Category: 2021

The Most Watched Anime Episodes Of All Time

Published February 18, 2021

When you think of the most popular anime series of all time, you probably think of series such as Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball etc. However, a group called Video Research have been collecting comprehensive anime viewership ratings in Japan since 1977 and, taking a look at their list, it may shock you to see that not only are none of the typical names we Westerners would expect there but also that the most recent episode comes from 1990! Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the most watched anime episodes of all time.

First off, it’s worth noting that, according to Video Research, one of the most viewed anime episodes of all time was an episode of the original 1963-1966 Astro Boy with a 40.3% household viewership. Unfortunately, it’s unclear which of the 193 episodes it was as no specific airdate was provided. However, I find it fitting that a series that has had such an impact on the medium of anime, from storytelling to animation techniques, has one of the most watched anime episodes of all time.

An image of Astro Boy flying in the 1963 TV series. — The 1963-1966 Astro Boy.

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Why Trope Deconstruction Is So Fascinating

Published February 15, 2021

Anyone who has consumed even a moderate amount of storytelling media will realise that many stories fall back on clichés and common themes in order to express themselves. These are called “Tropes” and, while tropes aren’t a bad thing, it can become quite tiresome when you see one appear over and over. However, some works are self-aware of these clichés and take the opportunity to reinterpret them in different, unique ways. This is called “Trope Deconstruction” and I thought I might share my thoughts on why I find these works fascinating and enjoyable.

When I was a child, I was, for the most part, blind to tropes, simply consuming media such as movies, TV series, books etc. without much consideration for the tropes that made it up. By secondary school, I had begun to develop an interest in horror films and set about consuming them with great gusto. By the time I reached Scream, I had begun to develop a particular interest in slasher films and the various tropes associated with them, in particular that of the final girl.

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Video Game Collectibles: Why I Both Love And Hate Them

Published February 11, 2021

In the past few years I have become quite an addict to video game achievements. This has seen my average game completion percentage on Steam jump from about 30% up to 64% (keep in mind that this is currently across 262 games!). However, for some seeking achievements, it’s inevitable that you are going to run into video game collectibles, a controversial topic for video gamers that has its origins in the early days of the medium. Knowing all this, I thought it might be interesting to examine video game collectibles and why I both love and hate them.

Video games have had a long history when it comes to collecting items whether it were the pellets and fruit of Pac-Man, the coins of Super Mario or the keys of Doom. These collectibles served as critical components to the gameplay by increasing the score, gaining lives or unlocking new pathways.

Look at how many collectibles there are in Pac-Man! This doesn’t even include the fruit that later appear!

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Some of the Most Distinct Manga Art I’ve Ever Seen

Published February 8, 2021

Whenever people think of the art-style associated with manga, most people will probably think of large eyed, attractive (if male, spikey haired) characters with realistic proportions. While it’s true that much of the art of manga is drawn in this style, it’s worth noting that not all manga is drawn in this fashion. Knowing that, I thought it might be worth discussing a few manga titles whose art has been amongst the most distinct I’ve ever seen.

While it would be very easy for me to point to older manga series as being distinct artistically, I will be trying to remain aware of the context of their creation. What I mean by that is that I could point to many of Osamu Tezuka’s earlier titles for having a distinctly Western animation look but, given that that was how manga was typically drawn at the time, I would avoid giving that example. Instead, I’m going to take a look at manga art that was distinct from other titles even within the time of publication.

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Why the Young Animator Training Project is Important

Published February 4, 2021

I’ve spoken before about “The Economics of Anime” where I broke down how anime in general earns revenue. As part of that article, I mentioned how pay for animators have been kept obscenely low and that this is leading to a crisis within the industry where fewer and fewer Japanese animators are working on anime series and, instead, much of the animation is being outsourced to overseas studios. As one of many responses to this dilemma, the Young Animator Training Project was established.

The Young Animator Training Project was originally established in 2010 as an initiative by both the Japanese government’s Ministry for Cultural Affairs and the Japanese Animation Creators Association, a company that seeks to improve the working conditions of the industry’s animators. They were originally provided $2.27 million to create four short films with all animation to be done within Japan itself with the goal of teaching younger animators the skills and techniques associated with animating.

The four animated shorts produced in the first year of the project.

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How Important Are Dark Themes in Children’s Media?

Published February 1, 2021

I’ve been listening to YouTube videos, in the background, as I work recently and I noted in one of the videos that a YouTuber brought up “The Land Before Time” after they saw a dinosaur in the game they were playing. The other YouTuber responded by saying “That depressing children’s movie?”. Hearing this reminded me of how surprisingly dark some of the themes are in children’s media but also how I believe that it is vitally important that children’s media tackle these subjects.

Having brought up The Land Before Time, I think it might be worth discussing Don Bluth’s philosophy when it came to directing animated films. His policy was “that kids can handle dark stuff as long as it has a happy ending” with many of his films not afraid to tackle the topics of death, trauma, abandonment etc. While some may criticise this philosophy, I believe that it makes sense that children’s media should teach kids some of the darker points of life as a way for children to understand and interpret the world.

The Land Before Time wasn’t afraid to tackle the theme of death.

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The Surprising Difficulty of Portraying Romance in Video Games

Published January 28, 2021

You might’ve noticed at this point that I like to play video games and I’ve a particular interest in RPGs. I’ve mentioned before how I’ve played Skyrim and went on to get 100% of all of the achievements within the game. One of the first achievements I took note of was to marry a character and as I explored the world and completed quests, I came across Aela the Huntress. I instantly liked her personality and decided that I would marry her. I built a house in Falkreath and proposed to her. We got married and as we began to live together, I quickly realised that any personality that I had been attracted to had been purged from her. While I still found some enjoyment in the relationship, I could remember feeling quite disappointed from the experience and this made me begin to think about the surprising difficulty of portraying romance in video games.

I should probably clarify that I’m predominantly going to be discussing romance in video games in which you make an active choice to pursue a particular character rather than ones where a romance is fixed. While fixed romance in games can come with their own share of problems, I would rather talk about the issues associated with romance where the player makes an active choice and the limitations that video games can struggle with when it comes to portraying this.

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The History of Bishonen: Beautiful Men in Anime and Manga

Published January 25, 2021

There are many reasons for the increasing popularity of anime and manga worldwide but an often overlooked cause for the rapid growth is the female market which is prominent in many countries and continuing to grow overall. Interestingly, one of the aspects that appeals to many women is “Bishonen”. Given this fact, I thought it might be interesting to look at the history of bishonen in anime and manga, the art-style of drawing beautiful men.

The concept of beautiful men is not a recent one and can be found throughout the history of East Asia. One of the most famous examples would be the wakashū, adolescent males who were “sexually available to both men and women” who wore kimonos and were associated with many aspects of femininity such as flower arranging and makeup. Another aspect of Japanese culture that fed into what would become bishonen were Onnagata, male actors who would play female roles in kabuki theater. These actors were often young with feminine qualities who carefully studied female mannerisms and were also considered desirable by both men and women.

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A History of the Sex-Filled World of Hentai

Published January 21, 2021

Recently, Kent State University had a book called “Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation” by Dr. Susan J. Napier added as a reading material for one of their courses. Since then, the book has seen controversy as Ohio lawmakers are now threatening to withdraw funding unless the book is removed from the curriculum. Dr. Susan J. Napier herself has responded by saying that she suspects that the offending material comes from her chapter on pornography in Japanese animation, also known as hentai, but that she thought that it was important to discuss the topic as a part of anime culture. While I confess that I’ve been uncomfortable with discussing this topic in the past, her words have given me the courage to take a look at and discuss the history of the sex-filled world of hentai.

It might be interesting to begin by explaining the word hentai itself. The word is made up of two kanji with the first, 変, meaning strange and the second, 態, meaning attitude or condition and, when combined, 変態 can mean abnormality or pervert. However, it is far more commonly associated with media that features the art-style of anime and manga, also including video games with that art-style, that depict pornography. While I have touched on the topics of fan service and sexualisation in the past, hentai goes beyond that to show graphic sexual intercourse between characters.

The word Hentai written in hiragana, kanji and romaji.

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Two Surprisingly Popular Works of English-Language Literature in Japan

Published January 18, 2021

I was recently watching an anime called “Nerima Daikon Brothers”. I didn’t particularly care for this anime series but something that stood out to me was an episode where two of the main cast members reenacted the ending to a novel called “A Dog of Flanders”. This reenactment led to the villain breaking down into tears due to their childhood memories of reading the book. This stood out to me and I decided to do some research which would lead me to discover some surprisingly popular works of English-language literature in Japan.

Starting with the work that piqued my interest, A Dog of Flanders was written by English novelist Marie Louise de la Ramée who worked under the pseudonym Ouida and was originally released in 1872. The book is relatively unknown in the English-speaking world but has proven incredibly popular in Japan, the Philippines and Korea. The story behind its popularity can be traced to a Japanese diplomat who discovered the book in 1908 and sent some copies back to Japan.

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