May Archives - Immortallium's Blog

Visual Novels: A Unique Japanese Video Game Genre?

Published May 28, 2020

When I began to explore the worlds of anime and manga, it wasn’t long before I heard the word “Visual Novel”. I had no idea what they were and it wouldn’t be until many years later that I was able to play visual novels (back then, Steam was highly curated and visual novels weren’t available on the platform).

I eventually learned that a visual novel was a text based game usually with anime style visuals. This genre is very popular in Japan with visual novels making up a majority of the PC gaming market. As you might expect, these types of games are controversial for many reasons from the level of sexuality in some of these games to how cheaply many of these games are produced and many even question whether a visual novel is even a video game!

An example of a visual novel, in this case Clannad.

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Why Are Some Manga Flopped?

Published May 25, 2020

A friend bought me an old copy of Manga Mania in a car boot sale recently. While flicking through the pages, I came upon a familiar sight, the final chapter of a manga called Black Magic. The first title released by the legendary Shirow Masamune, I immediately noted that the orientation was left to right. Checking my own personal copy of Black Magic, I noted how it had been released right to left. The question that might arise from this is “Why are some manga flopped?”

To begin, let’s explain why manga are released right to left in Japan. Japanese is written in a script consisting of Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana and is typically written top to bottom from right to left. Since contact with Europeans, Japanese can now also be written left to right horizontally. However, top to bottom from right to left remains the primary way to write books, newspapers, magazines etc in Japanese. This extends to manga as well with the vast majority of manga released in this format.

An example of the reading direction of Japanese.

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Lupin the Third: An Underrated Franchise

Published May 21, 2020

I recently finished watching Lupin the Third Part II, a 155 episode series that I collected over 4 years. Having completed that show, I feel inspired to explain the history and premise of Lupin the Third and, hopefully, entice some of you to check it out.

The franchise follows the misadventures of the eponymous Lupin the 3rd, a master thief, along with his companions Daisuke Jigen, a gunslinger, Goemon Ishikawa, a samurai, and Fujiko Mine, the love interest/femme fatale They are pursued relentlessly by Inspector Zenigata, a police inspector who subsequently joins Interpol and has dedicated his life to arresting Lupin the 3rd.

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Why I Value Film and TV Commentaries

Published May 18, 2020

I recently mentioned on Twitter how I had started to get back into horror films. As I watched these films, I wanted to know more about the stories behind them. I ended up deciding to do my daily exercises (consisting of an exercise bike and weights) while watching and listening to horror movie audio commentaries. I have enjoyed these workout sessions far more than I did in the past and they inspired me to have this discussion of commentaries in general.

An audio commentary is an audio track where one or multiple people discuss the media in question while the media plays in the background. The first audio commentary was recorded for the Criterion release of the original King Kong on Laserdisc in December, 1984. As Laserdisc declined, DVDs (and eventually Blu-Rays) became the ideal mediums for releasing audio commentaries. Since then, we have also seen the appearance of video commentaries which feature footage of the commentators and may include footage of concept art, production etc.

The cover of the 1984 release of King Kong on Laserdisc by Criterion.

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What is the Ideal Video Game Length?

Published May 14, 2020

Given the recent controversy over the length of the Resident Evil 3 remake, I thought now might be a good time to discuss the ideal video game length. As you might imagine, there is a lot to take into account here from how different genres inherently have different playtimes, the cost of said product and, obviously, personal opinion.

When I was a kid, the length of a video game was pretty much irrelevant to me. I would spend so much time messing about that the game lengths would become inflated. I can remember talking to a girl in college about our favourite Final Fantasy games. I brought up Final Fantasy IV and she responded that it wasn’t one of her favourites. I asked why and she said that the game was too short. I was stunned as I recalled how I could spend 50-80 hours on it as a kid. Soon after I got the opportunity to replay Final Fantasy IV on Steam and was taken aback by how comparatively short the game was, now that I was playing it in an efficient manner.

A battle screen from Final Fantasy IV — Turns out Final Fantasy IV is only a 20-30 hour game.

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The Legacy of Astro Boy

Published May 11, 2020

It is quite likely that, even if you are unfamiliar with anime and manga, you have heard of Astro Boy. When discussing the impact and legacy of Osamu Tezuka with people, I often bring up Astro Boy as it allows them to visualize Tezuka’s art style. However, Astro Boy’s legacy goes beyond art and the stories themselves and feeds into the processes of both the modern anime and manga industry.

The story of Astro Boy (as established in the manga chapter “The Birth of Astro Boy”) starts with the death of a boy called Tobio in a car crash. Dr Tenma, head of the Ministry of Science and father to Tobio, is distraught and decides to recreate his son as a robot. After spending time with the new robot, he realizes that the robot will not grow as his son would have and becomes abusive. Dr Tenma eventually sells the robot to a circus where he is discovered by a professor named Ochanomizu. Ochanomizu takes him away from the circus, becomes a father figure to him and renames him Astro Boy. From then on, Astro Boy defends the world and helps to maintain world peace.

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Isekai: Not as Modern as You Think

Published May 7, 2020

While I am perusing the news articles on websites such as Anime News Network and UK Anime Network, I notice a word that pops up again and again, “Isekai”. This genre has become so entrenched in modern otaku culture that it can sometimes feel inseparable.

Isekai refers to a story where a person is either transported or reincarnated into a different world (usually but not exclusively a fantasy world). While it is tempting to describe isekai as a new phenomenon, the reality is that isekai has existed in many forms for a long time. A Japanese folktale named “Urashima Tarō” is often cited as a heavy influence on isekai.

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How Difficult Should Video Games Be?

Published May 4, 2020

“How Difficult Should Video Games Be?” is an interesting question. Search anywhere on the internet and you will find people impassionately arguing for one side or another. It’s an interesting debate that begets many points of discussion and viewpoints.

When discussing video game difficulty, it is always worth bringing up the concept of “Nintendo Hard” which refers to the brutal difficulty that many games of the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) era (which would include games on the competing Master System) possessed. This is due to the short lengths of the games (which would often be completed too quickly if they weren’t hard) as well as being inspired by arcade games where the goal is to make players spend money when they die.

NES games such as Ninja Gaiden were notorious for their difficulty.

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