised mainly by the self-proclaimed mania, critical of otaku.  The second point concerns what they love. Mania tend to be obsessed with, for example, cameras and railroads, which have some sort of materiality (jittai), while otaku tend to focus on virtual things such as manga and anime. In other words, the objects of their obsessions are different.  The third point relates to the second one. A mania tends to concentrate on a single subject - say, railroads - whereas an otaku has a broader range of interests, which may encompass “figures,”manga, and anime.  Taken together, I would say - although Okada-san may disagree with me - that someone who is obsessive about anime likes anime despite the fact that it’s no good, dame. That’s mania. But otaku love anime because it’s no good.

Toshio Okada: Mania is an analogue of otaku. Obsessives are adults who enjoy their hobbies, while otaku don’t want to grow up, although financially, they are adults. These days, you’re not welcome in Akihabara if you aren’t into moe.  I was already a science-fiction mania when otaku culture kicked in. I can understand it, but I can neither become an otaku myself nor understand moe
T. Murakami: And I’m nowhere near Okada-san’s level. I failed to become an otaku. Period.
T. Okada: I believe otaku culture has already lost its power. What you find in Akihabara today is only sexual desire. They all go to Akihabara, which is overflowing with things that offer convenient gratification of sexual desire, made possible by the power of technology and the media.

K. Morikawa: But I think the sexual desire in Akihabara is different from that in Kabuki-cho.

T. Okada: Kabuki-cho is about physical sex.  Because the heart of otaku culture shuns the physical, it has renamed seiyoku [sexual desire] as moe.  Sexual fantasies are becoming more and more virtual and “virtual sexuality” proliferates in Akihabara.
 
    In another segment of the book Japan's otaku culture is broken down into 3 generations, much like American otaku culture can be.  The original generation came about in the post reconstruction Japan, with an eye towards a bright and shinning future, heralded by Tezuka Osamu.  The second generation came about in the 70's and 80's with a more somber reality setting in about the future with such titles as Gundam and Yamato.  The third generation came about at the end of the 90's until the present in which the otaku are disillusioned with any aspect of the future and instead have chosen to retreat into a world of fantasy and hyper fetishism.

    This is a rather dismal ideal that the current generation of otaku who flood the streets of Akihabara are people who have no hope for themselves or the future of their society and turn instead to filling the sense of uselessness they feel with controllable alternate realities. The idea being that Japan's youth have all but giveup on any sort of successful future for themselves and the nation and instead are admitting defeat and choosing fantasy over ambition. In another portion of the book Murakami discusses an analogy to this used in the Crayon Shinchan movie, 'Storm-Brewing Mōretsu! Adult Empire Strikes Back'.

    It's hard to tell though, what any one person is thinking.  So much of the otaku boom is a bandwagon type of mentality.  Since the beginning of the 21st century otaku has become a cool and popular thing, where once it was shunned and hidden.  It's hard to determine how many patrons of the maid cafe's are truly otaku in the traditional and classical sense and not flighty fadists.  Pop culture has a tendency to turn into an uncontrollable beast and the moe revolution in Japan appears to be out of control with very few hardcore members to its following.  Yet, the industry still makes money and will continue to support the fickle fanbase the best they can

    I'm not sure about the author and participants dismal view of the future of Japanese otaku being correct or a hallmark for the fate of their country.  It is an interesting view into the ideas driving the current trends and beckons more consideration and contemplation.  This coincides with a book I am currently reading, which also originally pointed me towards these articles, about the growing problem with hikikomori in Japan.  The book is by an American journalist, who has been working in Japan since the mid 90's, Michael Zielenziger and is titled 'Shutting out the Sun'.  When I finish the book I will do a bit of a reflection on it here, so stay tuned and at some point I will pick up Murakami's book as well.

Fall Season First Blush Part 3

Parasyte the Maxim: A mysterious worm like creature is invading people and eating their brains through out Japan.  Once the host body is taken over the parasite controls them to further it's life, usually feasting on living things around it.  Shinichi was lucky and the parasite that came for him was only able to bore into his hand.  Now the sentient creature has struck a bargain for mutual survival with his host.  The creature leads him to search out others of his kind in order for both of them to figure out what going on.

    This is a straight action horror series.  I found out that it is based on a manga from the late 80's, early 90's, which is a bit unusual these days as most everything that is coming out is fresh and new.  Regardless, this comes from the same time period that spawned some of anime's most notable and infamous horror titles; Guyver and Genocyber.  I have never been a fan of those shows but won't let that determine my thoughts on this show.  Still, as it stands, I am not too interested in this one as I have little taste for this style of horror.  The main character is being dragged around by the creature inside of him, which has unlimited shape changing abilities.  Likely it will just be a series of gruesome battles inter-cut with scenes of savagery enacted by the parasites that ate their victims brains.  Already the opening sequence showed one devouring someones head.  So we will see after a few episodes if this breaks out of the plot devices I foresee and becomes interesting.

Shirobako: Five girls who make up their high schools animation club promise to one day work together in Tokyo for an anime production company.  The first episode skips ahead a few years to focus on one of the girls who is working hard as a production assistant for an anime company.  The episode details the drama and hardships faced with trying to get a new series completed on time for all of its release dates.

    I think I am going to enjoy this show, I always like the series' that have behind the scenes looks at the industry, regardless of how overly dramatic they can be.  It looks like its going to be a fun and somewhat informative view into the crazed life of those in the anime industry.  Already the show has shown that it can muster up a large cast of support characters with varying personalities and backgrounds.  As a bonus there are some comical and smile inducing nods to Initial D in the episode.  It will be interesting to see how they bring in the other girls and if there will be that push to see them fulfill their dream of working together.  In the end I think this will be light and fun and easy going.

Shigatsu wi Kimi no Uso: Tsubaki and Kosei are childhood friends and neighbors but live opposite lives.  Tsubaki is bright, energetic and full of life.  Kosei on the other hand is depressed and uninspired, living in a world of loneliness and doubt.  Kosei was a child prodigy at the piano, due in part to his musician mother and her strict training.  After his mothers death Kosei found that he could no longer play the piano and without that one thing in his life found that there was little left for him in the world.  He now spends his days floating through a gray world.  Tsubaki invites him on a group date in which she is trying to hook up two of her friends.  Kosei is instantly mesmerized by Tsubaki's friend, Kaori, who is filled with more energy and life than even Tsubaki.  Kaori plays violin and her energy reignites something in Kosei.

    This one might be entertaining, especially given the dark undertones and the less than sparkling character backgrounds.  It feels like it will be similar to Nodame Cantabile but less happy go lucky.  I can sense the love triangle that will cause friction.  There seems to be some pain and sadness in Kaori's life as well that could be interesting once it bubbles to the surface.  I'm not a fan of the character designs on this one, classic shojo big eyes with detailed eyelashes (even though the manga is apparently classified as shonen)

Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai: At Shiomi Academy all of the best and brightest students in Japan gather to challenge themselves.  The campus is incredibly large; with classes being close to 600 students.  Kyotaro can sometimes sense when major incidents are going to happen.  In the process of saving a new student from death he ends up grabbing her breast.  The scene of him doing this goes viral and he can't escape the label of molester now.  The girl seeks him out and they apologize over the misunderstanding and work to clear things out.  She along with her friend convince him to join their small group effort to make her less of an introvert.  Things are moving in the shadows of the school though and they all seem to have their eyes on Kyotaro and his abilities of premonition.

    Its tough to tell how this show is going to end up.  On one hand its a set up for a glaringly obvious harem based on a galge, but the supernatural elements and 'people working from the shadows' aspect adds another layer that may or may not suck.  So far though, not very impressed.  The animation is pretty boring and annoying and the main lead is a whiny bitch.  So, five episodes then we see whats up.
    

Fall Season First Blush Part 2

Orenchi no Furo Jijo: One day Tatsumi inadvertently saves a merman from dying on the shore of a river.  Now he has to deal with the pampered bi-shonen refusing to return to the dirty natural waterways,  favoring his bath tub instead.

    Not sure how I feel about this one after its first 2 minutes episode. The animation is pretty shoddy and I'm not sure how long the gag will last even with the length each episode is.  I feel this thing could very easily turn into some weird fantasy BL thing.  If it does, whatever, as long as its entertaining.  Time will tell though how this one pans out.

Inou Battle wa Ichijou-kei no Naka de:  Five members of the literature club gain super powers,  but half a year later they still don't understand why and haven't found any justifiable reason to have them.

     This is a rather funny series that turns the super power genre on its head by keeping its characters in mostly mundane situations.  The only male member of the club is the only one expecting legions of bad guys to start showing up and insists on everyone honing their abilities and continuing to practice them.  The problem is that his power is apparently useless.  If this show maintains its mundane scenario it could be quite entertaining and enjoyable.  Hopefully it doesn't turn into some shonen battle shlock where these kids are chosen defenders of the world...then it would become truly mundane and uninteresting.  If it keeps up with the struggles of pointlessly having super powers, you want to hide, this could be good for a half a season or so.

Magic Kaito 1492: Kaito dreams of being a famous magician like his father who died 8 year earlier.  When a famous illusionist thief returns after an 8 year absence he discovers his fathers secret and decides to take up his mantle in order to find out if his father was murdered.

    This is a classic shonen detective story.  Its like a cross between Lupin and Conan mixed with illusionist parlor tricks.  The character designs are like something out of the 80s...the noses...like carrots.  The entire premise is cliche , especially since Kaito lives next door to his police rival, who appears to be a keystone detective.  With all of these faults I think I may enjoy this show.  It looks like its going to be a fun throwback to an older time that produced some quality shows.  I don't see this one being memorable but I do think its going to be a decent homage.

 Ushinawareta Mirai o Motomete: The members of the astronomy club for some reason are known for their abilities to intervene in conflicts between students, sometimes rather forcefully.  When unease between its own members occurs the ones not involved do their best to correct the situation.  Two members, So and Kaori, are childhood friends and live together.  When Kaori's deep feelings for So start to cause problems regarding her jealousy the club does its best to make So aware of the situation and to make amends.  They confess their feelings to each other and things start to look like they will return to normal, when...Kaori gets killed by a bus.  Much misery and sadness occurs.  Then in the last 2 minutes of the episode time jumps back a few days and some mysterious girl crashes into the roof of the school, naked.

    OK, so this show is based on a galge of sorts.  It stinks of galge through out the first episode.  Ko is the main character and you can tell he's not actually interested in his childhood friend/house mate.  He's more got the hots for another girl in the club.  But when everyone pushes him to realize Kaori's feelings he goes along and thinks its a good idea too, but then shes killed, but then we jump back in time...  So I knew this show dealt with time travel to an extent but I do not understand how or why and to what end.  The president of the club has this mystery cube and apparently with it or something else has the ability to alter time.  She slyly demonstrated this through out the episode and her reaction to people wondering why she was always were she needed to be was pretty well done.  I love stories that deal with time travel but I have a growing disdain for galge based anime.  So I'm a bit torn.  I will keep going with this one until it gives me some solid reasons to not continue, as I am intrigued by the time travel aspects of it.  In some ways it also seems like a cheap knock off of Suzumuya Haruhi no Yuutsu.  When Kaori got obliterated by the truck I also has a flashback to the amazingly depressing Kimi ga Nozomu Eien.

Donten ni Warau: Taking place 11 years after the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and with it the samurai's status.  Factions of people still upset about the Meiji restorations attempts at Westernization sometimes plot to overthrow the government.  In order to deal with these dangerous factions a special prison is built in the middle of lake Biwa to contain them.  Three orphaned brothers who are famed for their swordsmanship are entrusted with transporting and helping to capture these rebellious samurai.

    Not sure how I feel about this show.  It looks nice and I usually enjoy stories that take place in this period of time.  But the the main characters are rather annoying and out of place.  Its like the only reason they were created was to make girls fawn over them and prime cosplay opportunities.  The series seems like it was designed by a committee that wanted to come up with a shonen battle series appealing to women.

Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis: In a world of high fantasy different factions worked together to fight the legendary dragon god Bahamut before it could do more damage.  1000 years later the world is a relatively peaceful place with its different races and factions living in relative harmony.  A flashy and reckless bounty hunter named Favaro ends up running into a woman who comes from a far away land who asks for help in getting home.  She has in her possession one of the two pieces that contain Bahamut.  He knows nothing about her or her secrets and thinks he a gullible woman like he toys with in bars.  Unfortunately for him shes way more powerful and intelligent than he suspect.

    Even though this is fantasy, which I'm not usually a fan of, and based on a video game, which I'm barely a fan of, I think I'm going to really enjoy this show.  The characters and the pace look like something you would expect from Watanabe Shinichiro.  The first episode was highly entertaining and I cant wait for episode 2.  So far,  fantastic, it's like Dungeons & Dragons meets Cowboy Bebop.

Ai Tenchi Muyo: We find the protagonist of this legacy harem title a new student teacher at an all girls school.  It seems Tenchi,  who has fought intergalactic terrorists, is a bit unsure of his new surroundings and the seemingly overtly sexual student body.

   The fact that the episodes are 4 minutes long should have been the first clue...but it looks like the anime that can be considered one of the originators of the harem genre is now being redone to fit modern day standards of the genre.  I'm not particularly enamored with this possibility.  In fact this rather pisses me off...and I thought Shin Tenchi was useless.  This show appears to be a barrel scrapping attempt to kill a semi respected franchise...so much hatred...  Things get even more confusing when episode 3 features Tenchi in a completely different scenario were Washu sends him to some past time to search for two friends of hers who are stuck there.  I'm sure there is some link between both story lines but I am not sure how eager I am to find out...

Barakamon

Barakamon (ばらかもん) is a 12 episode slice of life comedy based on the manga of the same name by Yoshino Satsuki.  The anime originally aired in Japan during the summer of 2014.

    Handa Seishu is a young calligrapher who has been groomed for that life since birth.  His father is an establish artist and much is expected of the son.  When a respected curator in the Tokyo calligraphy community criticizes his piece at a showing, Sei loses his wits and knocks the guy out.  As a punishment his father ships him off to cool his head on a remote island near Kyushu.  On the island Sei has to deal with its small and colorful residents as he tries to refocus and find his own style of calligraphy.  Much to his dismay his work is continuously disrupted by a group of children who are excited by his presence in their midst.  The main antagonist is a spunky girl named Naru who lives with her elderly farmer grandfather.  She quickly latches onto the distraught Seishu and instigates many of his experiences and adventures on the island.  While he thinks he is losing his focus with all of the distractions it is helping him to experience life like he never has before and just may break him out of his rut.

    This was a pretty fun show that I had been looking forward to for almost a year.  To sum it up it’s like a combination of Yotsuba&! and Dennis the Menace.  Naru is pure Dennis the Menace and Sei, in many ways, is uneducated in the ways of the real world like Yotsuba is.  Each episode is mostly a self contained episodic event and the story is pretty straight forward with no unforeseen conclusions and realizations.  With these rote ideas and comfortable patters it was an enjoyable and entertaining show.  Watching Sei's reactions to all of the 'yokels' on the island are highly entertaining and Naru is a never ending ball of energy and wonder, wise to the way of the world yet completely ignorant to reality...ahh childhood wonder.  The animation is pretty top notch in the realm of TV anime.  The cast of colorful characters are enjoyable and all have very distinct personalities.  Yet, if the series wasn't so by the book it would be a truly amazing show.  It's a bit disappointing that this show also shares plot devices and an overall story arch of any number of Hollywood slice of life stories.  Stories were someone begins with a closed and conceited view of the world only to be awoken to their faults and reality by fun loving and simple people around them.

    The anime simulcast on Crunchyroll.  A disc release of the show is imminent as FUNimation owns the license for it in North America.  The manga is currently being released by Yen Press in North America.  I may have to pick up the manga and enjoy more day to day antics with these fun and loveable characters.

Fall Season First Blush Part 1

Terraformars: In the 21st century humans sent algae and cockroaches to terraform Mars.  500 years later a deadly virus is threatening humanities existence. A special team of genetically modified people are assembled to travel to Mars and retrieve a sample of the virus that can be used to create an antidote.  This is the third such mission undertaken.  The first two failed because the crew members were exterminated by the giant cockroaches descended from the original ones sent.

    I really don't expect to be watching this one past a few obligatory episodes.  The animation is pretty shoddy and the characters are less than interesting.  It reminds me if a poorly done 70s seinen manga.  On top of the shoddy art and disinteresting story it’s graphically edited for its more extreme violence...or so it seems.

Gundam G no Roconguista: Set far in the future on the Gundam timeline, Earth appears to be peaceful and prosperous thanks in part to a system of space elevators.  A group of trainee pilots, on the first official visit to orbit, find themselves under attack from pirates.  In a daring attempt the youngest recruit, Bellri, is able to combat the pirates mobile suit well enough to capture it with the help of two other squad mates.  A mysterious and semi catatonic girl who is also aboard the elevator reacts to the strange mobile suit and its feisty female pilot.

    I really dig the throw back to the 70s character designs in this show.  Something tells me this pirate group is not really a pirate group and may be something more akin to the mysterious Gundam organization from Gundam 00 (episode two reveals the feisty girl is royalty from another country, global war is afoot!).  So far the story is light and easy going, the characters appear to be enjoying themselves, even under duress.  I'm sure that will change at some point in the story when harsh reality sets in.  It will be interesting to see the stories message unfold.

Danna ga Nani o Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken: A normal woman ends up marrying a professional otaku blogger, for reasons even she doesn't understand.  Yet in some ways she finds happiness and only has to figure out how to manipulate her obsessive husband to suit her wants and needs.

    Aside from the paid blogger thing this is kind of like my life!!  Maybe not totally, but my wife is completely normal, non-otaku and shakes her head at my passions.  So, that being said, I think I'm going to enjoy this series, even if the episodes are four minutes long.  It will be interesting to see if it develops beyond random scenarios and builds an overall story line.

Sora no Method: Years after moving to Tokyo, Momoka returns to the small village of her early childhood, but her memories are lost to the mists if time.  The first full morning at her old home she is greeted by a bizarre girl calling herself Noel, who seems to know her.  Confused by the situation she tells the strange girl to leave.  Fragments of memory start to come to her and she realizes the Noel is a girl she became friends with before moving away.  Noel is also related to the alien ship that remains dormant above the village.

    Not sure what’s up with the spaceship or the girl’s connection to it.  On the onset the story is about Momoka returning to a forgotten past and dealing with her mother being dead.  It will be interesting to see her being reunited with her lost friends and discovering the secrets behind Noel and why Momoka moved.  But this series also seems rather stereo typical of mundane shojo slice of life dramas.  The brief flashes and encounters with past friends seem to be establishing them as rote personalities.  Glasses girl, tsundere, etc.  On top of that, the character designs look pretty shoddy...so I'm not sure how long this one will stick around.

Okami Shojo to Kuro Ooji:  With her high school debut, Erika, who has a nasty habit of lying ends up befriending 2 questionable girls who brag about dating men.  She fabricates a boyfriend of her own to impress them.  When her lies start to be questioned she tries to cover them up by taking a photo of a random guy on the street.  Unfortunately for her that guy is one of the more sought after guys in her school.  When he learns about her predicament he agrees to help her out.  On the condition she is his dog, almost literally.  What started out as a lucky break now seems to be a fitting punishment for her lies.

     Not sure how I feel about this one.  The feminist in me really wants to hate it for what it represents.  It’s also a worn out plot devise that's seen quite  a few incarnations recently.  But,  I'll give it a shot even though the ending can be seen from a mile away.

World Trigger: A remote town in Japan is one day perturbed by the appearance of a gate to a different dimension.  Powerful creatures dubbed Neighbors come through the gate and conventional weapons are unable to defeat them.  All hope is lost until a group of people show up who claim to have been preparing for this event for long time and are able to defeat the invaders.  They are welcomed and set up a defensive perimeter in the city.  Four years later the Neighbors still show up and the group dispatches them with their specially trained powers.  A new recruit of an unusual sort arrives to help out,  a humanoid that is from the other side of the gate and can use their powers to combat invading neighbors.

     I will not be continuing to watch this beyond episode one,  it’s a shoddy,  played out and hole riddled plot shonen  battle series.  It comes complete with power ups,  transformation sequences,  catch phrases and relatable adolescent characters.  The art work is horrible and of little depth.  The comedic segments seem forced and out of place.  There are to many clichés in this series for me to even want to begin addressing...I guess if you yearned for a kid friendly Attack on Titan this is what you would get.

Gugure Kokkuri-san: A lonely orphan girl summons a fox spirit with the Japanese version of an Ouija board.  The fox spirit decides to stick around and haunt her to become her guardian.  The girl,  who rejects contact and feelings does what she can to keep him at bay, but at the same time coyly welcoming a break from her lonely life.

    This could end up being my favorite show of the new season.  Its pretty funny and has some moments of sentiment and emotion, unfortunately those moments are disrupted in text book fashion.  Either way the main characters are enjoyable and the real test will be to see how additional characters are integrated.  So far though,  entertaining and enjoyable.