10 Reasons You Should Buy Yawara 1 Before It’s Gone

Ah, the Olympics.  That international competition of sportsmanship and brotherhood where NBC’s commentators truly get their chance to shine.  Unfortunately, the 2012 Olympics coincides with what appears to be the demise of an anime license that is not only relevant to the games, but in this blogger’s opinion, also quite good.  I’m talking, of course, about Yawara!

Copyright Naoki Urasawa/Kitty Films/AnimEigo

This anime has an odd history in the US and was honestly one I never thought I’d see stateside.  About six or seven years back, AnimEigo asked its fans to name a series they never thought they’d see licensed, as a sort of forum contest.  Kind of a dare.  Yawara! was the result of that contest.  In order to release the series, AnimEigo made a deal with its fans – the more folks that pre-ordered the 40-episode special edition, the cheaper the price would go (with the lowest possibility being $80).  This was a smart move on their part and a way to ensure at least some return on investment.  AnimEigo even offered a free 4-episode preview disc to entice fans to purchase the series in full.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Yawara! sold that well for AnimEigo.

So why am I here, years too late for this party,telling you that it’s a valid purchase?  Well, besides the fact that I never thought to use the blog this way, I absolutely love this show.  And in my absolutely humble-not-shoving-my-opinion-in-your-face-no-sir way, I think you should buy it and love it too.  Here’s ten reasons why:

1) It’s 19.99 for 40 whole episodes!  This is down from AnimEigo’s originally cheapest price of $89.99!

2) This is the series that competed (and often smashed) Ranma 1/2 in TV ratings!  That’s right, kids.  Enjoyed Ranma but never heard of Yawara!? That’s the unfortunate side effect of this series not getting licensed back when Viz first grabbed Ranma, but in Japan, the two were considered “sister series”, even though Yawara!’s airings seemed to garner higher ratings.

3) Yawara! was created by Naoki Urasawa, famous manga author of Monster and 20th Century Boys.  While he may be currently more well-known to US anime and manga fans for his realistic thriller series Monster or his sci-fi adventure 20th Century Boys, Urasawa penned the tale of the reluctant female judoka Yawara Inokuma back in 1986.  The manga continued through 1993 and showcases Urasawa’s ability for interesting plots and developing characters, despite the lighter tone of Yawara!

4) It’s an example of a sports anime done well.  Perhaps part of this comes from the time period in which Yawara! was released (where you had many good examples of sports anime/manga, such as Slam Dunk and Touch), but Yawara! seems to do what a lot of sports anime and manga have struggled to do since – get readers and viewers interested in a sports series.  In live-action television and movies, it seems easier to hook viewers who would watch a sports-based show, but whether it’s a weakness of anime/manga as a medium or just a storytelling skill few creators have, interesting sports series are hard to find.  Yawara! hits the right notes, combining the light-hearted plot of a reluctant high school judo prodigy who would rather spend her time on more age-appropriate pursuits with the actual sports and competitive aspects like the tournaments and judo technique.

5) The series is constantly working towards a goal.  One of the complaints levied against many current long-running anime series is that they contain too much filler (oftentimes created in an attempt to give the source manga time to catch up).  Yawara! has a very specific goal – each episode ends with a countdown to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics – in which Jigoro Inokuma hopes his granddaughter will compete.  Which brings me to my next point…

6) This series actually has relevance to real life events. The 1992 Barcelona Olympics were the first games in which females were able to have their own judo competition.  Japan’s top contender for the 1992, Ryoko Tamura, actually gained the nickname “Yawara-chan” and many events surrounding her ascent paralleled Yawara’s journey in the show.

7) The characters are interested and amusing to watch.  Particularly Yawara’s grandfather, Jigoro (named for the founder of judo, Jigoro Kano).  Jigoro Inokuma is constantly scheming to push his granddaughter into the limelight of judo, believing her more than ready for high level competition.  While much of this comes from his belief in his granddaughter’s talent and his love for the martial art (Jigoro himself an accomplished judoka), his attempts often come off in Yawara’s eyes as his trying to ruin her life – or at least her attempts to be a normal high school girl.  Their on-going tug-of-wills is played out against an endearing supporting cast of bumbling senpai, playboy coaches, obscenely wealthy rivals, hapless sports journalists, and absentee parents with rather strange reasons for being away.

8) It’s a great look at judo.  For those interested in martial arts, judo is played relatively straight here.  It gives newcomers to the sport an opportunity to watch and understand it, without the superpowered moves that we see implemented in more recent sports anime in an attempt to make them stand out to readers.  On a personal note, this is the series that really pushed me further into judo while living in Japan.

9) This series features talented seiyuu.  For those of you who pay attention to the voice cast, you’ll hear wonderful performances by Yuko Minaguchi, Akira Kamiya, Chafurin, and Toshihiko Seki.

…and finally….the tenth and final reason you should own the first Yawara! box is….

10) Because if you don’t, I may do something crazy like buy up the whole stock from AnimEigo and give it to friends, family members, and pets of family members for all foreseeable gift giving holidays in the future.  And you’d rather Whiskers get that cat staircase he’s always wanted, wouldn’t you?

And who knows, maybe AnimEigo will pick up the rest of the series were to sell out now?

Hey, a girl can dream!

Reverse Importation and the Future of Anime/Game Product Availability in North America

Once upon a time, not so long ago, North American fans of niche genres of Japanese console games, like the Japanese RPG, were starved for new releases.  However, citing reasons of cost and marketability, many companies felt the need to deny these fans the localized games they so desired.  Fortunately, the drought finally seems to be lifting and as long as the companies are rewarded with the profits they so desire (translation, buy the games you ask for, kids!) then it seems the trend will continue on the upswing.

The anime industry has been in worse condition for years now.  Even though the number of releases seems reasonably steady, the number of companies available to produce such releases is dwindling.  And now anime fans are finally coming to understand a hurdle that has been a concern in the Japanese anime industry for years.

REVERSE. IMPORTATION.

No Japanese dialogue…at least for the Blu-Ray. Image copyright Atlus/Index Corportation/P.A.Works/Sentai Filmworks

And that’s the heart of Sentai’s announcement that the upcoming Persona 4 the Animation Blu-Rays will NOT contain a Japanese language option.  English-dubbed dialogue only.  This decision understandably has fans who intended to purchase the Blu-Ray upset, especially after it came on the heels of Atlus’ announcement last month that Persona 4 Arena would also be region-locked. (yes, even the PS3 version).  According to this Anime News Network article, it seems the decision came from the Japanese licensors and last month’s announcement regarding Arena also appears to have become from Atlus Japan.

Despite the initial fretting from fans over whether or not this would become a trend, in the case of the game, all three releases will contain Japanese audio and release within less than six months of each other (Japan on July 26, North America on August 7, and Europe later this year.)  In Atlus Japan’s eyes, they probably feel there is no need for Western fans to import and the only reason Japanese fans would import would be to save some money on the normally higher priced Japanese edition.

In the case of the Blu-Ray, the fan outrage is at least more understandable, but the reasoning from the Japanese licensors is probably the same.  And let’s take a look at the situation more closely to see just what their concerns are.  According to the ANN article, Sentai will release the US Blu-Ray at 59.98, ten dollars less than its originally intended 69.98.  I searched for the series on Blu-Ray at Japan’s Amazon site.  While the first Blu-Ray is down to 3,262 yen (approximately USD 41.75), Amazon says this only contains ONE EPISODE.  To be fair, later discs appear to package more episodes and this set appears to be an LE with several extras, but the final Blu-Ray disc is only 48 minutes and costs 5,236 yen (approximately USD $67) even after Amazon discount.  If we’re going on that number, then the two final episodes in Japan cost more than the upcoming boxset will in North America.  

Think about that.  We’re getting 26 episodes for what 2 would cost in Japan.  Heck, even if this box is 13 episodes, it should still be obvious why the Japanese side is concerned.  Even with shipping costs, any Japanese Persona 4 fan who wanted to own the series and knew of this price difference would be saving quite a bit of money by importing and just listening to the Japanese language track.  This possibility is less prevalent with DVD because North America and Japan are in separate DVD regions, but we share a Blu-Ray region.

I hate to keep dipping from ANN, but Justin Sevakis wrote a terrific series about just how much (or little) Japanese licensors profit from US licenses.  The most relevant segment to this discussion is Part 2, which I urge you to read here.

Reverse importation seems to inform companies like Aniplex as well, and I suspect will continue to impact anime licenses in the future.  While it may be a bit of a culture shock to fans (especially those who weren’t around in the 90s, when a DUBBED ONLY season of Ranma 1/2 (around 26 episodes) retailed for $200), it is important to understand the trend and the decisions that companies will ostensibly make because of it in the coming years.

Otakon 2012

For the second year in a row, I experienced Otakon as a one-day event and enjoyed it.  I figured, for those who might be on the fence, I’d do a small write-up on the experience.  If you have the means, I highly recommend it.  For the record, I plan on going to all three (four?) days of the convention next year (especially considering it will be the 20th Otakon).

I registered prior to the convention and was able to pick up my badge immediately upon arrival.  Speaking with others, it seems the lines for people who had pre-registered were significantly reduced (and those who had picked up badges Thursday night were admitted through a different entrance and able to avoid most of the line-up on Friday).

The diversity of the panels offered this year added some interesting new layers to Otakon.  One trend that concerns me, particularly for Industry Panels, is that they seem to be shoving the chairs very close together, making for a slightly uncomfortable experience.  Some panels could benefit from a larger room, others may need to reconsider the way they’re doing seating (and congoers will need to decide if they are willing to sacrifice personal space for more opportunities to see a panel).  My recommendation for those going next year is to reach your desired panels a bit early just to be safe.

The autograph lines were handled pretty well this year.  The line-up lanes are more organized than I remember from a few years back.  As usual, the English voice actor autograph lines were filled to capacity.  (Apparently the Steins;Gate signing employed a ticketing system where tickets were needed to get into the line, but still did not guarantee an autograph.  This is in contrast to past years, where a ticket earned at a panel or other session would guarantee the holder an autograph.)  We were able to attend two Japanese guest signings within the span of a couple of hours.  The staff kept the line moving efficiently but still kept a good atmosphere once you entered the autograph room.  Again, this may also be due to the lower attendance to the Japanese guest autograph lines.

The whole convention seemed much more crowded this year, so I’ll be interested to see the final numbers Otakon posts.  Whether it was more or just the flow of traffic.  Regardless, the Dealer’s Room had a decent amount of offerings this year, including some decent deals.  I’m a little disappointed to see the decline in industry booths.

OK, so it’s not all bad…at least Sentai had some interesting decorations…

Then again, Geneon set my standards pretty high the first year I went and they had the Hellsing set up with a throne and everything.  Artist Alley had some decent offerings, but I would really like to see more people offering their original works (there must be plenty people who sign up to do so?)  I did see a webcomic artist selling his graphic novels and two guys sharing their independent film.

Despite the heat and the crowds, there was a lot of good energy at Otakon this year.  From what I’ve been hearing, there are some big plans in the works for next year’s 20th Otakon, so if you’ve been on the fence about going, 2013 may be your year.

Girls in Geek Culture (Part 1?): Geek Cred and the Price of Admission

I’ve been wanting to write a post in Women in Gaming/General Geekdom (scientific term) for about a month or two.  There were articles released by the Escapist and Kotaku on the treatment of the topic of rape in the gaming community, an article on Gamasutra regarding the male gaze, and an Extra Credits video about Harassment (but highlighting the Cross Assault incident involving a female competitor).  As a female who enjoys video games of all sorts, I knew how I felt, but seemed to have trouble getting the words to come out right.

Until this article on CNN popped up by contributor Joe Peacock, accompanied by a sea of backlash, some of which CNN covered itself.  The president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America offered up his own response, as did a contributor to Forbes.  Joe Peacock later issued a response (and apology of sorts).  This also brought back to the surface another Forbes article asking “Fake Geek Girls” to go away, with its own response from Kotaku.

I saw all the backlash first and so Googled Joe Peacock’s article, but reading his was different than some of the previous articles I had read.  The outrage wasn’t immediate for me and I realized I shared, even in small part, some of the sentiment.  I’ve always enjoyed meeting up with others who had similar interests that were considered outside the mainstream (anime and manga, video games, science fiction and fantasy, etc) because I couldn’t express those interests openly growing up.  So in some small way, I could understand someone like Joe Peacock maybe feeling like “Hey!  You weren’t interested in our stuff when it wasn’t cool!” and feeling like their interest was fake.  I can understand Tara Brown wanting to distinguish “real geeks” out of sympathy for those who spent long hours toiling obsessively over their hobby while others mocked them.  And I think poster Rachel Fogg who commented on the Kotaku response to the “Fake Geek Girls” article makes a good point when she suggests some backlash is probably from female nerds who AREN’T smoking hot who have always been around because they were actually interested in the content.

But I think that’s the appeal of so-called “geek culture” – this fascination with things that often fall out of the mainstream – is that the price of admission has always been shared interest.

Let me repeat.  The price of admission has always been shared interest.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  It was such a different experience in high school finding out there were actually other humans I could gush about my love for Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z with, or run to at lunch with a horrified WTF expression after Aeris died in DISC ONE!  SHE HAD ALL MY EQUIPMENT!  People I could swap drawings with.  People who later got me into Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons.  People who would recommend me new authors or swap books.  People with whom I shared an interest.  Looks, popularity, clothing choices, what teams or extracurriculars I was involved in – none of that mattered.

However we weren’t guilt free.  Just as others excluded us for being into “those Japanese Pokemans” or “that devil card game”, we would push away others who seemed to have only a passing interest in what we were doing.  Not only were we doing the same thing that had been done to us, we were cheating ourselves out of more people to share our interests with.  More people to hang out and play games or watch anime with.  More people to pump money into the things we loved so that the Powers That Be would make more of it.

The interest itself, whether big or small, obsessive or casual, should be the important piece.  And that should be consistent all around.  If we become suspicious of someone who happens to be hot and takes interest in our culture (and in this case, it seems the lovely ladies are taking all the heat), we are going against what makes us welcoming in the first place.  Just enjoy the things you enjoy.  If you find someone who likes them, what does all the ancillary stuff matter?  If you feel like the gap between you is too much (read: maybe you don’t have so much in common) then don’t hang out with them.  But don’t damn them for their exploration of a new culture.

The same goes for assessing just how encyclopedic someone’s knowledge of a certain aspect of the culture is. I can understand the disappointment people feel when they’ve met a Tales of Kingdom Blades 3DS.5 Over Tax cosplayer who’s as big a fan as they are, only to find out that the person just dressed as the character because they thought it was cute and didn’t care about the game’s sprawling story or complex battle system.  But there’s still an opportunity to make a genuine connection here.  Share your fandom and knowledge with that person.

And who knows?  Maybe you and your new cosplay friend, ten years down the line, will be lamenting all the TKB3DS5OT titles that never left Japan together with your young children.

TL;DR: Who cares about the person’s gender, appearance, or level of knowledge/expertise, so long as they share your interest?

What are your thoughts?

…And females in gaming didn’t really get tackled.  In fact, I realize the above is probably a babbling mess, so it will probably be awhile before I can address a topic like that.  Luckily there are plenty of others tackling the topic.

Aesop, out.

Response to Nintendo’s Pre-E3 Press Conference

What did everyone think of the NintendoDirect event?

While the saga of Polite Zombie Guy Who Doesn’t Kick Down Doors, Octogenarian Gamer, and Nonspecific Action Figure was enthralling, the major points for me were:

Presentation: A lot of respect to Iwata for the presentation itself.  He didn’t have to do this in English – he could have done it in Japanese with subs, but he chose not to. So, thank you Iwata.

The WiiU’s Attempts to Bring Families Together: Iwata showed a video of a family of four, all on different electronic devices, and said the WiiU’s goal was to bring these families together.  He later mentioned that was the Wii’s concept as well and THE WII ACCOMPLISHED THAT, at least in its early years.  The main purchasers of the Wii console, at least the times I stood in line for it, were parents or families.  Games like Wii Sports promised to deliver on what made home game consoles a living room necessity long before kids spirited them away to their bedrooms for angry headset screaming matches on Call of Duty – a fun activity for the family to get involved in.  But with the way the WiiU’s game pad is set up, it only allows one player to use the GamePad.  That seems like a more divided experience than the original Wii’s ability to handle up to 4 WiiMotes.

The Expanded Online Social Networking Options:  Iwata also said he wanted to bring gamers together online.  I’m excited for this, as Nintendo has so many fun games to offer that would be better if you could bring in others and the Friend Code system doesn’t cut it.  However, I’m a bit skeptical as well.  I like the idea of an expanded world where random people who play a random game together have established a connection, but I feel the potential for abuse is great, as players on services like XBox Live have no doubt experienced.  I suspect Nintendo is also aware of this, so I’m curious to see what sort of restrictions exist, and how they vary by country.  Japan certainly has a different reception for such social networking than the US.

All in all, the cynical bile that crept up in my gamer brain as I watched last year’s unveiling is definitely decreasing, but I definitely don’t feel the desire to wait in line for a WiiU, the way I did for the Wii.  The Wii truly was an innovative console in the beginning and a tough act to follow, but we’ll see.  E3 hasn’t even begun yet!

Let me know your thoughts!