Sunspots (https://sunspots.cornellsun.com/author/michaelmauer/)
I hope everyone had a wonderful break, filled with family, friends, food and anime binge-watching until some ungodly hour of the night. I know mine was. I also got some new anime and manga, which is always exciting. In other news, I’m back from Japan at long last (though I can’t say that I really wanted to leave). Hopefully I’ll be able to continue incorporating my experiences there into posts here on Manga Mondays.
If you’re ever riding a train in Japan’s Tottori prefecture, you might be lucky enough to ride the “Conan Train.” Which, as it happens, is exactly the same as a regular train, except for the fact that the outside is a giant advertisement for the “Conan” anime (that’s “Case Closed” in America). Why, you might ask, is there such an over-the-top advertisement for an anime in the middle of Japan’s least populous prefecture? Surely the advertisement would reach more people in Tokyo? As it happens, Tottori prefecture is the home of Gosho Aoyama, the author and illustrator of the Conan manga. Thus, it’s not that someone is advertising the anime or manga.
A while ago I attended the Kyoto International Manga and Anime Fair, which, as far as I can tell, is only international insofar as foreigners get in free. But hey, I’m not one to turn down a free anime convention. But, it turns out, the price of the convention was actually a two-hour wait in a line that extended all the way around the block and into the parking lot of a nearby museum (did I mention it was raining?). But honestly, it was pretty worth it. It was all the usual things you’d expect from an anime convention – shops, cosplay, live events onstage, fellow nerds getting way too excited about TV shows they like, etc.
For those that missed the news (it was quite a while ago at this point), Funimation and Crunchyroll have, at long last, announced a formal partnership. Essentially, Crunchyroll is begining to stream some of Funimation’s older, well-known titles like Cowboy Bebop. Meanwhile, Funimation is working on English dubs for some of Crunchyroll’s titles, such as Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, and Mob Psycho 100. The premise is basically to make it easier for viewers to decide where to watch anime.
For those that missed the news, Makoto Shinkai’s newest movie, “Your Name.” (Kimi no Na wa.) recently released in Japan. And it’s a huge hit. In fact, according to Anime News Network (ANN), “Your Name.” is probably going to be first non-Miyazaki anime movie to earn over 10 billion yen. Moreover, ANN also reports that the movie is being liscenced for release in 85 countries and regions. In short, Shinkai’s new film is poised for some unprecedented international success.
I recently visited a department store near Kyoto station, hunting for a power converter so I could charge my laptop. The store was split into 7 floors, each selling different products. Most were immediately recognizable: “Men’s Fashion,” “Women’s Fashion,” “Books,” and so on. One floor, however, was mysteriously labeled “subculture.” Of course, I had to check it out. As expected, the floor was full to the brim with anime, manga, trading cards and arcade games.
Welcome back to Manga Mondays. As you can see, not much has changed here. Still a lot of Monday. Still not much manga. And I’m still making bad jokes with my post titles.
I recently watched Only Yesterday at the Cornell Cinema (highly recommend it!) and the show really got me thinking about the role of rural settings in Japanese popular culture. Note that I didn’t just say anime there! I’m broadening my horizons a bit this week. To which end, we’re going to start with some cultural background. Modern Japan has a bit of a problem: during the postwar period, the country urbanized at an unprecedented rate (if I recall correctly, it was the highest rate in history, though I don’t have a source for that).
I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite some time now. Since about the middle of RWBY volume 3, in fact. However, I kept putting it off to make sure I addressed the topic appropriately. Well I’m going for it now, so no turning back one way or the other. Oh yeah, and beware of spoilers.
For those who haven’t met me in real life and those who haven’t read the blurb at the end of this blog, let me tell you a not-so-secret secret. I’m a huge fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Not just the “has merchandise, owns the whole show, owns the whole soundtrack, owns the whole manga” type of fan. I’m also the “goes to anime conventions to give talks about what it all means” sort of fan. And for lack of a better topic, I’m going to use that presentation’s content for this week.