Immortallium's Blog

Why Did Balan Wonderworld Fail So Disastrously?

Published June 17, 2021

The recent news that Yuji Naka has left Square Enix only about a month after the release of Balan Wonderworld has highlighted how poorly the game was received both from critics and consumers. Having previously been cautiously excited for Balan Wonderworld, I thought it might be interesting to share my, admittedly limited, experience with the game, why I was excited in the first place, why I believe that Balan Wonderworld was a fail for both Yuji Naka and Square Enix and why the game was received so disastrously.

I should probably start with when I first heard about the game. Balan Wonderworld was announced in July 2020 as a new game that would reunite Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, the co-creators of the famous Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. As you might expect, this was quite exciting for many people and I was also excited to see the release of another 3D platformer in a market where so few are released these days. Admittedly, the price tag of €60 was a concern for me as 3D platformers are typically priced more competitively but I was still eager to see more of the game.

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Why Is Manga So Dominant in American Graphic Novel Sales?

Published June 14, 2021

There was a recent news story which stated that the Demon Slayer manga alone had outsold the entire American comic industry. While this story turned out to be incorrect, the discussion that it provoked was quite fascinating and so I decided to take a look at the reasons why manga can be so dominant when it comes to American graphic novel sales.

First off, we should take a look at the bestselling graphic novels in the US in 2020. Looking at NPD Bookscan’s sales charts, who claim that they have sales information on approximately 85% of the physical book market in the US, you’ll notice how dominant manga seems to be. While no specific sales figures are given, you can see that the best selling graphic novel in the US in 2020 was the first volume of My Hero Academia, a manga. In fact, of the top 20 best selling graphic novels, only 5 are not manga with Strange Planet occupying the second slot, Stranger Planet in the seventh slot, March: Book One in the eleventh slot, Snug: A Collection of Comics about Dating Your Best Friend in the twelfth slot and a rerelease of Watchmen in the 15th slot. While we don’t know the difference in sales numbers between each entry, I do think that it’s fair to say that manga has become quite dominant when it comes to American graphic novel sales.

The first volume of My Hero Academia was the best-selling graphic novel in America in 2020!

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What Is The Super Deformed Art Style?

Published June 10, 2021

I was recently rewatching all of the Slayers anime series with some other people and one of them asked me why the characters would become small every so often. It took me a moment to figure out what she meant but she was referring to when Lina Inverse was shouting at someone and they became tiny or how when the characters were explaining their plan on a blackboard they would all become much smaller looking with large heads. I realised that I didn’t know that much about the super deformed art style and I decided to do some research on it.

First off, I should describe what super deformed art style is. Super deformed, also referred to as chibi, art is where anime/manga characters are depicted with a less realistic head to body proportion. In contrast to the standard head to body proportion where the head makes up about 1/7th of the body, a super deformed character may have their head make up 1/3rd of their body, 1/2nd or even cases where the head is larger than their body!

Okay there’s “super deformed” and then there’s “whatever-the-hell-Gourry-is-doing” in this scene!#SLAYERS #SlayersNEXT #Episode2 #AnimeRetroRewatch pic.twitter.com/ss7swLLMOf
— Ochan30🏳️‍🌈 (@Ochan30) November 19, 2020

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Why Mini Theaters In Japan Are Important

Published June 7, 2021

I was recently scratching my head over the existence of the Gundam Reconguista in G compilation films. Considering the negative reception surrounding Gundam Reconguista in G, it seemed like a strange move to release five compilation films. “Is anyone actually watching these films?” I distinctly remember wondering. I decided to go to Anime News Network and see if they had any information on the box office of the Gundam Reconguista films that had been released so far. I found an article detailing box office grosses in Japan around March 2020 and, while perusing, I noticed the statement that the first Gundam Reconguista compilation film had “ranked at #1 in the mini-theater rankings for its two weekends.” I was quite perplexed. “What’s a mini theater?” I wondered. Upon doing some impromptu research, I realised that mini theaters are an important and fascinating aspect of the film industry in Japan and decided to share what I had learned.

First off, what’s a mini theater? A mini theater is a type of movie theater that is smaller than a typical movie theater, is not associated with any major film companies and is free to distribute the films they desire. With regards to mini theaters in Japan, these films are typically Japanese indie/arthouse films or indie/arthouse films from other countries. Of course, it would also seem as though they distribute other types of films as well. After all, I wouldn’t refer to Gundam Reconguista in G compilation films as either indie or arthouse.

The poster for the first Gundam Reconguista in G compilation film.

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Gameplay Vs Narrative: The Greatest Battle Throughout Video Game Development

Published June 3, 2021

Video game development and design can be incredibly complicated but easily one of the greatest debates is the battle of gameplay vs narrative. Relatively new, video games represent an unusual area of interactive entertainment, in sharp contrast to other mediums such as film, television, books etc. and it can feel like video game designers are still trying to figure out the balance of gameplay and narrative. In recent years, I’ve heard an increasing number of opinions with regards to this debate and I decided that it was worth looking at this topic and share my own thoughts and opinions.

When it comes to video games vs other entertainment mediums, it is clear that gameplay is the single most defining aspect that distinguishes video games. The ability to interact with the world, characters, gameplay systems etc. isn’t possible in more traditional entertainment mediums, excluding board games, and this aspect is what most people will think of when they think of video games. However, as video games have become more and more technically complicated with greater graphics, audio, voice acting, etc., many video games have become progressively more and more story-driven.

Hearts of Iron IV is very gameplay driven.

Fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy Remastered is driven by its narrative.

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The Strange But Fascinating World of Doujinshi

Published May 31, 2021

When it comes to the manga industry, it is very easy to only focus on professional manga, particularly when professional manga tends to be the only form of manga licensed by Western publishers. However, this ignores one of the more strange but fascinating aspects of manga culture in Japan, that being the world of doujinshi.

First, let’s define what doujinshi is. The term doujinshi combines the terms “Doujin” which refers to people who share a hobby and “Shi” which refers to magazines. Basically, it refers to self-published series and is typically, but not exclusively, released by amateur artists. Many professional mangaka started their careers by releasing doujinshi with a particularly notable example being the series “Black Magic” which was originally released as a doujinshi before later being rereleased by a manga publisher and kickstarting the career of Shirow Masamune, creator of Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell.

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The Unusual Process of Japanese Voice Acting

Published May 27, 2021

When it comes to the differences between anime and animation from the rest of the world, I’m always startled at how different the various processes can be. Easily one of the more unusual is the process of recording Japanese voice acting for anime. Considering how different it can be compared to other forms of animation, I thought it might be worth examining this process and learning why it’s done this way in Japan.

First, I should probably explain the standard outside of Japan. In Western animation, and most of the world, the voice actors are provided the script, deliver their lines and the animation is later animated. There are numerous reasons why this is done but a sample would include being able to use the performance to inform the way the character moves and emotes and to lip synch the dialogue to the character’s mouth. If you have ever watched a Disney animated movie, a Dreamworks animated movie etc., this process is how those films were produced.

Interestingly, Akira, an anime, was also produced via this method.

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Why Is Audrey Hepburn So Popular In Japan?

Published May 24, 2021

I’ve recently begun watching Gundam Unicorn, an entry in the Universal Century timeline, and have been finding it to be an incredible experience. However, something that caught my attention was when one of the characters, not wishing to use their real name, identified themselves under the alias “Audrey Burne”. “Surely this is a reference to Audrey Hepburn” I can remember thinking to myself but it also made me wonder how popular and well-known she was in Japan.

First, it might be worth explaining who Audrey Hepburn is for those who are unfamiliar with her. Originally born in Belgium before moving to Britain and performing at the West End, she eventually made her way to Hollywood and ended up becoming an exceptionally popular actress, being recognised by the American Film Institute as the 3rd greatest female star of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

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What Is Crossplay And Why It’s Suddenly Relevant Again

Published May 20, 2021

The recent ongoing trial between Epic Games and Apple has proven to be a treasure trove for those seeking information about the behind-the-scenes of the secretive video games industry. Much of this information has revolved around the Epic Games Store itself but we have also seen some information regarding other video game companies. One of the more interesting discoveries was with regards to Sony and their attitude towards crossplay. This has suddenly shone the spotlight back on crossplay and made the discussion relevant again.

First, I should probably explain what crossplay is to those unfamiliar with the term. Short for “Cross-Platform Play”, it refers to when a game supports players playing together across different gaming platforms. This concept is relatively new within the games industry with the first console games with crossplay support only first appearing around 2000 when several Sega Dreamcast games allowed for players playing on the Dreamcast, Windows PC or PlayStation 2 to play multiplayer together.

4×4 Evo was one of the first games to offer crossplay, allowing Dreamcast, Windows and Macintosh players to play together.

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Why Autobiographical Manga Is So Interesting

Published May 17, 2021

When I was perusing my manga collection recently for something to read, my eyes were drawn to a manga called “Ichi-F”. Covering the cleanup operation after the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, the story followed the true tale of a worker called Kazuto Tatsuta, a pseudonym, as he worked at the power plant and, later on, covering his decision to write the manga series itself. I found the manga itself very enjoyable but, more than that, it reminded me of how unique reading an autobiographical manga is and I decided to take a look at some particularly notable examples and why I find them so interesting.

One thing you’ll notice when you begin to examine the field of autobiographical manga is how many of them centre around artists and the manga industry. This makes sense to me as, in contrast to autobiographic prose where most people seem to have some capability to write, being able to draw a work to an acceptable quality is not a skill that most people tend to have. I do confess that this seems to restrict the variety of autobiographical manga to a certain extent although we still see some series develop that cover unusual topics.

The cover of the English edition of Ichi-F.

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