Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! [2006-05-18]
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Quirk
 Posts: 14 |
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Yes, the guys can have as much boobs they want as long as the girls can have crotches to stare at. 
Whether you just happen to stare a bit at a character's chest in an anime or the latest Victoria Secret catalogue, anyone will want twist things to make you seem like a pervert to make themselves feel good. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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I was mildly interested in the plot of Divergence Eve, but I simply can't get past those giant torpedos on the girls' chests. I'm avoiding Najicaa and Agent Aika for similar reasons. |
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kizoku
 Posts: 47 Location: Ypsilanti, MI |
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The reason you have to justify fanservice is that everyone assumes a series with lots of boobs has no plot and no character developement. Sorry, but 90% of the time that's true. You can defend it by saying "Yeah, but it's a great series anyway" or "Hey, I like boobs". 'Course, if you're over 16 and are watching a series for cartoon boobs you have a different problem.
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SalarymanJoe
 Posts: 468 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA |
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I think that this is the best response Zac has ever given to the "OMG I want to work in the industry!" question. I think, if re-tooled for specifics, it can be applicable for most people looking to go into a perticular career field. It's been my upbringing that one should look for a career or company with which you'll be happy but always to make sure it pays the bills. Honestly, when I first started college (through High School I wanted to be a translator, but those dreams were dashed), I toyed with the idea of eventually of receiving a law degree; one of the areas I wanted to study was civil and IP law. Ideally, I would have liked to work for any of the anime companies, have them foot the bill for me to go to Japan and work on those contract negotiations. While possibly going back for a JD in civil or IP law is on the back burner, if I did do that, there are a number of companies I would want to go work for over anime companies because of the higher pay. Not to mention, while I would be working on licensing contracts, I would have to keep my mouth shut until every i is dotted and t is crossed (and the Japanese equivalent, of course). It would be fun, but not something I would really consider doing as my only job. Though, if I can, I'd like to add some constructive advice; to the letter writer (if reading) or to anyone else who might have come across any of the same lines I have. If you are hell bent on wanting to get into the industry, then I highly suggest sitting on every industry panel you can get into at a con in your area. I mean, every one from working in the industry to the licensing panels and whatever else is in between. If you can't stand to sit through them, you're probably not cut out for working in the industry. Not to mention, there are going to be all of the normal business operations you'll have to go through that really no one likes; being able to put up with that garbage is just being able to work in any industry and I don't expect anime companies to be any different. Also, there are other ways in which one can interact in the industry; I happen to love those industry panels and the Internet has opened up a wonderful medium for any kind of person, for better or worse, through the Blogosphere. While it's not exactly a part of the industry, one it now working outside the industry to pay the bills and being able to comment on it and I hope to work my way as to being considered a pundit simply as my own hobby (Shameless Plug). I hope mostly that what I am saying is making some sense, and if it doesn't right now, that it might in the future. Even though I don't work in the industry, I work with a career I like and can still afford my hobby. I think all too often, that sort of sensiblity gets ruled out by the "do what you love" pushed by parents and schools. |
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HMS Thunder Child
Posts: 12 Location: Ze Netherlands |
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please delete this, something went wrong when I was posting, so sorry
Last edited by HMS Thunder Child on Fri May 19, 2006 1:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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HMS Thunder Child
Posts: 12 Location: Ze Netherlands |
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please delete this, something went wrong when I was posting, so sorry
Last edited by HMS Thunder Child on Fri May 19, 2006 1:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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HMS Thunder Child
Posts: 12 Location: Ze Netherlands |
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That's something every anime fan faces. Whenever I need to explain people what anime is ( and I do that at least once a week ) it's because they have most of the time following arguments:"It's for little kids, it's only Pokemon and that kind of childish things or porn." Then I respond that's only a few % of what kind of anime there is. At least 9 out of 10 let me explain, the rest doesn't want to hear my arguments ( because they need something to complain about ). Most of the time I use examples, that anime's targeted at people of all ages. I tell them that anime is not childish, that if they want proof, then they can borrow Elfen Lied. Anime covers a lot of genres. It's like a usual live-action series/movie, but then animated. The results are mixed. In 2 cases the people I talked to watched a series/movie, because I made them curious. One of them is my brother, he is now addicted to the GITS series. Most people simply accept what I tell them and I never have to explain to them again, but only a few start a discussion about appropriate ages to watch anime, about explicit content that is shown. And then I have to explain to them again that there are a lot of series/movies, each of them targeted at an audience of a certain age/sexe. I had a job interview a few months ago ( but another guy got the job ), after the usual questions:"Do you have any kind of hobbies?" I spent more then 1 hour talking with the 2 people interviewing me about anime, mangas and my passion for Japan and the why and how. If people just want to listen and pay attention, I am happy, but I am very happy if they want to discuss with me about it. So it's not really a shame that you have to explain why you watch anime ( and what if they call you a big pervert, just remind them of that huge pile of porn movies in their bedroom or anything else they have ), I call it a challange to tell them something about anime. They might even learn something, if they want to. |
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The Xenos
 Posts: 1519 Location: Boston |
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bah, double post
Last edited by The Xenos on Fri May 19, 2006 1:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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The Xenos
Posts: 1519 Location: Boston |
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I gotta thank Answerman for setting straight yet another person who wants to make anime and/or manga. It's just not gonna happen. At least not in any way that is sold to you. Tokyopop's contests are crap shoots. Don't be fooled by their marketing. There are plenty of other ways to express your intrests in making manga/comics.
I suggest looking at American comics. Look at all these self published books. Look at decades of American comics writers and artists, not Japan. You live in America, not Japan. The culture and where you work is different. Yes, the field is totally chaning right now. What else is new? Publish a cheap 'zine or whatever you call local self published comics. Actually, it's kinda like the doujinshi market in Japan. Think what you've seen in anime and manga like Comic Party or Genshiken. It's already here in America, just people are too busy talking manga to notice it. A new popular method is starting a web comic. Though it seems every yahoo out there is in one. (Hell, I've been in like.. three or something, still in a friend's now, looking to start another myself with another friend.) Though that's still new territory which is as uncertain as it is exciting. I myself would love to write comics. I got ideas. Haven't devloped much of them. I hope to and I hope to write and create comics as a hobby that hopefully turn into maybe something more. Yet I got a day job doing other work in a whole different field also in my interests, in science and biology. Not sure where that is going either though. |
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fortexd
Posts: 3 |
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I'm actually considering a nonpaid internship with a manga company this summer. Since I'm a freshman in college right now, and still have the luxury of relying on the parentals for support, I am also able to explore internships that interest me without worrying about whether they're going to give me a paycheck I can survive off of. My brother, well he got into political compaigns...I, on the other hand, choose comic books. My parents must be so proud -_-
Anyway, Digital Manga has already asked me to come on board as an assistant in marketing and publishing. I'm an English major right now, and publishing appeals to me as a career, so I think this would be great experience. A long time ago, I would have wanted to work at a manga company so I could get free stuff and fangirl for a living, but I really now want this job for the experience and the creative, small-company aspect. I'll get knowledge of the industry, probably get to work some conventions, and heck, maybe I'll get some free stuff while I'm at it! |
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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Good luck with your internship! (Doesn't DMP do mostly yaoi? I hope you like yaoi...) I work with interns every day at my job - so please, please, please, even if they're not paying you, take your internship seriously. Treat it like a real job and act as professionally as you can. Even if there's nothing for you to do sometimes, try to look busy and don't look bored. Even if you have to do the most inane thing task ever, work hard to do it right...especially if it turns out you like the company. In a really competative field like comics you have to stand a head about the other interns if you want them to hire you. |
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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I have a great time at my job. Although I have to agree that, unless you really have something big to bring to the table, usually from another industry, the pay will always be crap. I don't think anybody other than the executives really makes what I would call "good" money. That's just the sad reality of being part of what is really still a cottage industry -- it's not a big business, so there's just not a lot of money to go around. |
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fortexd
Posts: 3 |
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I wouldn't do a job any other way  I'm fairly hard-working and competitive (that's how I got into UCLA).
I'm basically just excited about learning all aspects of the industry, even the lame and unglamorous ones, so I'll probably make a good slave *ahem* intern. I like yaoi well enough, i suppose, and I'm right in the target audience. DMI did give me some free sample books of their yaoi licenses, and I enjoyed them a lot! |
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dentedonion
Posts: 33 |
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On this week's rant:
It's nice to hear another female perspective on male fanservice. Maybe I interpreted the series incorrectly, but I always assumed that Grenadier was just a parody of fanservice in general by endowing its protagonist with oversized breasts. Normally, I don't really care for excessive jigglage in any show, but I found this one to be really entertaining. I actually grew to like the characters and even the story, as short as it was. But for the most part it was just really funny. As others have mentioned before, fanservice isn't necessarily unique to japanese animation. It's pretty common for female characters (with a scant few exceptions) in comic books, video games, cartoons and animated films to have exagerated physical features. I've even heard its an unspoken rule that female characters in animation must have some sort of sex appeal. (again there are a few exceptions) While some may see panty shots, jiggle, etc. as going too far, I just see fanservice in anime as being another means to show a character's "sexiness", I don't see how that's any worse than the g-string bikini type outfits comic book heroines wear, not to mention all the REAL half naked women they show on tv nowadays. It seems like women have always been objectified in the media in some way or another. It isn't anything new. |
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 291 Location: Georgia |
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FYI I'm a girl and I'm sorry but I can't help but wish there were a lot less fanservice in anime. Maybe it's because I watch anime and don't read much manga (unless it's a continuation of an anime I loved like Kenshin). I am not at all into yaoi and only recently discovered what it was. SO I can't take the tit for tat attitude that some people have. Plus, at least for anime, the two things are not really equal. The fact is most licensed anime is geared toward the male market in the US. Think about the rareness of any josei anime series. Non-yaoi josei is almost nonexistant in the west. (I got that from ANN's own Lexicon.) Maybe I could be more understanding of fanservice if that wasn't the case. Fanservice ends up ruining what would have been great shows for me (Najica Blitz Tactics springs to mind). More and more shows I've stopped watching after the first disc in disgust. As I get older and older and see 30 on the horizon, I am starting to feel that anime isn't really for all ages. I feel like I am getting too old to watch shows about giant waving breasts. It's distracting and annoying. Don't get me wrong I realize there are cultural differences and I am not knocking the Japanese for making this crap. We in the US make needless violent or sexual entertainment as well. And I don't make efforts to justify what I watch to people so I guess I can't relate to the rant much. But I it is a legit arguement to say there is WAY to much fanservice in amine. Plus I think fanservice hinders the ability to market anime to females past a certain point. After a girl out grows the magical girl phase what is there for her? Basically an anime future of sifting through show after show with excess fanservice before she eventually gives up. Honestly if I hadn't discovered the magic of fansubs this year I think I would have been able to honestly say I am not much of an anime fan anymore.
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Now I really don't care so much about the number of series out there that are nothing but racy bishoujou fanservice fests with pretty packaging. As long as BL mangaka and (a few) animators continue to crank out series for yaoi fans like me, it's easier for me to ignore the elements of anime that I don't like. If I want anime fans to tolerate the presence of yaoi in the greater fandom, then I've realized that it's better to keep my mouth shut about fanservice directed towards hetero guys. 
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