June 29th, 2012
Ridiculous Recommendations...
Anime Relations: Tiger & Bunny
I haven't been watching many anime as of late since I'm very picky, but when I do I try to look for anime which are similar in story, art, or even direction. I also don't browse through MAL very much, but I came across this page about a week ago: http://myanimelist.net/recommendations.php?s=userrecs to find anime related to the things that I have seen.
At first, I was surprised to see so many recommendations by a single person in the top 5 of both anime and manga. However, after browsing through the recommendations I was displeased. There are some absolutely ridiculous and stupid recommendations by some of the members. People just don't seem to know or understand how to recommend an anime.
First and foremost, one should never recommend an anime just because of a setting if the genre is completely different - which is like oranges to applies because they are fruits. Secondly, if an anime is based on a game or even a manga and you are recommending an anime which is not, there is clearly a mix of interest between the two.
Recommendations should be based on art, animation style, story, and direction. Anything else and you are going well beyond the interests of the person seeking the recommendation. For example, recommending Death Note for Clannad because there are some Tragedy in both is like recommending soda to milk because they are both liquid, disregarding how they taste, look, and smell.
The main issue that I have come across is the fact that people just don't understand the story at all. I don't know what the reason to this is - which could be a number of factors, such as watching it raw without subs if you have little to no Japanese knowledge, the quality of the translation, etc - but it is an integral part of any anime.
I won't go any further onto why I think they are ridiculous, but instead just list them and they reasons the individuals mentioned:
- Fairy Tail (Fantasy) to Ozma (Science Fiction) - "Both mix historical ideas into a modern setting in various ways..."
- Gakuen Alice to Tiger & Bunny - I've seen T+B, and never in my life, would I watch a Magical Shoujo anime because both anime deal with "powers." The concept of both anime are in different realms. People that watch Gakuen Alive would want to watch anime such as Happiness! while T+B fans would watch gattai anime such as TTGL.
- *To be continued...
*Distracted, so forgot my motive of this post. Will finish once I get it back.
At first, I was surprised to see so many recommendations by a single person in the top 5 of both anime and manga. However, after browsing through the recommendations I was displeased. There are some absolutely ridiculous and stupid recommendations by some of the members. People just don't seem to know or understand how to recommend an anime.
First and foremost, one should never recommend an anime just because of a setting if the genre is completely different - which is like oranges to applies because they are fruits. Secondly, if an anime is based on a game or even a manga and you are recommending an anime which is not, there is clearly a mix of interest between the two.
Recommendations should be based on art, animation style, story, and direction. Anything else and you are going well beyond the interests of the person seeking the recommendation. For example, recommending Death Note for Clannad because there are some Tragedy in both is like recommending soda to milk because they are both liquid, disregarding how they taste, look, and smell.
The main issue that I have come across is the fact that people just don't understand the story at all. I don't know what the reason to this is - which could be a number of factors, such as watching it raw without subs if you have little to no Japanese knowledge, the quality of the translation, etc - but it is an integral part of any anime.
I won't go any further onto why I think they are ridiculous, but instead just list them and they reasons the individuals mentioned:
- Fairy Tail (Fantasy) to Ozma (Science Fiction) - "Both mix historical ideas into a modern setting in various ways..."
- Gakuen Alice to Tiger & Bunny - I've seen T+B, and never in my life, would I watch a Magical Shoujo anime because both anime deal with "powers." The concept of both anime are in different realms. People that watch Gakuen Alive would want to watch anime such as Happiness! while T+B fans would watch gattai anime such as TTGL.
- *To be continued...
*Distracted, so forgot my motive of this post. Will finish once I get it back.
Posted by alchemist11 | Jun 29, 2012 7:30 PM | 0 comments
April 15th, 2012
Never Subtitled!
Anime that shall never be subtitled: Doraemon (confirmed), Sazae-san (confirmed), and other long ongoing (1k+ episode) series. There are many factors behind why these anime will never be seen in the western hemisphere (and even outside of Japan) officially or "fan-subbed" - it can be attempted, but it won't go far. They are full length 24 minute anime, which are broadcast almost everyday, if not everyday. No person in the world has the time or money (or even life years) to invest in the subtitling of such television programs.
The main reasons are political and societal restrictions. The Japanese government as well as the people that watch such shows will not allow it to be played outside of their country. You could, in essence, say these anime are Japan's "national anime" - anime that represents how Japan started in the animation business and what it will be like in the future.
Secondly, adding to societal restrictions, there are barriers in the anime itself which are not passable. Anime such as Doraemon and Sazae deal with Japanese history, issues that only occur in Japan, and many other things that only a Japanese person would understand. These issues are simply not understandable in any other country or by people of a completely different ethnicity, race, or culture.
Keep in mind, Japan is the only country in the world that has faced (two) atomic bombs and lived through it, so there are feelings and thoughts which simply are not comprehensible or expressibly outside of Japanese context. All of these are factors that influence the creation, story and art, of long anime mentioned above. To this day, it is still extremely difficult to translate Japanese poetry while keeping it to the true meaning the poet had written it.
All in all, my point I am trying to get at is people that want to see Doraemon or Sazae-san should forget about that wish. It's a wish that will never be fulfilled no matter what you do. You should just move on.
P.S. I have confirmed it through my association with a member in the anime licensing scene.
The main reasons are political and societal restrictions. The Japanese government as well as the people that watch such shows will not allow it to be played outside of their country. You could, in essence, say these anime are Japan's "national anime" - anime that represents how Japan started in the animation business and what it will be like in the future.
Secondly, adding to societal restrictions, there are barriers in the anime itself which are not passable. Anime such as Doraemon and Sazae deal with Japanese history, issues that only occur in Japan, and many other things that only a Japanese person would understand. These issues are simply not understandable in any other country or by people of a completely different ethnicity, race, or culture.
Keep in mind, Japan is the only country in the world that has faced (two) atomic bombs and lived through it, so there are feelings and thoughts which simply are not comprehensible or expressibly outside of Japanese context. All of these are factors that influence the creation, story and art, of long anime mentioned above. To this day, it is still extremely difficult to translate Japanese poetry while keeping it to the true meaning the poet had written it.
All in all, my point I am trying to get at is people that want to see Doraemon or Sazae-san should forget about that wish. It's a wish that will never be fulfilled no matter what you do. You should just move on.
P.S. I have confirmed it through my association with a member in the anime licensing scene.
Posted by alchemist11 | Apr 15, 2012 1:36 PM | 0 comments
December 22nd, 2009
Living in Japan, Financially...
I am very lazy to repeat what I have said several times elsewhere, so I will just input my MSN conversion into this entry as fluid as possible. This is just for Tokyo. Outskirts values may differ.
I discourage living in Japan. There are many problems to it. I personally wouldn't mind visiting, but not living there. Rent is phenomenally expensive. You have to deposit (in US dollars) approx. 4000, and then pay approx. 1000 monthly (this applies to good apartments in the city). If you go through an advisor. you have to pay him/her, and in the end you'll have paid almost 10 grand without even having lived the first month, most of which is a deposit. You think the apartment will be big, right? Not at all. Unless you live in the country side, don't expect anything as large as apartments in Canada/USA/UK, the ones you see on top of shops. Also, those are the descriptions of apartments that come with internet and phone. But, of course, you can look for places that don't have it and you'll then have to order them separately. DSL is the cheapest you'll get, you won't get cable in places without internet. Cable comes standard in apartments with internet.
You're maybe then thinking, well, if it's this expensive, I might as well buy a house, right? Wrong again. They are much more expensive. And dangerous too. Japan is known to have earthquakes, so you don't want an unstable house (architecturally). Most houses in Japan are made with wood or vinyl siding (extremely flammable). Wood is also inside, so fire can spread fast both in and outside easily. Not to mention, insulation that the Japanese use is flammable as well, inflammable insulation isn't cheap and aren't commonly used in homes .
What about brick homes? Well, brick costs a lot of money too. More than vinyl siding homes.
So, in short, the lesson to be learned here is, make sure to stay in a hotel when you are visiting/living in Japan, OR someone else's home, aka a friend or family, OR make sure your field of work pays enough to pay for all the payments and still have a sum left for your hobbies, food, etc.
Edit: 3rd June 2011
Just to add, don't forget that Japanese people think ill of foreigners. They also think foreigners have a lot of money so they may take advantage of you. So be wary of this.
Credit: Samuel P & Danny C.
I discourage living in Japan. There are many problems to it. I personally wouldn't mind visiting, but not living there. Rent is phenomenally expensive. You have to deposit (in US dollars) approx. 4000, and then pay approx. 1000 monthly (this applies to good apartments in the city). If you go through an advisor. you have to pay him/her, and in the end you'll have paid almost 10 grand without even having lived the first month, most of which is a deposit. You think the apartment will be big, right? Not at all. Unless you live in the country side, don't expect anything as large as apartments in Canada/USA/UK, the ones you see on top of shops. Also, those are the descriptions of apartments that come with internet and phone. But, of course, you can look for places that don't have it and you'll then have to order them separately. DSL is the cheapest you'll get, you won't get cable in places without internet. Cable comes standard in apartments with internet.
You're maybe then thinking, well, if it's this expensive, I might as well buy a house, right? Wrong again. They are much more expensive. And dangerous too. Japan is known to have earthquakes, so you don't want an unstable house (architecturally). Most houses in Japan are made with wood or vinyl siding (extremely flammable). Wood is also inside, so fire can spread fast both in and outside easily. Not to mention, insulation that the Japanese use is flammable as well, inflammable insulation isn't cheap and aren't commonly used in homes .
What about brick homes? Well, brick costs a lot of money too. More than vinyl siding homes.
So, in short, the lesson to be learned here is, make sure to stay in a hotel when you are visiting/living in Japan, OR someone else's home, aka a friend or family, OR make sure your field of work pays enough to pay for all the payments and still have a sum left for your hobbies, food, etc.
Edit: 3rd June 2011
Just to add, don't forget that Japanese people think ill of foreigners. They also think foreigners have a lot of money so they may take advantage of you. So be wary of this.
Credit: Samuel P & Danny C.
Posted by alchemist11 | Dec 22, 2009 12:50 AM | 0 comments
November 28th, 2009
Is learning Japanese from anime/manga valid?
Over the years, I've heard a lot of people, including "translators" from the American licensing industry say "those who learn Japanese from watching anime or reading raws from their basic knowledge isn't valid and is most of the time wrong even if they have references to other anime or such." Well, I have a good story for them, and do hear me out:
Fansubbing brings many mysteries aside from figuring out whether your colleague is a genuine female based on their nickname or a fat ugly bloke sitting behind his computer. A particular one was a translator I came across while helping this [insert] group out as a freelancer. The country he was a Native of wasn't particularly good in English or any other language and isn't when it comes to translation work. But despite that, I was overwhelmed by his knowledge in Japanese and how he learned it with minimal help and resources.
One particular day when he was on IRC , we began chatting about anime which led to how he learned Japanese as I was curious to know. Over a long discussion, I came to learn that he learned Japanese from watching anime and reading manga and just only that. Furthermore, he told me he didn't take a single Japanese course in any institution (this is before the Japanese Rosetta Stone). Then, I was pondering whether his knowledge in Japanese was valid. Several months later, he started translating an anime I myself didn't understand due to the dialect. Now, usually, most people who learn Japanese from anime and manga know of the Tokyo dialect, but this person knew other regions as well which is very rare. Heck, lines that I translated into something was completely different than what he put, but my weakness was obviously the dialect.
As you can see learning Japanese and translating it properly (my Japanese has surpassed the point where I can identify right from wrong; and him too) is certainly valid, but can it get you anywhere? Yes. [insert] is now living and studying (doing his Ph.D in Pharmacy) in Tokyo, Japan. Certainly, if he didn't learn Japanese from anime or manga he wouldn't be where he is now. In comparison, there is another translator, I know of, who studied Japanese in college but doesn't understand the dialect from the same anime. Now, I'm not saying learning Japanese via anime/manga is better than learning from school, but it does play a significant role. Also, being surrounded by the language is the best way to keep learning as you can use it everyday, while only watching or reading a certain media can keep you restrained - and an easier way to forget too.
Fansubbing brings many mysteries aside from figuring out whether your colleague is a genuine female based on their nickname or a fat ugly bloke sitting behind his computer. A particular one was a translator I came across while helping this [insert] group out as a freelancer. The country he was a Native of wasn't particularly good in English or any other language and isn't when it comes to translation work. But despite that, I was overwhelmed by his knowledge in Japanese and how he learned it with minimal help and resources.
One particular day when he was on IRC , we began chatting about anime which led to how he learned Japanese as I was curious to know. Over a long discussion, I came to learn that he learned Japanese from watching anime and reading manga and just only that. Furthermore, he told me he didn't take a single Japanese course in any institution (this is before the Japanese Rosetta Stone). Then, I was pondering whether his knowledge in Japanese was valid. Several months later, he started translating an anime I myself didn't understand due to the dialect. Now, usually, most people who learn Japanese from anime and manga know of the Tokyo dialect, but this person knew other regions as well which is very rare. Heck, lines that I translated into something was completely different than what he put, but my weakness was obviously the dialect.
As you can see learning Japanese and translating it properly (my Japanese has surpassed the point where I can identify right from wrong; and him too) is certainly valid, but can it get you anywhere? Yes. [insert] is now living and studying (doing his Ph.D in Pharmacy) in Tokyo, Japan. Certainly, if he didn't learn Japanese from anime or manga he wouldn't be where he is now. In comparison, there is another translator, I know of, who studied Japanese in college but doesn't understand the dialect from the same anime. Now, I'm not saying learning Japanese via anime/manga is better than learning from school, but it does play a significant role. Also, being surrounded by the language is the best way to keep learning as you can use it everyday, while only watching or reading a certain media can keep you restrained - and an easier way to forget too.
Posted by alchemist11 | Nov 28, 2009 2:16 PM | 1 comments