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Podcast IX: “Does Anime Reflect Japanese Culture?” With Jonathan Clements!

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Breaking from our usual schedule of complaining about how things were better in [Insert Hippest Decade Here], this time we’re joined by author, translator, occasional voice director and general Renaissance Man of East-Asian culture, Jonathan Clements, to seek his wisdom about the extent to which anime reflects Japanese culture. In a sign of things to come, we also wind up talking about Scotland Loves Anime – whatever that is…

Jonathan Clements

The man himself.

Download it here!

Nakama Britannica Nine – “Does Anime Reflect Japanese Culture?” With Jonathan Clements!

0:00 The loss of Schoolgirl Milky Crisis, the great unseen anime, disappeared from the record in an unfortunate boating accident. Scotland Loves Anime — the logistics of getting Japanese guests to Glasgow.

10:00 What is Anime? Nowhere near as dull a question as it sounds, leading to all sorts of gossip about the battle for anime’s soul between the spirits of Osamu Tezuka and Hayao Miyazaki. Includes the words: “Communists”, “witchhunts” and “crappy”.

20:00 Anime as Soft Power. The size of otakudom. The meaning of TV ratings. How anime form follows function. How much is the anime business worth? Includes the words: “chimpanzee”, “over-engineering” and “popular”.

30:00 What is a silver otaku? The impact of Heidi and Yamato.The phenomenology of fandom and misremembering Evangelion and Gundam.

40:00 Traditional concepts of storytelling, and how unlikely you are to find them. How “traditional” was the Hakkenden. The ethics of tying anime directors to chairs and slapping them. Noh drama and Gasaraki. Jinzo Toriumi’s Introduction to Anime Scenario Writing. Includes the words: “fallacy”, “posh” and “pervy”.

47:00 Wimmin. Do 125 million Japanese people all like hentai? The demographics of female anime fans and the birth of Noitamina. Fujiko Mine and the line between sexy and sexist. The role of women within the anime industry. Includes the words: “mind bleach”, “boobs” and “jellyfist”.

57:00 The chivalry of chauvinism and its impact on anime staff rosters. The evolutionary role of colour recognition. Women in powerful positions, like CLAMP. Includes the words: “xerography”, “concordance” and “primal.”

67:00 Aloha Higa and the unpleasantness over Polar Bear Cafe. How many fingers am I holding up? Includes the words: “sod off”, “Disney”, and “torpid”.

69:00 The nature of originality: giant robots and schoolgirl witches. Downton Abbey the anime, and what a production committee might do to it. Creativity among limits. Includes the words: “tropes”, “Metallica” and “Minovsky particles”.

73:00 Three trends for the future: Kickstarter, mobiles and China. The size of the informal anime market. Issues for intellectual property. What’s changed in Sino-Japanese relations since the publication of the Dorama Encyclopedia. Includes the words: “crowd-sourcing”, “Margaret Thatcher cyborg”, and “sandwich-making”.

84:00 The Death Note backlash in north-east China. Cosplay in China. And goodbye. includes the words “boobs” and “grabbed”.

Thanks once again to Mr Clements for sharing his time with us, kindly providing the timeline for this episode and generally being a top bloke.

iTunes link available shortly – search “Nakama Britannica” in the iTunes store.

Email Us!

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At long last, we’ve finally got that email address sorted out, so if you have any comments or questions about the podcast that you want to send us directly, fire away to:

podcast(at)animeuknews.net

And with any luck we’ll get a ‘listener mail’ up and running soon.  If there’s anything you’d particularly like us to discuss, we’re open to requests too.  Within reason.  Extended discussions of Shining Moe Waifu Chan Z may be out of our depth…

London expo: Magic, alchemists and karaoke!

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Magic performing alchemists, L singing Blur karaoke and Solid Snake vanishing into a cardboard box! This year’s MCM Expo had more magic (and mischief) than previous shows but mixed in with the same old regulars: the gaming section, manga artist alley, scandalous cosplay kids were a few extra addictions. This year’s expo included some of the best bits from Japan Ex, a convention which last took place back in 2007.

Ouran girls will yaoi for commoner food

Ouran girls will yaoi for commoner food

Including a Gothic Lolita fashion show, Japanese drumming, tea ceremony and origami. Although, rather amusingly, half way through the weekend the origami table was high-jacked by the cosplay kids as they made ‘Free Hugs’ signs. Talking of free huggers, I ran into a distressed L who had a ‘Please don’t give me free hugs sign.’ She was forced to make the sign as L received one too many unwanted hugs last year. Watch out kids, the resistance has started…

In terms of cosplay, Kuroshitsuji was surprisingly popular, with many teenage boys and girls donning up as demonic butlers. The usual armies of Bleach and Naruto fans were there along with some surprising outfits: Ronald McDonald, J-rockers Versailles and steam punk military cadets with vintage oversized goggles. Many people queued up to have their picture taken with a massive Hello Kitty and some even (posed?) as if they were being eaten by a giant yellow Pacman. Every expo has their own celebrities, the Ghost Busters crew and Scrubs guys were back. But you will never believe who had his own posse. This guy here:

Spongebob is hot...really

Spongebob is hot...honest!

Meanwhile in the Manga Alley I had a chat with an artist on the most popular drawing requests of the day. I discovered that yaoi-ness wasn’t confined to the realm of manga. Many fangirls (and boys) had requested he draw pictures of yaoi Spiderman and X-men. Somehow this shouldn’t surprise me but it did.  Alongside professional artists rested doujinshi artists, peddling their home made wares, but it was nice to see a mix of both manga and American comics side by side. A new attraction at expo was the Rock Band stall, where kids tried out karaoke. I heard that decidedly annoying Blur song, you know, the one that goes, “I got my head done, when I was young…” and turned around to see L behind the microphone. It was priceless.

I spotted a pair of worn out convention goers who were new to this whole expo madness. I probably should have directed them to the first aid area but instead I took them to the nearest stall and bought them chocolate. “What’s this?” they asked. “Pocky. Eat it. It’s the only way you will get through expo.”

Outside in the forecourt were cosplay outfits of every shape and description, ranging from Neo from the Matrix to Hei from Darker Than Black. Although computer game cosplays are nothing new, it was the first time I had ever seen Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. (I knew those hours wasted playing computer games would come in handy one day.) I then watched him disappear into a cardboard box! Speaking of all things magical, this year’s masquerade included a routine with Edward Elric performing magic tricks, pulling this impossibly long rod out of a box. Expect it to already be on You Tube, go on, I dare you, go check it out! Another surprise hit was watching Bleach cosplayers performing the Hare Hare Yukai dance, it’s just way more funnier when non-Haruhi kids pull off this routine. That wraps up expo (or so I thought.) It wasn’t until I got home and checked my photo’s did I get an unexpected surprise. The seemingly innocent Ouran Host Club girls (or boys, depending on how you look at it) had a ‘Will yaoi for commoner food’ sign. Kids, really, whatever next…