I hope everyone is enjoying the end of school and productivity for a month. I know I loved sleeping for 12 hours the last few days in a big, warm bed in complete silence. For those who were able to go, I hope you enjoyed Birdy the Mighty: Decode-if you have any thoughts on it, be sure to comment on Grant’s Birdy post.

There’s really no coherent topic to this post, other than that it’s all somehow connected to anime. Join me as I ramble about Bill 156, Mushishi (minor-ish spoilers), on anime recently passed, and anime in the near future.

Bill 156

For those who haven’t yet heard, Tokyo’s Bill 156 (which revises the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths) passed just last week. Essentially, it does a couple of things, like add strict government/parental control on kids’ cell phone and internet usage (stuff that doesn’t really impact us here).

One part of the original ordinance addresses control over “ material that may be detrimental toward the healthy development of youth because of their capacity to be sexually stimulating, encourages cruelty, and/or may compel suicide or criminal behavior.” Basically, any overly violent or sexually explicit public content could get banned from general sales and labelled as R18+. The part of Bill 156 that connects it to anime, and is causing anime fans everywhere to herald the end of anime, is an expansion of this criteria:

• “Any manga, animation, or pictures (but not including real life pictures or footage) that features either sexual or pseudo sexual acts that would be illegal in real life, or sexual or pseudo sexual acts between close relatives whose marriage would be illegal, where such depictions and / or presentations unjustifiably glorify or exaggerate the activity.”

Furthermore, we have this little gem here that revises legislation on child nudity (animated or real):

• “Any sexually arousing posing on the behalf of children under the age of 13 wholly or partially naked, or wearing swimwear or only underwear, published in books or featured in film, must take into account of how the child’s mind and body may be harmed by becoming the object of sexual desire, and therefore parental guardians must exercise parental responsibilities to prevent and educate minors from becoming featured in such work or child pornography.”

What does this all mean? Basically, any anime or manga that the government deems harmful to minors (based on sexual or criminal content) gets labelled R18+. As you might guess, an awful lot of anime and manga fall into this category. If a show becomes R18+, it (legally) loses a significant chunk of its target demographic, which drastically decreases projected sales, discouraging companies from making anything that could be considered “adult” content.

Some people see the bill as the end of anime and manga, but I’m not inclined to agree just yet. One might think that any criminal content at all would be tantamount to R18+ (like death on-screen), but notice that this kind of filtering was already present in Tokyo’s Youth Ordinance, prior to Bill 156. All Bill 156 adds is this “illegal sexual content” bit. Things like death, or smuggling, or non-sexual criminal content will still probably pass through within reason (if it’s passed in the last 10 years, it’ll probably still pass now). Mild fanservice, like occasional panty-shots, probably won’t condemn shows to the adult corner either.

However, note that a significant chunk of anime released in recent years does fall under Bill 156′s new jurisdiction. Shows like Yosuga no Sora or OreImo portray “sexual or pseudo-sexual” acts between siblings, Index probably falls under the “child pornography” rule (a lot of the female cast are 13-ish). As such, I’m a bit curious to see what Bil 156 does for the anime industry. I’ve never really been a fan of over-the-top fanservice-y shows like Yosuga no Sora (lol sorry Steve), and the new bill will force developers to look elsewhere. There’s a lot of potential for decline in the anime industry, of course, but who knows? Maybe it’ll be an…intellectual stimulus of sorts.

Then again, maybe anime and manga really is dead. SOUTH KOREA gogogogoggogoog

Review: Mushishi

I just recently finished watching this show, and I feel compelled to say something about it. It’s a very interesting show, and probably one of the better shows I’ve seen in a while. While I might cover some things that could be considered spoiler-ish, there really isn’t anything that would ruin anyone’s enjoyment of the show. The plot is such that it’s not really spoilable anyways.

The premise is that there exist a unique, radically different type of lifeform called Mushi, which coexists with normal life on earth. Most people can’t see them, but anyone can be affected by them. There are a number of people who study Mushi to both understand them and protect people from them, and these people are called Mushishi. The main character of the show, Ginko (shown in the picture), is one such person. The show revolves around his travels and the people he meets along the way.

You may recall from my first post on this blog what I generally look for in anime. In order, they are: character, plot, visuals, and sound. More specifically, I enjoy shows with dynamic, developing characters in a coherent plot. I also like shows that have some second meaning, some kind of theme or message behind the anime. That said, Mushishi has virtually nothing I usually look for. The show is extremely episodic in nature, to the point I could have watched the show in reverse order and not have noticed anything different. The plot is not very original, and virtually every episode consists of some person contracting a strange illness, and Ginko somehow connecting it to Mushi. The only recurring character is Ginko, who is more of an observer in the world than an active participant. The other characters, most of whom are episode-specific, are decidedly average, and have very few defining traits, personality-wise or design-wise (if you lined them all up, there’d be no way I could distinguish between any of them). The animation and music, while done neatly, are not particularly outstanding. There is no overarching theme, no real philosophical message to take away. All in all, I probably shouldn’t have liked Mushishi.

And yet, here I am, toting it as one of the best things I’ve seen in recent memory. Maybe it was

precisely because the characters weren’t vibrant, because the plot was episodic, because there was no connecting theme, that I liked it. Mushishi is closer to a life documentary than to an actual anime with plot. Despite its supernatural and fantastical premise, the show chooses to focus on the ordinary lives of ordinary humans, and their generally unfortunate encounters with Mushi. There are no real happy or sad endings. There is no real beginning or end (and indeed, the show may very well be achronological). There are no clearly defined protagonists or antagonists – while humans are usually victims of Mushi, the Mushi aren’t so much villains as they are competitors in an effort to survive. For once, humans take a backseat to the setting, and the show becomes just as much about what’s around us as it is about us. Mushishi is an example of what I really think “Slice of Life” should be.

The closest show I’ve seen to Mushishi is Kino’s Journey, as they share similarly detached protagonists. Kino’s Journey, however, focuses on humanity, while Mushishi focuses on life and nature as a whole. If you get a chance, I’d suggest watching at least an episode or two of it to get an idea of what’s it like.

Anime of 2010

I’ll admit, I’ve been rather lax in keeping up with the current scene in anime (I spent most of this year trying to catch up with good shows from previous years), and I’ve barely heard of half the stuff that came out in 2010. And maybe it’s because I didn’t see enough of it, but I feel 2010 was a somewhat slow year for anime in general. Plenty of lulz, but less srs bzns and deepfag stuff. In a nutshell:

Stuff I could recommend with a straight face

• Angel Beats!
• Baka to Test to Shokanjuu
• The Tatami Galaxy
• The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 1080p is out!)

Stuff I would recommend for the lulz

• Highschool of the Dead
• Koe de Oshigoto!
• MM!
• Ore no Imouto
• Shinryaku! Ika Musume
• Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

Stuff that’s supposed to be good that I’ve been too lazy to watch

• Shiki
• Durarara!!
• Amagami SS
• Arakawa Under the Bridge

Feel free to roast me on my laziness/tastes in the comments!

Upcoming Anime – Winter 2011

Current Winter 2011 chart

I’m…really not sure what to say, other than…I spent the last year catching up on good shows from previous years, and I think I’ll keep doing the same next season. Everything I can say I’ll be watching is at the bottom of the page, in the OVA/OAD section (Angel Beats!, Kara no Kyoukai, Baka to Test).

If you heartily disagree, convince me that Winter 2011 will actually be the best season ever in the comments.

Index Ep. 11

1. At first I was like ^_^
2. Then I was like >_>
3. Then I was like -_-
4. Then I was like O_O
5. Then I was like ._.

Merry Christmas all!