Anime Fans Online

Wise guy eh? Nope, that’s different. Moe, pronounced mo-eh, is a contrived cuteness. It’s usually intended to provoke protective feelings towards the character. There are several methods used when designing a moe character.

Art style.

Quite often moe characters are drawn to look much younger than they really are. With large watery eyes and large round heads. They sometimes look like children or even toddlers. The anime Manabi Straight is a good example of this. The main characters are drawn to look much younger than they are. Manabi herself even acts younger. Take a look at the picture. Even though Manabi, on the right, looks much younger both characters are the same age.

Personality traits.

Moe characters aren’t always drawn as children. Sometimes their personalities are child like. They could be innocent, extremely naive or just plain clumsy. Any characteristic that could make the viewer feel protective of the character will work.

Anime, Manga, Otaku Lessons, Moe, Manabi Straight, Character Design

Fan service is the practice of adding something to an anime or manga just to please the fans. It could be anything from a reference to other anime to blatant nudity. One of the most recognized methods of fan service is the panty shot. For any reason, or no reason at all, something happens to reveal a female character’s underwear.

Ever wonder why so many anime programs include scenes in a bathhouse? Yes, bath houses are a part of the culture, but they’re also a good excuse to get the characters naked. What about all those episodes about going to the beach? Well, the characters would look pretty weird wearing bikinis anywhere else. There are lots of ways to strip down the characters. Some of them are creative, others not so much.

There are shows built around that type of fan service. These shows are usually ecchi. Some guy repeatedly has “accidents” that give him glimpses of the female characters in various states of undress. When this happens they poor guy is usually beaten half to death by the scantily clad girls. Throw in some innuendo and comic misunderstandings and you could have a hit.

Showing some skin isn’t the only type of fan service, though it’s the easiest to spot. Some shows include references to other anime or manga. Some references are almost as obvious as the panty shot. Those verge on product placement, a type of advertising. Other references are more subtle, almost hidden. That’s the type of fan service that rewards the knowledgeable fan.

Excel Saga is a good example of this, it’s also one of my favorites. It parodies lots and lots of other anime. They’re not that subtle, but there are so many references to other anime that it would take a hardcore otaku to recognize them all.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Anytime the creators do something for the fans instead of for the story, it’s fan service. Like anything else in an anime, it all depends on how well it’s done. If it’s done well, you might not even recognize it as fan service. If it’s done badly, it can distract you from the show.

anime, manga, fan service, fanservice, panties, bathhouse, bikinis, ecchi

Today we’ll take a brief look at cosplay. Cosplay is popular among many anime fans, but if you’re a new fan you might not have heard of it. It’s pretty interesting, even if you don’t dress up. Some of the costumes are amazing. Many cosplayers put a lot of work into getting things just right.

Cosplay is short for costume play. Makes sense, huh? It’s basically dressing up as a fictional character. The character can be from anime, manga, TV, games or even your own original creation. If you’ve attended a sci-fi or anime convention you’ve probably seen cosplayers. I’ve seen some truly amazing costumes at conventions.

For anime and manga fans cosplay is just another way to connect, both with the characters they love and with other fans. Ever hear the old saying “You don’t know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes”? Well, some cosplayers get to know their favorite characters pretty darn well by wearing those shoes. A good way to start a conversation with a cosplayer is to ask them about the work that went into the costume. A compliment doesn’t hurt either.

They put a lot of work into those costumes. If you see one that you think is cool, let ‘em know.

There are some good sites about cosplay. Some with good advice on everything from choosing a character to nitty gritty examples of making those costumes. If you’re interested in walking a mile or two in your favorite character’s shoes, there’s plenty of help out there. Here are a couple links to get you started.

Cosplay Links

• Limit Break Cosplay A cosplay duo with some interesting advice for beginning cosplayers.

• Cosplay.com A cosplay community on the net.

• Cosplay on About.com About.com usually has some great information. This is a page of links with lot’s of information about cosplay.

Cosplay, anime fans, costumes, cosplayers, costume play, anime, manga, anime convention, conventions, manga fans, Cosplay Links

You may have heard of kaiju in an anime or seen it on an anime site. There are plenty of anime and manga that fall into that catagory. Kaiju basically means “monster”. It’s often associated with giant monsters, a.k.a. daikaiju.

The most famous kaiju series would probably be Godzilla.

The most famous kaiju series would probably be Godzilla. If you like Godzilla you’re in luck. There are tons of kaiju movies you’d probably enjoy. A lot of other kaiju stars have appeared with Godzilla. Mothra, Gamera, and King Ghidorah to name a few.

Kaiju even has it’s own fandom which overlaps somewhat with anime fandom. That’s no surprise. How many movies or tv shows have you seen with giant monsters? Probably a lot if you’re an anime fan. There are tons of ‘em. Quite a few of the giant robots in anime fight giant monsters. I watched Voltron as a kid and on almost every episode there was a giant Robeast. More recently the Power Rangers did pretty much the same thing. Most episodes have a monster that grows to gigantic size and the Rangers have to defeat it.

Kaiju is part of anime and manga. It’s also pretty popular all on it’s own. A lot of fans of Godzilla probably wouldn’t be interested in Love Hina in the least, and vice versa.

kaiju, anime, manga, monster, giant monsters, daikaiju, Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, King Ghidorah, fandom, movies, tv, giant robots, Power Rangers

In this Otaku Lesson we’ll be getting into the world of AMVs. AMV stands for Anime Music Video. It’s one of the many creative ways fans express their love of anime. They range from a simple scene set to music, to complex stories told in song. They are as diverse as the people who make them. People put a lot of work into these musical tributes.

…as long as you can put clips together with audio you can make your own AMV.

With all the great video editing software available these days anyone can join the fun. If you have a CD burner in your computer it might have come with video editing software, if you have a DVD burner the chances are even higher. Sure, the software packaged with computer parts aren’t high end stuff, but as long as you can put clips together with audio you can make your own AMV.

Some conventions even feature AMVs and AMV contests. Yes, contests. Prizes range from the thrill of victory to some very cool stuff. It all depends on who’s running it. Animemusicvideos.org lists 8 contests in July of 2007 alone. Almost all of those look like contests run by anime conventions. Some anime fan sites run contests as well. Some are very specific in what they’re looking for. Some focus on one type anime, or even one particular show. Others are open to just about anything.

Youtube and other video sharing sites are filled with anime music videos. Just to give you some idea how many people are making them, a google video search returns over seven hundred thousand results for AMV. That’s a lot of AMV love.

If you like anime and you like music then check out a few anime music videos. You’re on the Internet, it’s not like you’re doing anything important.

Otaku Lesson, AMV, Anime Music Video, fans, anime, music, editing, software, video, conventions, contests, Prizes, anime conventions, fan sites, Youtube

In my previous post about fansubs I included very little information on the legality of it. Some of what I did include was mistaken. Some of the information I found didn’t take into account the improvement of fansubs thanks to advancing technology. In other words, some of it is out of date. It’s more suited to the days of VHS fansubs, days that are long past. I’ve looked into it a bit more from another point of view.

VHS fansubs were of a lower quality. They were really no competition to an officially licensed release. These days a fansub can be DVD quality. That means that distributors are competing with fansub groups. Many groups hold to the old school ethics to stop distribution when a show is licensed. That doesn’t mean that everyone does.

So far there haven’t been many law suites filed against fansub groups, though there have been a few. For anime fans we may be living in something similar to the pre-Napster days of the music industry. Publishers haven’t started suing long lists of fans the way the RIAA has, but it could. With huge companies like Disney getting into anime distribution it’s becoming more and more likely every day.

If you watch fansubs, I encourage you to think about it. You are breaking the law. The anime industry could target you at any time, the way the music industry targeted it’s fans. I hope that doesn’t happen. I’d hate to see the backlash from the fans. Music has suffered because of it. I don’t want anime to suffer the same way.

I found a very interesting article about fansubs, scanlations and copyright law. I’d suggest taking a look at it here.

fansubs, legal, technology, VHS, quality, licensed, DVD, ethics, RIAA, Disney, fans, scanlations, copyright

In my previous post I wrote about starting an anime club. I have a few more links on the subject to share.

Anime Clubs and Resources from About.com More links to information about anime clubs and how to start one.

Some advice on how to start an anime club from the M.I.T. Anime Club Advice from the M.I.T.? Might be a good idea to see what people that smart have to say.

How to Start an Anime Club from eHow A step by step guide to starting an anime club.

Anime Clubs Unite! A great web site brining anime clubs together.

If there aren’t any anime clubs in your area, give some thought to starting your own.

anime, club, links

Anime fan clubs are a great way to get to know other fans. They can also be a great way to get to know new anime. Fan clubs bring together people who love anime, but not always the same kind of anime. With all the different types of anime there are, it’s hard to be a fan of all of ‘em, but we can try.

There are some pretty good resources for clubs as well. There are tons of web sites devoted to anime. I should know, I checked google to see what page this blog was on, and let’s just say I stopped counting after page 50 or so. Yep, the web is a great way to get information on anime. It’s also a great place to find other fans and ask them questions. Questions like “HALP!!! I wanna start a fan club.” Well, that’s not a question, but you’ll get some answers.

Another good place for club info is other clubs. Find an established anime club and ask questions. Find out what problems they had in the beginning, ask ‘em how they solved those problems. Most anime club officers will be happy to help you get started. Fan clubs that work together have a better shot at sticking around a while. Who is gonna stay in a fan club that isn’t helpful?

One place you may not have thought of looking for help with a fan club is anime distributors. A lot of those companies would love to help fan clubs. Some will even give anime clubs free stuff. All the club has to to is fill out some surveys about the anime the company sends them, and the anime is free for the club to keep. It’s a great way to fill out a club library.

Here are some links to companies willing to help out anime clubs. Read the FAQs before you start sending them e-mail begging for free DVDs though. There are rules about what kinds of clubs they’re willing to help.

ADV Anime ADVocates

Bandai (Fan section temporarily down. Bookmark it and check back later)

FUNimation Operation Anime

If you’ve been thinking about joining, or starting an anime club, there’s plenty of information out there to help. I’ll update later with more resources for anime fan clubs.

Anime, fan clubs, resources, information, free stuff

If you’ve been reading the blog you may have noticed a new category, Otaku Lessons. Since I wrote the article about fansubs I’ve been thinking. Some people may lose interest in anime if things get too confusing. I hope to help people get past the initial learning period as painlessly as possible.

I’ve decided to write some articles that may help people just getting into anime and manga. It’s meant to help people learn the things we all pick up after a while. That’s why I created the category. I also wrote the hentai/ecchi article with that in mind. I hope to write many more articles like those. The only problem is figuring out what a new fan needs to know.

I’ll need your help. If you can think of something that would help someone new to this wonderful world, please suggest it. Can you remember when you learned something about anime that made it all make sense? What was it? Did you see an anime that really hooked you, something that made you want to see more anime? Which one?

Are you new to anime or manga? Is there something you don’t quite understand? Just curious about something? Please tell me what you’d like to know. Someone else may need the same info. This way you can learn and we can both help others.

If you can think of anything that can help new fans, please leave a comment or use the contact form to e-mail me.

If there are more fans of anime, then more anime will be made. I think we all want that.

Otaku Lessons, fansubs, anime, help, learning, manga, hentai, ecchi, fans

What’s the difference between hentai, which mean perverted, and ecchi, which is the letter H which stands for hentai? Doesn’t it mean the same thing, just 2 different ways to say it? Not really, at least not when shopping for anime or manga. If you buy something thinking they’re the same, you are in for a nasty surprise, and probably an interesting conversation when you try to return it.

Calling someone ecchi is basically calling them a pervert. You might see it sometimes in harem anime like Love Hina. They are saying that person is hentai, perverted.

An ecchi anime is not the same as a hentai anime, not by a long shot. Hentai is basically porn. Full on goin’ at it. Ecchi on the other hand, is a show with lots of very suggestive fan service.

Rule of thumb.

If you see people talking about having sex, it’s ecchi.

Either way, probably not good for the kiddies

hentai, ecchi, anime, manga, Love Hina, fan service

(Update posted here.)

I’d like to talk to you about fansubs. Otaku and anime fan club members will be familiar with them. Anyone else may not. Fansubs are great. They let you get a look at some anime that you may never see otherwise. The companies benefit because they get free advertising and attract more fans. Fansubs may even help decide what anime does get licensed. Naruto and Bleach were both popular fansubs, now they’re on Cartoon Network. Did a fansub help to get them licensed? I don’t know, the only people who know are the people who make the decisions. An established fan base never hurts though.

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anime, fans, fansub