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One of the no-nos in fan fiction is writing stories featuring the real-life actors that play the characters people fantasize about, especially in a slash or yaoi setting.
I totally get this and agree with it. However, sometimes there's a perfect synergy of attractive characters/attractive actors in roles that yaoi fangirls go crazy over where it's hard to withstand the temptation. ;)
Hiroshi Kamiya (above) plays Izaya Orihara in Durarara!!
Daisuke Ono plays Shizuo Heiwajima in the same anime series.
If you haven't seen Durarara!!, Izaya and Shizuo have a well, complicated relationship. It's difficult to explain, but basically, Shizuo wants to kill Izaya. Yaoi fangirls have been putting Izaya and Shizuo together ever since the characters were introduced in the anime.
Both Kamiya and Ono are good-looking guys (and even kind of resemble Izaya and Shizuo), so you can imagine the way they set fangirls' hearts afire, particularly those of us of the yaoi persuasion. In addition, they appear to be friends in real life.
I was wandering through You Tube and found the following videos. With the usual proviso (i.e., You Tube can take these down at any moment), here's the first one.
I think they're doing karaoke here, but I'm not really sure. It's hysterical in any event.
In their defense, both are accomplished singers, so don't take the above as indicating how they actually sing. ;)
The next one is from a drama CD. It's a little long, but fun:
Finally, an Izaya and Shizuo alarm clock. As one commenter put it, if the alarm sounds and you don't get out of bed, Shizuo throws a vending machine at you. :)
Not in any way implying anything yaoi about the two actors, seriously. But it's nice when life looks as though it could imitate art, at least sometimes. ;)
One of the most popular mainstream shonen-ai/yaoi anime series is Junjou Romantica, derived from the manga by Shungiku Nakamura. (I say "mainstream" to differentiate it from hentai-type yaoi.) I just finished watching the first season of Junjou Romantica and I can't resist comparing it to Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, the latest anime based on Nakamura's work.
Junjou Romantica tells the story of three yaoi couples. The main couple is Akihiko Usami and Misaki Takahashi.
Misaki is an 18-year-old new college student and Usami, 28, is a famous boy's love novelist. Despite Takahiro Sakurai's funny and charming performance as Misaki, I found the main couple in Junjou Romantica to be the least engaging of all three. Usami is unemotional, overbearing and/or depressed for most of the story and Misaki is a very young eighteen. Not all age-gap couples bother me but this one did, since Misaki is financially dependent on the wealthy Usami, in addition to being naive where Usami is a sophisticate. It felt a little like a traditional male-female romance story where the lord of the manor takes in a poor but proud servant girl - not the kind of story that I usually warm up to, I'm afraid. ;)
Junjou Romantica's other two stories each have their own sub-name: Junjou Egoist and Junjou Terrorist. Junjou Egoist features a tsundere college professor, Hiroki Kamijo, who falls in love with a student named Nowaki Kusama. The dynamic in this relationship is that Hiroki gradually becomes attached to the gentle Nowaki despite trying to keep a tight lid on his feelings. The story is super-heavy on the angst, which again, is not really my thing.
Finally, the couple that I least expected to like turned out to be the best one of the three. Junjou Terrorist tells the story of Yo Miyagi, a 35-year-old professor and colleague of Kamijo, who is the romantic target of his ex-wife's little brother Shinobu Takatsuki, now 18 years old.
The sub-name Junjou Terrorist comes from Shinobu's single-minded pursuit of the jaded and cynical Miyagi, who can hardly believe his ex-brother-in-law sees him in that way. Shinobu's grim little face as he tries to worm his way into Miyagi's life is hysterical, giving rise to the funniest scenes in the entire series.
Shinobu's determined efforts earn him the "terrorist" label from an increasingly unnerved Miyagi, who eventually stops Shinobu with the old "call his bluff" trick. Shinobu, who has pretended to be experienced with men and who quite clearly isn't, gets taken to bed by an exasperated Miyagi. Before anything can happen Shinobu realizes what Miyagi is doing, is humiliated, and runs off.
Miyagi can't quite believe it, but he begins to miss Shinobu. Eventually we find out why: Shinobu reminds him of himself at that age, when he fell madly in love with his old homeroom teacher. When the teacher died of illness, Miyagi concluded that "nothing lasts," and hence his aversion to relationships.
What made this third story work for me is that Miyagi's awakening is shown in such a realistic, matter-of-fact way. He's kind of a callous jerk before his realization and he's the same afterward; he's just more aware now, is all. The lack of forced sentimentality is refreshing. ;)
I still prefer Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi to Junjou Romantica, as I find Sekai-ichi's main couple Ritsu and Takano to be the most appealing of all of Nakamura's couples. Their having been in love as teenagers makes for a compelling back story and it's almost impossible not to root for them to find their way back to each other again.
I'll gladly watch Junjou Romantica's second season to see what happens next, as it's likely the relationships will be tested and get deeper. Shungiku Nakamura is a talented storyteller capable of much depth, as evidenced not only by these two series but by works such as the beautiful and disturbing Hybrid Child manga. Not all of Nakamura's male characters may float my boat, but her world of men is still one well worth watching.
The Borders bookstore chain is going out of business. The liquidation sale begins this Friday.
I've written about Borders previously here and here, but I wanted to say a final word about them.
Borders was the only major bookstore chain to support yaoi and boy's love manga and novels. To this day, Barnes & Noble doesn't stock yaoi and boy's love. If this had been the only reason to support Borders over B&N, it would have been enough for me. But I also liked Borders for its Paperchase stationery section with all of its cool merchandise (notebooks and tote bags in kitschy and artistic designs, pretty pens, flash drives illustrated with panda bears and flowers). I was fine with their Seattle's Best Coffee cafes, which served average coffee and pastries, and the yummy frozen blended Cake Batter beverage in summer.
B&N has Starbucks cafes in their stores, and Borders had Seattle's Best. In many ways Borders was the Avis to B&N's Hertz, the No. 2 trying hard to catch No. 1. Why they failed is being debated, but by all accounts corporate mismanagement and lack of vision (especially as to online sales and failing to develop their own ereader device) appear to be the main reasons.
It was painful watching Borders dying by inches over this past year, as familiar stores near me closed one by one. I bit the bullet a few months ago and bought a B&N membership card, but it won't be the same. I visited my local B&N recently and looked at the manga section, including Tokyopop books, which will soon be gone from the shelves. The changes in the publishing industry are so rapid and unfathomable that I no longer know how to analyze it.
But can he handle chopsticks?
... as quietly, almost unnoticed, a yuri anime debuts on Crunchyroll.
Will I watch Yuru Yuri? Well, no, I'm not going to - but I'm glad it's there to balance out Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. ;) Now the fanboys can't complain...
I really shouldn't, as my viewing schedule is already jammed with series and I'm way behind on Blue Exorcist and Hanasaku Iroha from last season, but Crunchyroll just added it to their lineup and I made the mistake of watching the first episode. Oops - hooked on another one. ;)
A misunderstood teenager named Alma Tandoji has kept his superpowers under wraps after scaring everybody in a violent incident some years back. Ruri Aiba, a young girl who appears to head a secret organization of some sort, approaches Alma to ask for his help, but Alma turns her down.
Ruri has a devilishly sexy rather attractive megane butler, and all her bodyguards appear to be, well, maids. She is accompanied by a short, box-like pink creature whose powers are as yet unknown.
Sacred Seven brings my current anime watchlist's total shonen series percentage up to about 200%, with Hanasaku Iroha being my one token Series with Girls in It (I have one each season). And I still need to cram Gintama into the schedule at some point. ;) Too much shonen is never enough...
This year's AX was an enjoyable experience. I haven't heard the final attendance figure yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't surpass last year's attendance.
Before I start my report, I have a few public service announcements to make. Cosplaying as a specific character means that one has a, well, responsibility. As such, I need to say the following:
Tieria Erde Is Not Fat
I thought I was being clever by buying khaki slacks that were too big for me, figuring I would be more comfortable at AX that way. Instead, I managed to make myself look about 20 lbs. heavier than I actually am. For the record, if you saw me at AX: Tieria Erde is not fat - and neither am I. My build is average - neither thin nor fat. I am buying tighter slacks for my next appearance as Tieria, which will probably be at Yaoi Con.
Tieria Erde Does Not Steal Bananas
On Friday afternoon I was in the cafeteria near the Exhibit Hall. I was carrying a tote bag full of items, and I placed a banana in the bag to see if it would fit. It did fit, and I then... began to walk off.
About 10 seconds later I came to, took the banana out of the bag and went to the cashier to pay for it. For the record: Tieria Erde does not steal bananas. To those of you who are in your twenties and who think that "senior moments" and "middle-age moments" will never happen to you... just wait a few decades. ;)
Now that that's out of the way, here's the report.
I took the above pictures at LA Live, the last one on a whim. The Marriott has this sign etched on their glass exit door to be read on one's way out of the hotel. Is alcohol really not permitted anywhere in the universe but inside the Marriott LA Live hotel...?
Eigo Manga
I met up briefly with Austin Osueke on Friday evening. (That's not Austin pictured above, by the way.) Eigo Manga has finished its Danity Kane comic book series. Here are issues 2 and 3:
Eigo Manga has a lot of exciting things going on right now, including two anime series on Crunchyroll. Austin continues to be an innovator in this field. And speaking of Innovators...
Flowers for Gundam
I saw Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer, the feature film that concludes the Gundam 00 storyline - and in a way that you probably wouldn't expect.
Remember the old 1960s hippie poster of a flower inserted in the barrel of a gun?
Well, Awakening of the Trailblazer ends with... something like that.
Think flowers. Now think Gundam.
I'd read that this movie had a WTF ending, but I wasn't thinking this would be it. I don't want to spoil it any further. Just see it. ;) (I did, and then I bought the DVD - which is the highest recommendation there is.)
The above is an example of "planking." It looks sort of relaxing, actually, until someone steps on you... This was taken during the wild street dancing going on outside the convention center on Saturday night.
In the Exhibit Hall, there was a real kickass promotional poster of Durarara!!, pictured above (mirror image, sorry), on offer from Bandai and other outlets if you purchased the DVDs. Alas, I liked Durarara!! but not enough to buy the DVDs. So I will have to content myself with this picture of the poster.
Speaking of the Exhibit Hall, Saturday afternoon in that place was just like Comic Con. There may have been fewer exhibitors there than in the heyday of anime about five years ago, but you wouldn't know it from the sardine-can-like conditions: fans were inching along with their bags, packed so tightly that you could barely make it down one aisle in 20 minutes. The industry may be struggling, but the fans are still there.
On Saturday night, I told Kris Zoleta, pictured above, about the crowds I saw in the Exhibit Hall in the afternoon. Kris is on the Board of Directors for AX. He was optimistic that this year's AX would turn out to have had a higher attendance than previous AXs. Again, this wouldn't surprise me either. The speculation that the anime "phase" has passed through and that U.S. fans are done with it all is far from true. There's still a big demand for anime and manga product here. I think expansion into fewer teen-centric stories and more adult character material--seinen and josei--along with a much greater focus on digital distribution will be required, and publishers are already shifting into these areas. There's light at the end of the tunnel for those of us who love this stuff. :)
Gundam Unicorn
Bandai held screenings of all three episodes of Gundam Unicorn. There is a major reveal regarding Audrey's identity in episode 2, after which episode 3 seemed a bit anti-climatic, but the series is proceeding nicely and I love the beautiful animation quality.
In sum, I could go on and on. I played with friends both old and new, including Yumeka, f0calizer, Dee S. and many others, and had a great time. Like last year's AX, this year's AX was one to remember.
