With this post, I'm starting a new series of occasional posts on animes that seem to have been touched by a curse, starting with an old favorite shonen series - Hikaru no Go.
Hikaru no Go, based on the manga of the same name, is about Hikaru Shindou, an average 12-year-old schoolboy who has no particular interest in the ancient board game Go until Fujiwara no Sai, a Heian-era Go master in ghost form, comes out of his grandfather's haunted Go board.
Nobody can see Sai but Hikaru. Now that he's back among the living, Sai wants to play Go again so badly that he forces Hikaru to start learning how to play the game.
One day, Hikaru plays a game of Go with Akira Touya. Touya's father is a Go master and Akira practices playing Go obsessively. He's good enough to beat most adults, which is why when Hikaru beats him (actually Sai playing through Hikaru), Akira goes into a spiral of self-doubt.
Throughout the series, which spans a number of years during which the boys grow into teenhood, the heart of Hikaru no Go focuses on the rivalry between Hikaru and Akira.
The anime ran for 75 episodes, and the manga for 23 volumes. The manga was published from 1998 to 2003.
Now, why do I say that Hikaru no Go is touched by a curse?
1. The Anime Is Unfinished
Okay, a lot of anime series never get finished. This first reason is the least compelling reason to say Hikaru no Go is cursed, but I still have to mention it. Because, although the last episode of the anime ends on a makeshift, somewhat satisfying "ending," it's not where the manga ends. At the end of the anime, Hikaru and Akira start to become friends, but Hikaru still hasn't spilled the beans to Akira about Sai - which is the main mystery that has kept the boys at odds throughout the entire story.
I haven't read the manga, but I know it continues past that point because there is actually an OVA anime, Hikaru no Go: Journey to the North Star Cup, which was based on later chapters from the manga. The story of the OVA involved Hikaru and Akira preparing to play in a Japan/China/Korea Go tournament.
... Which brings up the second reason why Hikaru no Go is touched by a curse.
2. The Koreans Got Upset
One of the rumors going around about why the Hikaru no Go anime came to an abrupt end is that Korean people got upset at the portrayal of the Korean players in the North Star Cup section of the manga, citing Japanese racism towards Koreans.
This is just a rumor. I don't think it's been substantiated as fact. But again - it's not every anime/manga that gets called "racist" that also - perhaps coincidentally? - comes to a sudden end.
And saddest of all...
3. The Seiyuu Who Played Hikaru Passed Away
Tomoko Kawakami, a successful and well-respected anime seiyuu, passed away of ovarian cancer in June of 2011.
And the final reason (and possibly the only real true reason) Hikaru no Go is a cursed anime...
4. The Writer and the Artist Had a Falling Out
Let's be honest here. Seiyuu who are unavailable usually can and do get replaced, and the Koreans are probably over their snit by now, but the Hikaru no Go anime series was based on the manga series written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, and if the writer and artist can't work together - the manga, as well as the anime based on it - dies.
Again, like with the Korean issue, this one's just a rumor as well, but it's a rumor that has persisted for years - that Hotta and Obata stopped being able to work together.
Hotta has only done one manga since then, a short shonen manga series about speed skating called Yuuto. And of course, Obata went on to great success partnering with writer Tsugumi Ohba on Death Note and Bakuman.
In the end, who knows if it was Hotta and Obata, or the Koreans, or Kawakami's sadly early passing, or a combination of all of these. It just seems that Hikaru no Go was destined to remain unfinished. It's unfortunate and frustrating for us fans of the series. It's like it was touched by a curse.
The voice of Hikaru Shindou, the main character of Hikaru no Go, has passed away. Tomoko Kawakami was 41. She died of ovarian cancer. Rest in peace, Kawakami-san, and thank you for your wonderful performances.
I can't believe we'll never hear Hikaru's voice again.
Warning: The below video is NSFW (not safe for work).
In Part I, I discussed the layers of creativity that need to take place before an anime music video can come into being. When you add in the fans' desire to see a relationship played out between two characters in an anime - where said relationship doesn't actually exist in the anime - another multitude of interpretative layers emerges.
In the fans' defense - there is so much subtext in some of these anime series, they can hardly be faulted for wanting to see something that is hinted at, played with, and sometimes all but thrown at the viewers. The anime creators and producers are fully cognizant of the fans' desire to see certain characters put together; the concept isn't known as "fanservice" for nothing. ;) The subtext is deliberate, and this goes for yaoi as well as for more conventional boy-girl relationships.
For example, in Hikaru no Go, the main characters are Hikaru Shindou and Akira Touya, two teenage boys who play competitive Go. Go is an ancient Asian board game, similar to chess. Hikaru is a cheery, friendly extrovert, while the brilliant Akira is slightly priggish and not too social with others. In canon, the two boys are mutually obsessed with each other for the entire 75-episode series.
Suffice to say, there is no canon yaoi relationship between Shindou and Touya in either the original manga story or in the anime series. But it's not much of a stretch to extrapolate and conceive of a mutual attraction between them, considering their intense rivalry and obsession with each other in canon.
The following video (again, a reminder: watch it at home, not at work) is a great example of taking original material and adding on levels of additional context.
In this video, there is a lot going on. If you feel like killing two birds with one stone, you can scroll down and read my notes while watching the video.
The first thing you notice is that the doujinshi artist has aged the characters to around early 20s or so (the canon story leaves them at age 16). The second thing you can't help but notice is the professional-level quality of the art and writing. This fan-made doujinshi entitled "Kiss" could easily be a comic book or graphic novel you would buy at an independent comics bookstore.
Next come the artistic choices added by the video maker (someone named manaka0907 on You Tube). Notice how much emotion there is in Hikaru's expression at 2:31-2:35; manaka0907 chose to isolate that shot as a single image, and hold it for several long seconds to emphasize Hikaru's feelings in that moment. She also deliberately chose to slowly zoom in at 4:04-4:11 to highlight the shift in mood when Akira finally realizes that he wants Hikaru, too. This leads directly into the lovely kiss shot at 4:12-4:17 (and more great art).
The songs chosen by manaka0907 fit perfectly with the mood and actions of the characters as the story unfolds. The first song, "That's How You Know He Loves You," starts the video off on a teasing note (how do I know he loves me? how do I know he's mine?). Then the tone changes to a quiet romantic mood when Hikaru and Akira are at the love hotel, with the contemplative Spanish love song, "Lo Que Soy," for the latter half of the video. The best moment for me is the breathtaking image of Hikaru and Akira at 5:38-5:44 when the music swells up, and the two young men are in bed making love, each one's entire being focused on the other. And finally, the use of "Caramelldansen" at the end, bringing the mood back to a lighthearted, upbeat feel.
As with the three videos discussed in Part I, many events had to occur on this planet before this video became something that I could stumble across on You Tube:
1. The original manga of Hikaru no Go. 2. The anime series based on the manga. 3. Reading the yaoi subtext between the characters of Hikaru and Akira. 4. The creation of the yaoi doujinshi entitled, "Kiss." 5. The making of the video "Hikaru no Go Yaoi Doujinshi 5" by manaka0907, including: a) choosing the shots from "Kiss"; b) deciding how long to linger on each shot; c) the selection of the two songs by Demi Lovato; and d) the arrangement of the shots to accompany the lyrics/mood evoked by each moment of the two songs. 6. And finally, the video being uploaded to You Tube.
This simple exercise of contemplating what goes into a fan creation like a music video leaves me amazed at fandom - and the artists who hide themselves inside of it.
I love the way this video presents the characters. The professional quality of the art, moments of humor, subtle depictions of sex (more implied than explicit, but you still know what's going on) and perfect music choices all combine to make this video into a unique new piece of art. The doujinshi creator's vision of Hikaru Shindou and Akira Touya as a romantic couple is enhanced and reinterpreted further by this video and its maker. I can't help but think that Yumi Hotta - the writer of the Hikaru no Go manga - would be pleased if she saw this tribute to her characters. When my original work makes it out there in a bigger way someday, I would be truly honored if somebody made a video like this one based on my original characters.
Initially, I thought to call this my “Top Ten Favorite Characters” list, but then I thought: how does one define one’s “favorite” anything?There are a lot of reasons why certain characters would be my “favorites.”If I did a list of my favorite cute characters in anime, it would include Pikachu, Chi the kitten, Honey-senpai from Ouran, etc.A list of favorite heroes would be okay, but a little boring maybe.And my list of favorite bishonen characters would be a mile long – and pointless – since I doubt any reader of this blog really cares which anime characters I find attractive.;)Again – the reasons why a character might constitute a “favorite” are many, and so the word feels almost useless to me as a category.
So this list is going to be the ten anime characters that I find most memorable.Some of them are also favorites of mine, but they’re on this list because something about them made me keep thinking about them after watching the series.Where I’ve watched the anime in both Japanese and English, I’ve listed both voice actors, in order of which version I’ve mainly watched.
Suzaku is by far the least popular of the main characters in Code Geass.Fangirls hate him because he keeps thwarting Lelouch’s plans (even though Lelouch’s plans are usually evil).;)Suzaku makes mistakes, but he always comes from his conscience and tries to do what he thinks is the right thing.When I was working on the first Code Geass novel, Entrance, I found out that Suzaku killed his father because he was about to assassinate Lelouch and Nunnally.This fact was never made clear in the anime, and I think that omission did a disservice to Suzaku.
What strikes me the most about Suzaku is how horribly alone he is through the entire story of Code Geass.Lelouch has C.C. to confide in, but Suzaku has no one.Suzaku and his lonely quest to do what is right make him the one character that I still think about from the Code Geass universe.
9. Major Motoko Kusanagi – Ghost in the Shell
English Dub Actor: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn/Original Seiyuu: Atsuko Tanaka
I realize she’s a man’s wet dream, and that she basically wears a G-string as part of her everyday work outfit, but I admire Motoko for her freedom.With a woman’s soul in an android’s body, Motoko is what a woman could be – if she had no physical vulnerabilities and was free to be completely, absolutely fearless.
8. Tsunade – Naruto
Seiyuu: Masako Katsuki/English Dub Actor: Debi Mae West
Just when I was beginning to think Masashi Kishimoto had no respect for females whatsoever, Tsunade made her appearance in Naruto.She is one of the legendary fighting ninjas of Konoha, a top medic, and has a punch that can knock down a building.Now fifty years old, she spent many years wandering, playing pachinko and gambling, before returning to Konoha to become the leader of the village.
In anime, where I’ve often found female characters to be a little thin on characterization – Tsunade is a full-blooded character with strengths, faults, joys and regrets.And best of all, she becomes the mentor to Sakura, passing on her medical arts and knockout punch; thus fulfilling her role as elder of the community beautifully.
7. Conrad Weller – Kyo Kara Maoh!
Seiyuu: Toshiyuki Morikawa
He’s the perfect gentleman: handsome, mannered, kind, courtly, protective of his liege – the Maoh – always putting the Maoh’s needs first and defending him with his life.Conrad is on this list, because I’ve never seen a male character who more perfectly embodied what every girl dreamed of at least at some point in her life – and because I am happy to know the ideal man exists somewhere – even if it’s only in animeland.;)
6. Izuru Kira – Bleach
Seiyuu: Takahiro Sakurai
Kira is the Vice Captain of Soul Society’s 3rd Division in Bleach.He is a gloomy young man who usually looks either mildly or moderately depressed.
What makes Kira stand out for me, among all of the characters in the vast universe of Bleach, is his integrity, and his complete lack of enjoyment in what is the main activity of this shonen series: fighting.All of the characters in Bleach either relish fighting or at least take pride in their abilities – except for Kira. Kira is good at fighting: he just doesn’t enjoy it.And there’s a reason behind that.In a recent episode, Kira stated his philosophy: “Fights aren’t supposed to be heroic… fights must be filled with despair.That way people will fear fighting.”
As someone who despairs of fighting, Kira serves as Ichigo Kurosaki’s mirror opposite.If Bleach were a serious drama instead of a shonen adventure story, Izuru Kira would be its hero, and not Ichigo.
5. Akira Touya – Hikaru no Go
Seiyuu: Sanae Kobayashi
He’s a serious, somewhat humorless boy with bad fashion sense and a one-track mind about playing competitive Go.His father is the highest-ranked Go champion in Japan, so he has a lot to live up to.Obsessed with the game, he keeps to himself and has no friends and no outside interests – until Hikaru Shindou beats him in a game – at which point Akira Touya becomes obsessed with discovering the secret of Shindou’s amazing success.
I’ll admit it – one of the joys of Hikaru no Go is watching Touya suffer, because he suffers so beautifully.Every time Shindou pulls another one or does something inexplicable, Touya’s furious and/or confounded reaction is so entertaining that it makes 75 episodes of watching people playing a board game go by like a dream.Touya’s Go-nerd earnestness and bishonen-who-doesn’t-realize-he’s-a-bishonen obliviousness are very endearing.;)
4. Hakkai Cho - Saiyuki
Seiyuu: Akira Ishida
He’s the pleasant, well-mannered one of the four young men traveling West in Saiyuki.He speaks in a soft voice.Women think he’s nice.He does the cooking and cleaning and takes care of the other three men.Altogether, he seems the most normal of all of them – that is, if you don’t count that: 1) he had a long-term sexual relationship with his sister; 2) when his sister was kidnapped, he killed a thousand youkai (demons) – armed only with a single knife – and hundreds of humans in his own village in order to avenge her, thus; 3) turning into a youkai himself, the thing he hated most, as punishment.He also once gouged out his own eye just to intimidate somebody.
Hakkai is a reminder that anime characters don’t have to be Boy Scouts, but can have amazingly dark backgrounds and still be protagonists.In an American story, Hakkai would be the villain.In Japanese anime, he’s simply another human being – with a past.
I wrote extensively about Gaara in my October 15 post.To me, he’s the best example of a villain who redeems himself and goes on to become an authentic hero in his own right.
By now, Sasuke has gotten on my last nerve and yours as well, probably.His continuing focus on revenge in Naruto has gone beyond the point where it even makes sense.
But Sasuke remains one of the most compelling and memorable characters in anime.When you consider that he’s been absent from the main storyline for years, it’s a testament to Kishimoto’s writing and art and Noriaki Sugiyama and Yuri Lowenthal’s excellent voice portrayals that we still can’t forget Sasuke.And that when Naruto gets that look in his eye when he misses Sasuke, we believe him.Because – against all reason – we miss him, too.
1. Nobutsuna Naoe - Mirage of Blaze
Seiyuu: Sho Hayami/English Dub Actor: Jamieson Price aka James Lyon
When I first came across Mirage of Blaze, I was a longtime slash fan and curious new viewer of anime.I hadn’t heard the terms “shonen-ai” or “yaoi” yet and was completely unprepared for what I was about to see.
I wasn’t expecting to see a series about two men reincarnating multiple times and having a twisted obsession with each other for 400 years.Having only seen anime where the characters were cute and had big eyes and silly things happened, I wasn’t expecting to see realistically-drawn men and serious drama involving samurai and Japanese history and the paranormal.Since then, I’ve seen other series that contained similar elements, but nothing can match my experience of seeing it for the first time.
Naoe has been victor and victim, a hero, a rapist, a redeemer of souls, and a lost soul himself.(I guess you can cover a lot of ground in 400 years. ;))The scene in the boat where Naoe embraces Takaya’s lifeless body, agonizing over whether to bring him back to life or to die with him forever, was one of those moments when time seemed to stop around me and I realized that I had come upon something that I couldn’t ignore.In that moment, I could not turn away from the screen.
That moment has lasted four years and counting.If anything, my addiction to anime and manga has only grown stronger as time has passed; and it all began with Mirage of Blaze and its terrible, beautiful antihero – Nobutsuna Naoe.
