Immortallium's Blog

Based On A True Story: Overrated?

Published April 23, 2020

Back in college, one of my lecturers told us to watch the film “Casino” by the next class. When I returned, he asked me what I thought about the film. I told him that I admired the acting in the film and the technical aspects such as the cinematography and score. However, I also said that I found the film to be a typical gangster film and that I didn’t understand why it was a story that needed to be told. His response was “But it’s based on a true story”.

This is an answer that infuriates me and yet it is an answer that I hear frequently. There seems to be a mindset that if something is based on a true story, whether it be a film, TV series, book, etc, it somehow elevates it to the level of being intellectual and beyond criticism. Logically, this also convinces people that stories of pure fiction are somehow subpar and have little cultural merit.

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What Minigames Add And Take Away From The Gaming Experience

Published April 20, 2020

It can take a long time to complete a video game. The average video game can take you anywhere between 10 to 20 hours to beat and there are plenty that can take even longer! While many video games are undoubtedly fun, doing the same thing for hours upon hours can potentially exhaust you. You might be tempted to take a break and do something different, perhaps play another video game of a different genre or watch a film or a TV series. The game developers, of course, don’t want you to do this and many choose to include minigames…

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Why You Should Seek Out Experimental Manga

Published April 16, 2020

When exploring the world of manga, it is very easy to get caught up in mainstream manga. Titles like Naruto, My Hero Academia and Attack on Titan are certainly entertaining series but, after a while, you burn out and begin to ask questions such as “Do I still like manga?” or “Should I move onto another medium?” The answer I found was to begin branching out to manga off the beaten path. Seinen and Josei titles certainly demonstrate the variety that can be found in this medium but nothing proves this better than experimental manga!

But what is experimental manga? Also known as alternative manga, they are often avant-garde, featuring unusual art-styles and cover themes not found in mainstream manga. Magazines that feature these works often eschew the common practice of defining themselves by demographics such as Shonen, Shojo, Seinen or Josei (although to be honest, most experimental manga would probably fall into the categories of either Seinen or Josei).

Garo (1964-2002) was one of the most influential experimental manga magazines.

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Fan Service: Past, Present and Future

Published April 13, 2020

Most assuredly one of the most infamous aspects of anime and manga, I have made my opinion on fan service well known. However, let’s discuss the history of fan service, what it started out as and what it has become and how it should perhaps change, particularly as Japanese popular culture becomes more global.

When hearing the words “Fan Service”, I and many others immediately imagine the image of highly sexualized anime and manga characters (usually female) in provocative positions and outfits. However, it might interest you to remember that the term fan service simply means content that pleases the audience and can mean a wide variety of things.

Mecha series are an excellent example of non-sexual fan service where close up shots reveal the details and workings of the mechs.

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Do You Finish Your Games?

Published April 9, 2020

It seems like the logical answer to this question should be a resounding yes. Surely the majority of gamers finish the games they play, right? While pondering the question, I was reminded of a statistic I saw many years ago where I read that only 10% of players finish the game they are playing. Of course, that news story is quite old by this point. I went looking for more recent information and discovered a news article from late 2017 which calculated how many people completed a game based on their achievements. While not as dire as the earlier news story, it does seem to show that a majority of gamers do not complete the games they start. Why is this?

An obvious answer would be that people give up games they are not enjoying. I know for sure that I have given up on games in the past because I was not enjoying them. Life is too short and time too precious to be spending time playing a game that you dislike (unless you are reviewing the game, streaming the game, doing research etc).

An image of Geralt from the Witcher trilogy.

As of this article, only 26.8% of people who own Witcher 3 on Steam have completed it.

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My Experience With Light Novels

Published April 6, 2020

Long ago, I can remember going to an anime film festival in Dublin. I saw many great films such as Redline and Summer Wars but one of the standouts was a film called “The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya”. Watching it, I could tell it was a sequel but I still remember how much I enjoyed the film. I bought the TV series from a now defunct company called Beez Entertainment and soon discovered that the franchise had started out from something called a “Light Novel”.

Light novels are targeted at a young adult audience and are generally 200 to 300 pages long. The most distinguishing characteristic of these novels is the anime/manga style artwork that are scattered throughout the novel, often depicting a scene from the previous page. While many light novels are first published as volumes, some are serialized in anthology magazines before being compiled into volumes.

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The Advent and Decline of the OVA (Original Video Animation)?

Published April 2, 2020

It is likely that, if you’re an anime fan, you have heard the term OVA before. But what is an OVA and how and why has this format developed? An OVA stands for “Original Video Animation” and refers to anime that’s released initially on home video formats such as DVDs and Blu-Rays (although historically this would also include VHS and LaserDisc).

It is important to note that direct to video doesn’t have the same negative reputation in Japan as it does in the West. Back when VHS began to be released, a new genre known as “V-Cinema” was developed which saw Japanese indie directors release their films straight to home video. By the time the first OVA (Dallos) was released, direct to video was viewed as a respectable, perhaps even prestigious, way to release content.

Dallos (directed by Mamoru Oshii) is often viewed as the first OVA series.

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Should Japanese Games on PC Be More Competitive During Sales?

Published March 30, 2020

I remember going onto the Humble Store in the past year and seeing that Square Enix games were on sale. From past experience I knew that the sale would only include their Western titles such as Tomb Raider, Life is Strange and Deus Ex. A few days later, I saw that Square Enix Japan had decided to join the sale. However, whereas Square Enix’s Western titles were as much as 85% off, their Japanese games were limited to 50% off or less. This made me think about how Japanese publishers price their games during sales compared to Western publishers.

The first thing I want to address is the possible misconception that this article is about self-entitlement. I could easily imagine someone reading the first paragraph and thinking “This guy just wants cheap games!” However, as I’ve mentioned before, I primarily play Japanese games and my only platform for video games these days is the PC. It wasn’t too long ago when very few Japanese games came out for PC and I wish to see them succeed on the PC platform.

While only one of many Japanese games publishers, the difference in pricing between their Japanese and Western divisions make them an ideal example for this article.

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Why Are Anime Compilation Films Still Produced?

Published March 26, 2020

Have you ever noticed a new film is coming out from an anime franchise that you really like, you get excited and then you learn that it is merely a compilation film? It can be pretty disheartening when you come to that realization but why does this happen and why does anime continue to create films in this style when it seems the rest of the world has moved on?

But what is a compilation film? A compilation film is where you take footage that was previously released and edit them to produce a film. This film might include some new footage, narration, music etc but will still be predominantly made up of content that was released before. When it comes to anime compilation films, the footage is usually from TV series that are edited so that a section of the story is presented with some parts from the show shortened or removed.

Clearly the crew of Puella Magi Madoka Magica saw upgrading the fence as vital content. (Top: TV series. Middle: Home video. Bottom: Compilation film).

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What Is It That I Love About Horror?

Published March 23, 2020

Despite speaking of how much I enjoy horror, until recently I had not watched a horror film for a long time. With all the TV series (including anime), books (including manga and comics) and video games consuming my time, I found myself letting my films fall by the wayside. Recently I caught up with the MCU and decided to dedicate time in my week to watching films. As I perused the DVDs/Blu-Rays that I had yet to watch my eye was drawn to the sole horror film.

I had watched The Cabin in the Woods back when it came out in cinema in 2012 but I had yet to rewatch it since then. Described as a “loving hate letter” to horror, I had forgotten what a joy the film was to experience as a horror fan. With sharp writing, clever characterizations and numerous homages to horror, I was quickly reminded of why I came to adore horror in the first place.

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