Supporting the Industry - What I Did in April 2015

I bought something a few months ago that was pretty atypical for me.

I should explain first that I’m not a gamer – truly. The only games I was ever decent at were Galaga and Tetris. If my character has a machine gun and has to kill zombies, the zombies will eat her first. I’m not adept at action games where you have to move a character around and make her/him do things.

But I have two young friends who are gamers. One works in the game industry. We’ll call him Ryan, because that’s his name. ;-) The other is Yumeka, who writes a popular anime blog you've probably read. =D

Both Ryan and Yumeka own Nintendo 3DS XL portable game consoles. After watching them play, I decided to buy one of my own.

And here it is.

The machine is plain black, but I bought this nice golden Asian-themed metal case for it.

Even though I’d watched Yumeka and Ryan play on their 3DS XLs, I was clueless when I bought mine. Still am in many ways. More on that below. =D

So, here is the home screen:

How did I support the anime industry with this purchase? Because there are anime-themed video games available for the 3DS (actually, there are more available for the Sony Vita, but I digress). And in April, I bought one – the Hakuouki - Memories of the Shinsengumi game.

I saved money by buying the download of the game instead of the cartridge, which I found out I could do while browsing the Nintendo eShop. ;-)

Hakuouki – Memories of the Shinsengumi is a visual novel game. The game opens with a very nice song and a montage of the various characters. Here’s Saito:

Previously, my only familiarity with visual novels were the clips I’d seen on You Tube. Here’s one for the Hakuouki - Demon of the Fleeting Blossom game. It’s not too clear, but I just wanted a short clip to show the general idea of visual novels:



Basically, a visual novel is a kind of walk-through of a story utilizing pictures and captions. Visual novels are very popular in Japan, but I don’t think games like this are produced in the U.S. I could be wrong about that, though.

I’m a huge fan of Hakuouki the anime. But I need to say something about this game.

So far, I’ve only played through part of the prologue. If you’ve seen the anime, this is the first episode where Chizuru arrives in Kyoto and gets chased by vampire samurai.

She arrives, it’s nighttime, she thinks about her missing father who she came to Kyoto to find… she thinks some more about her father… why she hasn’t heard from him for a month, how worried she is about him… and then…

… A vampire samurai appears! Chizuru hides and watches while other samurai kill him!

And then she thinks about how frightening this is… and how scared she is… and how she doesn’t know what she’ll do next… and… and…

Are you getting the sense of what my experience has been so far? I honestly was excited to get this game and start playing it. I’ve played it for about 40 minutes now, and those 40 minutes turned out to cover – wait for it – the first seven minutes of episode 1 of the anime.

I'm not going to judge based on this first experience with it. I haven’t gotten to any of the “paths” yet, each path being Chizuru choosing a different Shinsengumi love interest, that is the heart of the game. Plus, the game offers other things like Media, Encyclopedia and Extras that I haven’t even looked at yet.

I had heard that each path of a visual novel takes hours, but I didn’t believe it. I believe it now - trust me. The question is: does a visual novel do what it’s supposed to do? Is it, in fact, entertaining?

Again, I’m still at the beginning of this game, so I can’t answer that yet. I can say that the story captions, while written in (thankfully) good English and easy to follow, became tedious to read after a while. The illustrations were lovely, the sound effects added realism to the story, all was as it was supposed to be. The only confused element was the player, me. Was clicking through the narrative “playing” this game? Or was I meant to do something more?

The beautiful elegiac Hakuouki anime series I love so much was based on this game. The game came first. Which is food for thought, especially since I’m a writer. It piques my curiosity. What is the appeal of this form of storytelling?

When I’ve been through all the paths in the game, I’ll write a review. It might be a few years from now though, at this rate. ;-)

I guess I’ve been on a gaming roll, because I then downloaded two games for my Amazon Fire.

Sonic Dash is my first experience with Sonic the Hedgehog. I’ve heard of Sonic for years, but never watched the anime or played the games.

(I have read a fan essay that slashed Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog together. I’m saying this just so I can mark “yaoi” as a label for this post. LOL)

As I said, I’m not good at action games. All Sonic does in this game is run madly along a road where he has to jump over obstacles. I keep sending Sonic headlong into brick walls and into bodies of water where he drowns. I’m slowly getting better, but I’m guessing that games like this were not destined to be my forte.

The second game I downloaded is the exceedingly sparkly and pretty…

Yumeka showed me Frozen Free Fall on her phone. I saw it while browsing Amazon’s app store and downloaded it. Amazingly, both it and Sonic Dash were free. I guess these free games exist to advertise the companies’ paid games.

I do okay at puzzle games, though I won’t win any competitions. And Frozen Free Fall is really beautiful to look at, which adds to the enjoyment of playing it.

I also received two free games for my 3DS, both Pokemon games - Pokemon Shuffle and Pokemon Rumble World.

Pokemon Shuffle is a simple puzzle/aim-and-capture-the-Pokemon game, but Pokemon Rumble World sends Pikachu and other Pokemon characters out to fight enemies.

I had difficulty maneuvering Pikachu in Rumble World until Ryan showed me that the round rubber button on the console’s upper left slides. I had been pressing down on it, really hard, expecting this to move Pikachu around.

Yeah. Real gamers have no reason to fear me anytime soon. =D

Supporting the Industry - What I Did in October 2013

In October, I bought Hakuouki: Dawn of the Shinsengumi, the prequel series to Hakuouki.

Yeah, I know - blurry. Here's a better picture of it from Right Stuf's catalog:

Also known as Hakuouki Reimeiroku, I've written about Hakuouki: Dawn of the Shinsengumi before (you can read my post here if you like). It's one of those rare prequels that actually outshines the main series. Here's the description from the DVD box:

"The year is 1863 and as Japan's long-festering wounds of political discord erupt into violent waves of street clashes and murder, the Tokugawa Shogunate sends a new force of masterless samurai called the Roshigumi to the aid of the Aizu forces in Kyoto. However, the new 'police' are anything but a cohesive force and assassination has already split them into two opposing factions.

The stronger is led by the brutal Serizawa Kamo, and the lesser by the more honorable but less assertive Kondo Isami. It is into this pack of wolves that Ryunosuke Ibuki is dragged by the rabid Serizawa. Forced to be a virtual slave by blood debt, he hates the samurai and everything they stand for. But as he sees how the other half of the samurai live, he begins to believe that there may still be a chance, for both himself and Japan, if only Kondo will step up and take down the mad dog Serizawa!"

This was one of those purchases where I didn't even have to think about it. I saw it newly released and for sale on Right Stuf and bought it immediately. Some series are like that. ;-)

Also, in October, Crunchyroll announced their new manga "simulpubs." I'm waiting until the end of this month to see if Crunchyroll runs its annual special of an all-access pass for a discounted price. The all-access pass includes all anime simulcasts, all J-drama and K-drama series, and will now include the new manga online subscription. Traditionally they've offered this on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. We'll see if I can get a deal, but if I can't, I'll sign up for the manga subscription regardless.

Top Ten Most Memorable Anime Characters - 2013 Version

I did a post on the Top Ten Most Memorable Anime Characters back in 2009. I've seen a lot of anime since then, so I thought it was time to do a new post covering the anime I've seen since 2009.

Like the first list, this 2013 version is a list of what are the top ten most memorable characters for me, as opposed to a top ten "best" list of some kind (best shonen heroes, etc.). So it's a very eclectic list that reflects what appeals to me or intrigues me personally. The list consists of three creatures, one man masquerading as a creature, two samurai, one gender-ambiguous person, one female and two paranormal warriors.

Oddly, many on the list are from just this past year. It’s been a great twelve months for anime.

10. Kamanosuke/Brave 10

Kamanosuke is possibly the most genuinely gender-ambiguous anime character ever. By the end of the 12-episode series you’re still not quite sure which gender s/he is. S/he’s a violent gang leader who joins Saizo and Sanada’s group, and is the receiver of much speculation throughout the series that s/he’s actually female, though s/he claims to be male.

Kamanosuke’s seiyuu is Motoki Takagi, who appears to be a male. There’s been no sequel to Brave 10, so I guess Kamanosuke’s sex will just have to be left a mystery. ;-)

9. Elizabeth/Gintama

Even if you don’t watch Gintama, you’ve seen Elizabeth (on the left, above) in pictures or merchandise from the series.

Elizabeth is actually a human man under that odd duck-like outfit. In numerous episodes you can see hairy legs peeking out from under his white cover as he walks. The Renho Arc in Season Four reveals Elizabeth’s true identity in Gintama’s take on Star Wars complete with a Renho version of Darth Vader, “Dark Vader.”

Elizabeth has his dramatic moments in Gintama, most notably in the Benizakura Arc. But for me it’s just his completely strange appearance that lingers in my mind (whether I want it to or not XD).

8. Don Valentino/Cuticle Detective Inaba

Don Valentino is an unforgettable villain. A one-foot tall miniature goat, Don tries so hard to be evil, but usually just winds up failing in the funniest ways.

Toru Okawa is Don Valentino’s seiyuu. Okawa usually plays authoritative adult roles like Roy Mustang in the first Fullmetal Alchemist series or Kondo in Hakuouki, but here with Don he gets to chew the scenery left and right. He even sings the deeply dramatic ending song. XD

7. Andy Hinomiya/The Unlimited – Hyobu Kyosuke

Okay, he’s hot. But I swear that’s not the only reason why Andy Hinomiya is on my list. ;)

As I wrote in a recent post on The Unlimited, Andy reminds me of a time when Americans were portrayed as fascinating, unique heroes in popular culture. American men in particular were looked upon by world audiences as being uncomplicated, sincere and manly, from a vast country that had just won World War II that many knew little about but found enthralling.

Andy has that same post-WWII kind of innocence to him, which added to his attractiveness for me, and provided a perfect counterpoint to Kyosuke Hyobu’s cynicism in the story.

6. Kamo Serizawa/Hakuouki Reimeiroku

In Hakuouki Reimeiroku, the prequel series to Hakuouki, the conflict between the Shinsengumi’s first leader Kamo Serizawa and Kondo and Hijikata is played out.

Violent and brutal, Serizawa nonetheless lived by his own samurai code to the very end, to the point of teaching Toshizo Hijikata a thing or two about courage. You may not like Serizawa, but you can never forget him.

5. Sloth (Namakemono)/Polar Bear’s Café

And here we come to the second of our three creatures – the slooow-moving Sloth of Polar Bear’s Café.

Sloth is responsible for some of the funniest and sweetest moments of Polar Bear’s Café. His slooow manner of speech and sleepy, happy-sounding voice are just a joy to listen to. Here’s Sloth singing his part in the Shirokuma Café Song:





If you listen to the full cast singing the song, you can hear Sloth as a vague echo in the background, singing along at half-speed. XD Kudos to seiyuu Kishou Taniyama. It’s literally impossible to think of Sloth without smiling. =D

4. Polar Bear (Shirokuma)/Polar Bear’s Café

And finally for the creatures – Polar Bear from Polar Bear’s Café.

Polar Bear’s Café features animals who live among humans just like humans themselves, with jobs and families and friends, going to karaoke, the summer matsuri and the beach. At the center of Polar Bear’s Café is Polar Bear himself, the café’s genial host.

In some episodes the main focus, in others the silently supporting figure in the background, Polar Bear never fails his friends—and everybody is his friend. His dry humor, love of ridiculous puns and acceptance of animals and humans just as they are—make him not only “human” but actually better than most humans. ;)

3. Aika Fuwa/Blast of Tempest

Blast of Tempest not only had a great story and two strong lead characters in Mahiro Fuwa and Yoshino Takigawa, but two equally strong and impressive female main characters in Hakaze the Mage of Genesis and Aika Fuwa, Mahiro’s adopted sister—and Yoshino’s secret girlfriend.

At the beginning of Blast of Tempest, Aika Fuwa has been deceased for a year, murdered by a person or persons unknown. As the story involves time travel and magic I can’t say too much more about the plot without spoiling things, but Aika is featured prominently toward the end of the series.

I’m seldom captivated by female anime characters. I would like to be, but most of them are weak, stereotypically “girly” and/or uninteresting compared to the male leads. Aika Fuwa is none of those things. She’s amazing—and what’s more—she’s not only strong and fascinating but also deeply feminine and saucy and self-possessed, making world-changing decisions with a shrug and a smile and keeping Mahiro and Yoshino guessing till the very end.

By the end of the series, I wanted to see more of Aika. I would have loved to have seen Blast of Tempest told from her point of view.

2. Kyosuke Hyobu/The Unlimited – Hyobu Kyosuke

I’ve written enthusiastically about The Unlimited and its lead character Kyosuke Hyobu a lot lately, but I have a few additional thoughts.

What makes Kyosuke Hyobu so memorable for me are his relationships, particularly with Andy Hinomiya and with his “queen,” Kaoru. In Andy, Hyobu sees his own innocence as a boy, his trust in his team leader Captain Saotome that was so brutally betrayed. This is why he can forgive Andy’s betrayal and the two become true allies later on. Seeing Andy’s change of heart in a sense heals Hyobu’s old wound and leads to his more humane decisions toward the end of the story.

With Kaoru, whom Hyobu sees as his future Queen in the esper vs. human rebellion, it’s easy to say he’s a loli (when they met, Kaoru was a child – she’s now in junior high) – and maybe he is. ;-) (But not an abuser – he’s keeping his hands off her until she’s an adult.)

Hyobu is not only pinning all his hopes on the prophecy coming true—that he and Kaoru will lead the esper rebellion—but there is a real romance to his waiting long years for Kaoru to come of age, while quietly watching from afar. In traditional romance novels, one trope is where the guardian eventually marries his ward. Those stories aren’t for everybody – I don’t particularly care for them myself – but here it truly works. I can feel Hyobu’s longing for Kaoru and there’s something almost sweet about it. It’s another side of a very complex and fascinating character—Kyosuke Hyobu.

And finally… my number one most memorable anime character…

1. Gintoki Sakata/Gintama

And I’ve written a lot about Gintama as well, and its main character Gintoki. But just a few more thoughts. ;)

In some ways, Gintoki is the typical shonen hero. He’s a samurai, an incredible fighter, has a somewhat dark past and usually a ready physical response for the bad guys.

But he’s also—despite being a team with Kagura and Shinpachi—a loner, someone who assesses situations on his own before acting, again often on his own.

Gintoki is sometimes like Kagura and Shinpachi’s irresponsible big brother and at other times their teacher, always showing by example.

Paradoxically, although he’s a loner, Gintoki has gained a community of loyal friends in Edo, due not only to his forthright courage and fighting abilities but also to that “peculiar charisma” that Tae-chan mentions in the Kintoki Arc. There’s an essence to Gintoki that can’t be possessed by anyone else, even those closest to him. Perhaps it’s that he was an orphan, or that his teacher who was like a father to him died in the war that their side eventually lost. Each of Gintama’s opening credit sequences features a moment where Gintoki stares off in the distance, seeing something only he can see.

In the past four years of anime-watching, Gintoki Sakata is the one character I would never be able to forget.

Hakuouki Reimeiroku

Warning – Spoilers for Hakuouki Reimeiroku, the prequel series to Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan and Hakuouki Hekketsuroku.

Hakuouki Reimeiroku tells the story of the Shinsengumi before they were the Shinsengumi.

In Kyoto, in the 1860s, several hundred ronin samurai were brought together for the purpose of protecting the Shogun. Known early on as the Roshigumi, the Aizu clan, their official patron, eventually gave them a new name: the Shinsengumi.

The fictional protagonist of Hakuouki Reimeiroku is Ryunosuke Ibuki. In the first episode, he is shown lying half-dead of starvation in the road when a samurai comes upon him and offers him a rice ball to eat.

The man deliberately drops the food onto the dirt road to see if he’s desperate enough to eat it anyway, which he is. “Do you really want to live that badly?” he says mockingly.

History states that Kamo Serizawa was one of the founding leaders of the Shinsengumi along with Isami Kondo and Kondo’s lieutenant, Toshizo Hijikata; and that he was later assassinated by Hijikata, Okita and Sannan of Kondo’s faction. Hakuouki Reimeiroku is based on this period.

The Serizawa of Hakuouki is a brutal, arrogant and supremely cynical man. He is also fearless, has a violent temper and—an unerring intelligence when it comes to judging the true character of others.

As well as assessing the potential of others.

Soji Okita is one of the youngest Shinsengumi members and an extremely talented swordsman. Already sarcastic and more than a little cynical himself, Okita begins to fall to the dark side under Serizawa’s influence. In the Osaka sumo wrestler incident—an incident based in historical fact—Okita kills several of the wrestlers alongside Serizawa.

Kondo and vice-commander Toshizo Hijikata are shown in flashback at their country dojo, discussing their dreams of becoming samurais and protecting the Shogun. Farmers by birth, they acknowledge their good fortune to live in an era when becoming a samurai was finally possible for those not born in the samurai class.

But they are naïve—Kondo in particular—but Hijikata as well, something that Serizawa ceaselessly goads him about. “You’ll have to become a demon. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

At one point, Hijikata fumes to Ryunosuke, “I hate that man and everything he stands for. But his words linger with me—he is right about so many things.”

Ryunosuke, himself from a samurai family, though a low-ranking one—also detests Serizawa who runs him ragged as a servant and calls him “cur” and “dog.” Immature and aimless, Ryunosuke complains but doesn’t leave, partly because he’s afraid of how Serizawa might react but also because—as with Hijikata—Serizawa has gotten under his skin.

Serizawa procures the Shinsengumi’s new uniforms, the trademark sky blue haori coats with the white diamond patterning at the cuffs. He refuses to pay Oume, the seamstress, for them. One day Oume calls again at Serizawa’s quarters and the dispute becomes heated. After an insult from Serizawa, Oume slaps him. What happens next isn’t shown, but the inference is that he sexually assaults her.

Thrown out by her husband (as she’s now “dishonored”), she returns to kill Serizawa, but Serizawa guesses her intent before she can even draw her knife. Unexpectedly, he offers her a place to stay—with him. “You can kill me anytime if you’re by my side,” he says. “You are a hard man to understand,” she replies. And stays.

Shinpachi Nagakura, who attended the same dojo as Serizawa, thinks he’s an okay guy while the other Shinsengumi members like Sanosuke Harada, Hajime Saito and Heisuke Todo warily keep their distance from him. Loyal to Kondo and Hijikata, they see the growing conflict between Serizawa and Kondo but are helpless to do anything about it.

Kondo and Hijikata are ordered by Lord Aizu to kill the troublesome Serizawa and assume command of the Shinsengumi themselves.

Hakuouki Reimeiroku’s final episode begins on the night of the assassination. Under the pretext of a drinking party in the redlight district, Kondo and Hijikata ply Serizawa with food and drink. Serizawa, knowing what their intentions are, invited Ryunosuke to come along to the party. At the end of the evening, when Serizawa takes his leave, he orders Ryunosuke to stay and enjoy himself and tells Shinpachi “the rest is up to you.” Hijikata and Okita then follow Serizawa out.

Serizawa discovers Oume in his quarters. “I can’t leave you and I can’t accept this money,” she says, handing a packet back to him. When he tells her the others are planning to kill him tonight and that she has to go, she replies, “That’s all the more reason to stay. You are all I have left.” “Foolish woman,” he says, but gently.

Meanwhile, Hijikata and the others wait until they assume Serizawa is asleep. When they burst into his room, they find him standing over Oume’s body with a bloody sword. Hijikata makes a disgusted noise, and the fight is on.

At the party, Saito stops the others from returning to the compound, and Shinpachi realizes what is happening. Both he and Ryunosuke run back to the compound, chased by Saito and Heisuke.

Ryunosuke comes upon the battle, and Serizawa and Hijikata are angered to see him there—for the same reason. Knowing what would happen when he returned to the compound, Serizawa tried to protect Ryunosuke by bringing him to the party and telling him to stay (away), while for Hijikata, Ryunosuke’s witnessing of Serizawa’s murder means that Ryunosuke must now also be killed.

A half-hysterical Ryunosuke tells Serizawa that he doesn’t understand what any of them are doing. Serizawa grips him by the throat. “Live, cur. If you fight your hardest to live, then even someone like you can understand us some day.” Throwing him aside, Serizawa and Hijikata resume their fight.

Ryunosuke runs away, and a reluctant Hijikata orders his men to find Ryunosuke and finish him off. Okita finds Ryunosuke by a bridge and draws his sword. He sees in Ryunosuke’s eyes that he’s finally found the will to live. Instead of killing him, Okita pushes him off the bridge and into the river below.

This final episode is taut and tightly paced, in contrast to the slow pace of the eleven episodes that preceded it. But in those eleven episodes all of the seeds that are brought to fruition in this concluding episode were sown.

Hijikata, through honing his instincts in his clashes with Serizawa, becomes the tough enforcer of Shinsengumi rules that Kondo needs by his side. Today, Hijikata is still remembered as “the Demon Vice-Commander” of the Shinsengumi.

Soji Okita, whose vicious streak is encouraged by Serizawa, restrains his nature at the end and lets Ryunosuke go. By contrasting himself with Serizawa, Soji determines what his own code of behavior will be and begins to live from that.

And Ryunosuke, shown walking through Edo at the end, finally with a samurai’s proud bearing, recalls Serizawa telling him to live. “I’m alive, Serizawa-san,” he says. “And as long as I’m alive, perhaps I can understand some day.” Ryunosuke, Hijikata and Okita all change for the better because of Serizawa.

Serizawa goads Hijikata to become tougher because he sees that Kondo doesn’t have the grit needed to keep men in line; it will be up to Hijikata to do that. He tries to prevent Ryunosuke from witnessing his murder—as it would mean his death—and leaves him with a statement of his philosophy that helps Ryunosuke to move forward.

He gives Oume money to start a new life and tells her to go, and when she refuses to leave, takes her life while she’s sleeping to save her from the terror of dying by Hijikata’s or Okita’s sword. When Hijikata sees her body he is disgusted, probably thinking it’s simply more of Serizawa’s brutality.

And Serizawa’s final words are for Hijikata and not himself. As Hijikata plunges his sword through his chest, Serizawa says: “Well done.” In killing him, Hijikata has finally achieved the level he needed to in order to serve as Kondo’s second in the Shinsengumi’s new command structure.

Serizawa embodies a certain school of masculine behavior that is summed up in the cliché: “Never complain, never explain.” It’s a cliché I never liked and never understood. I still dislike it, but I do understand it a little more now.

Hakuouki Reimeiroku is a prequel that outshines the main series it sets up. In mood, tone and story structure it’s superior. All of the conflicts, big and small, that develop throughout the series are paid off in the final episode. And I’ll never forget Serizawa, one of the best realizations I’ve seen in anime of a complex adult character.

A Perfect Ending

Anime series usually finish on the same note and with the same level of quality as presented throughout the series.

It's rare when one has a perfect ending, a finale that pulls it all together and retroactively elevates the entire series. I watched one of those today. I'll post about it in the next day or two.

I'll Accept This As An Early Christmas Present

Crunchyroll has licensed Hakuouki Reimeiroku for streaming this summer.

It's the prequel series to the previous two Hakuouki series, covering the beginnings of the Shinsengumi in 1863 Kyoto.

So jazzed about this one! Crunchy is truly on a roll this season. ;)