Holiday Reading/Viewing List

By akgoemans on 12/15/09 2:10am
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Stop - Holiday Time!Stop - Holiday Time!

I've been thinking of recommending a few manga/anime names in time for the holiday period. But coming up with a theme was difficult. Should I throw in shows/episodes set in the Christmas period? Or should I stick to listing stories that will make folks happy? Well, so I went for a bit of both. The one thing all stories have in common is that all of them have a wonderful message about love, life and finding your innerself. 



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Gender Norms and Cross-dressing in Manga and Anime

By akgoemans on 12/3/09 10:42am
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IsabellaIsabella

After reading about cross-dressing cops in Tokyo district, I started wondering about the topic in relation to manga and anime. Sure enough, it is quite common in these media forms but how is it treated? I've become accustomed to seeing them but I've never thought about the way it is presented. Until now that is.



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Great Manga Gifts

By akgoemans on 11/25/09 12:02pm
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What I said, epic battles!What I said, epic battles!

I came across blogger David Welsh's rant about NYT's Gift Guide (via Manga Blog). In case you were wondering, that Gift Guide was a 'Cool Comics You Can Buy a Geek' sort of guide. He was pointing out, and rightly so, that not a single manga made to that list. Oh no, they didn't! Well, I was inspired by his call to make a list and came up with my own manga gift guide. Here goes.



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Women in Anime: More Than An Inoue Clone?

By akgoemans on 11/16/09 8:02am
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Did anyone hear me curse? Oh crap ... wait, what?Did anyone hear me curse? Oh crap ... wait, what?

Recently, I came across an interesting article that talked about the role of women in vampire literature. This, together with a recent discussion about the prevalence of 'cutesy' female characters in anime, got me thinking. Surely child-like pretty girls was not the only depiction of female folk in most anime shows? I mean, from what I remember (both from manga and anime), you are likely to come across different types of personalities in most shows. Of course, I could be turning a blind eye to flaws in my favorite shows, thus preferring to think that most shows didn't create one-sided, annoying female characters. Let's take a look, shall we?

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Various Anime Genres

By akgoemans on 11/10/09 8:44am
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... fans of Abel?... fans of Abel?

A lot of fuss has been made over anime genres. In most cases, the ruckus starts because someone somewhere didn't quite categorize a certain anime in the right section (i.e. Hello Dragon Ball, where are your pants?). Admittedly, most of the controversies occur because of folks involved in the matter don't know much about these Japanese media forms. Sometimes it is because there is still a prevailing notion that comics and animated series are aimed at children. Well, whatever the case, it is probably a good idea to touch upon the various anime genres and subgenres.



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Christian Symbols in Anime and Manga

By akgoemans on 11/3/09 9:44am
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He's Abel and his bro is Cain ... right!He's Abel and his bro is Cain ... right!

This week I will be touching on a sensitive topic, at least one that you skirt around with Western audiences/readers – the depiction of Christianity in anime/manga. We all know that the portrayal of religion in any media form is a touchy topic and thus, a lot of folks frown on manga and anime for its rather liberal – not to mention random – use of religious symbols. But am I the only one who wonders about Christian symbols in anime? I mean, it doesn't really matter what your personal beliefs are; what I am talking about in this case is curiosity about the influences on this country's art forms. What exactly is the connection between religion and these media formats?



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List of Horror Anime Titles

By akgoemans on 10/30/09 8:09am
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Check it out, it's my party faceCheck it out, it's my party face

eems as Halloween is around the corner, surely this is when we load up our favorite scary anime shows? You know, something to give you chills or even freak you out with its flesh-ripping details? Perhaps a glimpse of oozing blood spatters on the wall is your thing… unless you want to join the quiet hunt for crazy serial killers? Whatever the case, I have gathered a list of different anime from the horror genre, where each one will hopefully appeal to different tastes (do keep in mind that all of these shows are best suited for an older audience).



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Bouncing Boobs on Ikki Tousen, the new PSP Game

By akgoemans on 10/27/09 8:59am
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Ikki Tousen: Xross ImpactIkki Tousen: Xross Impact

I take it this will delight fans of the game. I'm referring to the 'fight til your clothes drop' game series called Ikki Tousen. Yea, it's a one-on-one fighting game where the clothes tear off show skin rather stragetically. You can see how this one developed a fan following. Oh and did I mention that most of the fighters are girls in short skirts and big boobs? And as you guessed, there is quite a bit of boob mechanics involved in this game.

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Japanese Company Ushers in Manga Manuals

By akgoemans on 10/20/09 9:48am
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Rule 3: Don't goof around when boss is hereRule 3: Don't goof around when boss is here

Now everyone will read the company manuals! I read over at ANN that a Japanese company has come up with brilliant idea – making manga manuals! The company in question is called Fintecs and they appear to be in the manual making business for a while now. Well, they took manual-making where no manual has gone before and created a fun and exciting manga manual!



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Top Anime/Manga Guys

By akgoemans on 10/13/09 9:33am
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Kisuke UraharaKisuke Urahara

My friends and I were discussing this recent, rather controversial study about the pill changing the laws of attraction. According to this study, women on the pill don't flock around macho men who speak in gruff voices and flex their muscles every few minutes. Rather, apparently they are more likely to go for the androgynous males. I did say this is a controversial study and I don't necessarily think that this is a bad feature or that the pill is to blame (hello, maybe the social trends and value placed on different occupations have more to do with this than anything else?).

Our discussion led to listing all the effeminate males in manga or anime who make women's heart go pitter-patter. After all, if you think about it, there is a greater variety in how a male attractiveness is depicted in a lot of manga/anime series. There is no set mold where the male characters adhere to a strict set of macho traits as is the case of a number of Western comics or animated shows (do note, a lot of Western shows do this but, to be fair, not all of them are guilty of such stereotyping). In Japanese geek culture, a male character's personality is less rigid, less like a traditional male model than say Solid Snake. Furthermore, women readers of manga support and rally around either the androgynous males or the males expressing more emotions (thus, portraying them in what the folks behind that study would call a feminine role).

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