The true definition of “shojo” and “shonen”

This is a topic I have never given much thought to, but it recently came up during a conversation I had with a friend. I always assumed that a more-or-less singular definition of shojo and shonen anime/manga was agreed upon by everyone involved in anime. But I can see now that that’s not entirely so…

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The meaning behind the otaku

I recently came across a post about a book called “Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals” by Prof. Hiroki Azuma. Although I’ve never read the book myself, Mike over at Anime Diet had some very interesting comments about how Prof. Azuma describes the mentality of Japanese otaku…

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Why do we buy anime collectibles?

The title of this post is a question that I’m confronted with fairly often. Why do hardcore fans spend so much money buying anime collectibles, such as figures, plushies, and trading cards, when such things are relatively expensive, take up space, and all they do is “sit around and collect dust?”…

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Interpreting Haibane Renmei

Although it came out in 2002, I only recently got a chance to watch Haibane Renmei…

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Rebelling against corrupt authority in One Piece

As I’m making my way through the concluding episodes of the Enies Lobby arc of One Piece, I’m continually intrigued by the series’ reoccurring theme of “rebelling against authority,” particularly how the heroes of the show are pirates, and the villains are often the Marines or other authoritative figures…

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Cel vs digital: does animation style affect overall quality?

(Left) Lina from Slayers Next, 1995; (Right) Lina from Slayers Revolution, 2008

Ever since all anime switched from cel animation to digital animation back in the early 2000s, there has been some debate among fans about whether story/character quality has decreased even though animation techniques have increased…

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What exactly do Japanese and American otaku like about anime?


This is a recent Ask John post that caught my attention. John points out that there is indeed a difference between what Japanese fans like about anime and what American fans like about it…

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Do the Japanese value fandom more than America?


Taken in Osaka; Japan appreciates Stitch more than America XD

For some time I’ve been puzzled about the difference between “fandom” in America and “fandom” in Japan, not just anime fandom but fandom in general. It seems to me that the Japanese place more emphasis on having people become totally immersed and supporting fans of anime and other entertainment, while America doesn’t really offer the same kind of hard-core immersion in its shows and movies. I’ll illustrate my points further in this post, and I’d also like to hear your opinion as well…

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Haruhi Suzumiya: masterpiece, piece of junk or simply overrated?


This is the “Question of the Week” for the Hey, Answerman column on Anime News Network. I usually don’t have the time or motivation to submit my own answers to things like this. But…since I’m on vacation now and I was kinda bored today, I decided to give this question a try. I’ve been rather Haruhi-obsessed this past year so I probably could’ve written a lot more than this but I didn’t want to overdo it XD Hopefully Zac will post my response, and if not, at least I used it as a blog post so it wasn’t a total waste ^^a You can check ANN next week to see other answers to the question. Anyway, here’s my (kinda long) answer…

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Inuyasha: why there should be a new TV series


With Inuyasha being my most favorite series of all, this is something that’s been on my mind for a while now. And now that all the episodes have aired on Adult Swim, I feel even more obliged to get my point across…

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