Lady Otaku

Hi everyone! I have decided to add a suggestion box form so you can email me with your questions about anime and manga. You can ask a question about anything related to anime and  manga, and I will do my best to answer it. You can find the suggestion box link under pages on the right side menu.
Is there something you want reviewed? Do you have a suggestion for a how to article? Want to see graphics from a specific series? Just have questions about anime and manga in general? Maybe just a question about Japanese culture?

Send them my way and I’ll gratefully do my best to respond on the blog. Comments or questions are welcome. I am always looking for suggestions on what to post.

You can find the suggestion box link under pages on the right side menu.

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon,aka Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn by Naoko Takeuchi (review)

Sailor Moon became a magical girl phenomenon worldwide, that in turn inspired many more magical girl series.

Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon is about a teenage school girl, Usagi Tsukino, who discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Princess from the Moon Kingdom which existed on the moon 10,000 years ago in what was called the Silver Millennium.  She becomes the legendary hero, Sailor Moon, guided by a black cat named Luna and reunites with her fellow senshi.  Bishōjo senshi means pretty soldier or warrior.  The other senshi are also reincarnated Princesses and warriors from their own respected planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto. Usagi’s love interest is Her love interest is Mamoru Chiba who is the hero Tuxedo Mask and the reborn Prince Endymion. That is just the first season.

Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, first published in a magazine titled Nakayoshi in 1992, is a manga that heavily reflects many aspects of Japanese culture to the outside world.  Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon has a very successful publishing run:

At the end of 1995, thirteen paperback volumes compiled from the Sailor Moon series had sold nearly 1 million copies each; twenty volumes compiled from the animation series of Sailor Moon had sold around 300,000 each; and there were over ten types of  video games on the market, each having sold between 200,000 and 300,000. In five years, total revenues from character merchandising exceeded ¥300 billion. By the end  of 1995 the Sailor Moon manga books and the animation series had been exported to over twenty-three countries, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, most of Europe, and North America. A truly global market had been opened up. (Schodt 95)

The manga is the original story.  The Japanese anime followed quickly, and then came the North American dub anime.

The Japanese anime is divided into many seasons. There’s Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon S, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS, and Sailor StarS.  The manga is divided into Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon SuperS, and Sailor StarS.   The first half of Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R was never part of the manga story line, but added to the anime while Takeuchi was continuing work on the manga.  The part created exclusively for the anime is the story of Ann and Ail.  The Dark Moon Clan which appears in Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon R is part of the manga.

Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon is about a teenage school girl, Usagi Tsukino, who discovers that she is the reincarnation of the Princess from the Moon Kingdom which existed on the moon 10,000 years ago in what was called the Silver Millennium.  She becomes the legendary hero, Sailor Moon, guided by a black cat named Luna and reunites with her fellow senshi.  Bishōjo senshi means pretty soldier or warrior.  The other senshi are also reincarnated Princesses and warriors from their own respected planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto.

Websites

PrincessSerenity.net
This site has recently had a huge overhaul, making it a Sailor Moon social site in addition to a great resource for Sailor Moon images and media. There is also a great forum. This great site has been online for 10 years.

SmFanfiction.net
The largest Sailor Moon fanfiction archive still online today. I myself am an author under the pen name Sailor Draco. I also serve as part of the editing staff known as the SMFFQCC. It’s a subsite of PrincessSerenity.net.

Forbidden Sentiments
A mature Sailor Moon fanfiction archive that accepts hentai (adult) fanfiction. It’s a subsite of Lady-Otaku.net.

The Oracle
An online Sailor Moon encyclopedia. It’s everything you ever wanted to know and then some.

Manga Style
This site is a gallery full of scans from all the Sailor Moon artbooks. Images are high quality.

Sailor Music
An archive of music from the anime and live action series. The music is available in multiple formats.

Serenitatis
An Usagi and Mamoru image gallery that has been online since September 2007.

Moon Sticks
A fansite producing weekly Sailor Moon comic strips.

Moon Prism
The approved Sailor Moon anime and manga fanlisting.

Articles

Cornog, Martha and Timothy Perper. “Non-Western Sexuality Comes to the U.S.: A Crash Course in Manga and Anime for Sexologists.” Contemporary Sexuality Mar2005, Vol. 39 Issue 3, p1-6

Eisenstodt, Gale and Kerry Dolan. “Barbie gets ready to growl `hello Sailor’.” BRW 1/23/95, Vol. 17 Issue 2, p68

Spring, Gret. “`Sailor moon’ rises again in syndication.” Electronic Media 03/17/97, Vol. 16 Issue 12, p6

McCormick, Moira. “`Sailor moon’ takes a shine to cross-rebates.” Billboard 3/9/96, Vol. 108 Issue 10, p59

Neace, Melissa. “Reviews the book “Sailor moon,” by Naoko Takeuchi.” Library Media Connection Apr/May2005, Vol. 23  Issue 7, p53-53

“The next TV-to-toy phenom: Sailor Moon.” U.S. News & World Report; 2/27/95, Vol. 118 Issue 8, p16, 1/3p, 1 Color Photograph.

‘Sailor moon’ to shine in U.S.: Hit Japanese kids show Sailor moon will be adapted for a U.S. audience by animator DIC Productions and syndicated by new distributor SeaGull Entertainment. The Japanese animation will be retained, with new main titles, bumpers, wraparounds and audio track. Broadcasting & cable. 124, no. 47, (November 21, 1994): 34

Eisenstodt, Gale and Kerry A. Dolan. “Watch Out, Barbie.” Forbes 1/2/95, Vol. 155 Issue 1, p58-60

K.T. “A matter of great imports.” Entertainment Weekly 10/13/95, Issue 296, p89

Silver, Marc. “Geared for Girls.” U.S. News & World Report 10/30/95, Vol. 119 Issue 17, p22

“DIC, Bandai target girls market with show, products.” Brandweek 1/9/95, Vol. 36 Issue 2, p5

Allison, Anne. “A Challenge to Hollywood? Japanese Character Goods Hit the US.” Japanese Studies May2000, Vol. 20  Issue 1, p67

Benezra, Karen and Jamie Hogan. “Toy Unfair.” Brandweek 2/13/95, Vol. 36 Issue 7, p20

Raugust, Karen. “DIC’s new independence refreshes company’s licensing efforts. Animation Magazine v. 15 no1 (January 2001) p. 17-18

Pollack, Andrew. “Sega to Acquire Bandai, Creating Toy-Video Giant.” New York Times 1/24/1997, p1

“Girls in Cartoons: Japan’s Pioneers.” New York Times 9/24/2000, p4

Cameron, Amy. “From Maggie Muggins to Mambo matriarch.” Maclean’s 2/17/2003, Vol. 116 Issue 7, p45

Saperstein, Patricia. “Kids warm to new crop of Japanese toons.” Variety v. 377 no9 (January 17-23 2000) p. N22

Considine, J.D. “TELEVISION/RADIO; Making Anime A Little Safer For Americans.” New York Times 1/20/2002, p33

Tomita, Shohei. “Real vs. not real: Children’s understanding of fantasy characters.” Japanese Journal of

Developmental Psychology Aug, 2002 Vol 13(2) 122-135

Williams, Christine. “Review of ‘Millennial monsters: Japanese toys and the global imagination’.” American Journal of Sociology Mar, 2009 Vol 114(5) 1562-1564

Talbot, Margaret. “The Year in Ideas; Pokemon Hegemon.” New York Times Magazine 12/15/2002, p112

Barber, John F. “Anime Explosion : The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation (review).” Volume 40, Number 4, August 2007

Allison, Anne. “The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism.” Citation: Mechademia
1 Year: 2006

Cornog, Martha and Timothy Perper. “The Education of Desire : Futari etchi and the Globalization of Sexual Tolerance.” Citation: Mechademia 2  Year: 2007

Saturday was a better experience at A-Kon. Cosplayers were out in full force, from video games, to j-pop, to anime, to other popular culture characters. This was my first anime convention and I was surprised to see people dressed as Disney princesses, and characters from Star Trek, Star Wars, and Harry Potter.

I found some great Sailor Moon merchandise on the dealer’s floor, from art books to bamboo wall scrolls, to coffee mugs, to keychains, to bags. I myself bought Sailor Moon pencil box, wall scroll, and keychain (Sailor Neptune). I also purchased a very lovely corset, some DVDs, and a Chobits art book. The artist gallery featured some beautiful work as well.

I was disappointed with the panels. Other than cosplay and the usual music video contest, there wasn’t anything else fandom based or fan participatory (fanfiction contest, etc). The panels on the industry (getting an agent, how the industry works, etc) were just basic information and nothing I didn’t already know. I feel like the majority of the panels were aimed at the newbie anime fan and not the seasoned Otaku. In addition the program and schedules were full of typos. The program and the overall convention seemed very disorganized.

There were some great cosplay costumes. I myself regret not dressing up but I didn’t have enough time to create a costume I’ll definitely have one for the next anime con I go to. I got a few good photos. I was too shy to ask stop and ask very many people if I could get their photo real quick. What was really neat were the cosplayer’s ice skating next door in the Plaza of the America’s. I got some great photos of that I will say though, girls without underwear should not ride in glass elevators. Not everyone wants to see that!

Overall, for my first con it was an enjoyable time. Growing up my mother never let me go to conventions, so I was glad to take this opportunity with my husband. My daughter (age 2) enjoyed the cosplayers a lot, especially the ones that looked like giant stuffed animals. I’m looking forward to more future conventions.

My first day at the A-Kon Convention in Dallas was a long one. There was a hold up in line from the beginning, and the program booklet is disorganized with typos and lacking a time schedule for the panels. Thankfully they have put a full schedule online. There weren’t as many cosplayer’s as I expected, about 1/3 of people dressed up. There were a lot of Naruto costumes, as well as some cool animal and final fantasy costumes. Unfortunately I was a bad otaku and forgot my camera. I will get photos tomorrow! Unfortunately, manners for many have been left at the door as people cut in front of you at vendors or run right into you while your walking around. Lady Otaku says never leave your manners at home! Trust me, I hated it being ran into all day and I’m 5’9″! I don’t know why people act as if they don’t see me A more detailed report tomorrow.

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

It was first serialized in Hana to Yume 1999-2006 before bing published in 2007 by Hakusensha in 23 volumes.

The corresponding anime series was directed by AKitaro Daichi and only ran 26-episodes, not covering the entire manga. In Fruits Basket a high school orphan named Hona Tohru is living in a tent. Nobody knows it. She normally lives with her paternal grandfather who is remodeling his home to make room for more relatives and asked if she could stay with friends in the mean time. Not wanting to impose on anyone, she decided to take care of herself. Unknowingly her camp is on Sohma land. She runs into Yuki and Sigure Sohma on her way to school. Shigure is a writer, and Yuki is a fellow classmate who is the most popular boy in school (nicknamed Prince Yuki).

Later Yuki and Shigure find her before a landslide overtakes her tent. Learning of her story, Shigure invites her to stay at their house until she can rejoin her grandfather, doing household cleaning and meals in return for free room and board. She agrees. Later does she learn of the Sohma family secret. They are cursed, 13 members of the family are possessed by the spirits of the zodiac. When a possessed member dies, the spirit of that zodiac animal will be reborn within the familly. For the first time in a long time all 13 members of the zodiac are living. Shigure and Yuki are members of the zodiac. When they are hugged by members of the opposite sex, they turn into the animal that possess them. She must keep their secret.

She is drawn into their twisted lives, as Shigure starts to use her in an attempt to break the curse. Tohru finds herself in a love triangle with Yuki and Kyo Sohma (also possessed, another fellow student who comes to live at the house). Most of the members in the zodiac bond with Tohru, loving her in some form or another, usually as a mother type. Yuki and Kyo are both protective over her, competting for her.

Tohru is eternally optimistic. She tries to think the best of everyone, and tries to always look on the sunny side of things. She lost her father from illness when she was a toddler, and her mother from an accident shortly before the story begins. Although she has lost everything, she gives everything she has to those around her and retains a smile. She inspires people. The series often maintains an upbeat comedic tone while exploring some dark aspects of the human condition.

The name Fruits Basket comes from a Japanese game that the story introduces in the beginning of the manga and anime. The anime only covers the first half of the story, and doesn’t include all the zodiac members. It remains loyal to the storyline that it does present with an art style very similar to the manga. It leaves out a few things, and the final episode is altered from what happens in the manga in order to provide an ending for the anime series.

Fruits Basket is immensely popular in Japan and north America as evidence in 2007 when “…Fruits Basket Vol. 16 reached #15 on the USA Today Bestselling Books Top 150, the highest position ever achieved by a manga (see ‘Fruits Basket Hits New High’)” (Fruits Basket).

Natsuki Takaya has also created two fanbooks (Fruits Basket Fan Book – Cat and Fruits Basket Fan Book – Banquet) as well as one art book. The art book has not been released in North America while both fan books are available.

The 23 volume manga series and anime are currently available in the USA. If it’s also currently available in your country, let me know and I’ll add it here

PrincessSerenity.net
http://princessserenity.net/

PrincessSerenity.net was started by Bunny 10 years ago. It is the longest running Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon website that I know of. Recently the site has gone over a major overhaul, becoming a social Sailor Moon community. Now visitors can contribute to the site by adding Sailor Moon images, cosplay photos, and media. Of course the character profiles,  episode lists, season summaries, song lyrics and bio about Naoko Takeuchi are still up.

The site is now user driven. In addition to being able to upload Sailor Moon content, users can have their own site blog, create quizzes and bulletins, and participate in a market place and groups. The forum has been made over as well. It is one of the largest Sailor Moon forums still online.

The site is moderated. I myself am a staff member on the subsite Sailor Moon Fanfiction archive. I can be found lurking on the forum as well

I have created a great new skin for Forbidden Sentiments. FS is a fanfiction archive for mature Sailor Moon fanfiction (ratings 13+, 16+, and adults only). I am pleased to reveal the new stats:

Tokyopop is holding a contest to win volume 2 of Alice in the Country Of Hearts. The contest calls for creativity:

FIND something in your daily life that relates to Alice in the Country of Hearts.
OR
CREATE something that relates to Alice in the Country of Hearts.

Better hurry, the contest deadline is March 12!

Check it out: http://www.tokyopop.com/Robofish/contest/2990843.html

Creating your own music video’s is both fun and challenging. It can take some trial and error before you get the hang of it. With YouTube, it’s easier then ever to share your music videos with other fans and gain feedback. It is a creative process that takes planning, time, and patience.

In the planning stages you will want to consider which character or theme you want to center your music video around. Maybe you have a song in mind without knowing what you want to put with it. If that is the case, you’ll want to think about which characters or sequence in the anime that the song best relates to and choose your clips accordingly. If you don’t have a song in mind, you’ll want to find one that relates well to your chosen character or theme.

Once you have settled on your song, character, and/or theme, you’ll want to select a great many clips. I suggest starting with more then you think you will need. It’s easy to underestimate what you need. Also, you never know which clips will work and which ones once until you try to put them together with the music.

After you have your clips and song, you’ll want to play around with them. Try different combinations with the music and see how you like it, see how it feels. Does it look good? Do the clips transition well? Does it all seem to go together, or does it appear random? Those are all question you should ask yourself.

Transitions are very important. You want to put together clips that can slide smoothly into each other. Some programs allow you to add transition effects, but those are not necessary. The best way to check your transitions is to put your clips together and play it. You should be able to tell by watching it if the clips slide roughly into each other. If a clip goes into another roughly it may seem out of place, or like an abrupt change. This part is trial and error. You just have to try until you feel it looks right.

ALWAYS give credit for the song you use. List the artist and the song name. The album title is always nice to add. Avoid using songs by bands or artist that are against using their songs for such things. A good way to find that out is to visit their own website.

NEVER take another person’s music video, slap a new song on it, add or delete a scene, and call it your own. That is plagiarism, aka coping. Everyone hates a copy cat.

You can get clips for your music video by making them yourself or by finding them online. ALWAYS give credit to websites you take clips from. They used their own time and skill to make the clips and put them out there, it’s only right to give them credit.

Music video’s are a fun way to express your adoration for anime. Making a good music video simply takes time, patience, and practice. Good luck with yours!

X

FUNimation has announced it’s acquisition of the 24 episode series of X. They will begin releasing the series on DVD in 2010. It is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and animated by Madhouse (“Aquarion”, “Beck”, “Black Lagoon”, “Gungrave”). Like the featured film, the series is an adaptation of the original CLAMP manga.

The story-line takes place in 1999. Armageddon is descending upon us as special individuals gather to take sides within Tokyo. Three friends, Kamui, Kotori, and Fūma ban together, ignorant of their destiny to battle each other in the very end. The story is a heroic journey of Kamu as he faces the impact of his choices on the road to face his destiny.

Initial D

FUNimation has announced it’s acquisition of “Initial D First Stage”, “Initial D Second Stage”, “Initial D Extra Stage”, “Initial D Third Stage” and “Initial D Fourth Stage” from Kodansha. Their site states that they Initial D will be uncut, with a new dub cast, and the original music.  They have acquired the home entertainment, broadcast, digital, and merchandise rights. So all you Initial D fans out there should start saving your money for the new merchandise!

The Initial D anime is based up Shuichi Shigeno. Initial D details the illegal street racing mainly through the dangerous mountain passes in the kanto area.