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Over the years we have been seeing more and more anime being brought over here into America from Japan, but did you know that American studios cut out a lot of original scenes before broadcasting it on television? Several things that are taken out are violent scenes, cultural jokes, and fan service. Unlike the United States fan service to Japan is so common and popularized in Japan that it’s accepted. Here in America there are people like parents who are concerned with what their children view. They don’t want their children to be exposed to women in bathing suits or bras and panties. For example, in the original Dragon Ball Bulma flashes her panties to an old man in order to obtain a dragon ball but does not realize that Goku had taken off her panties while she had slept and practically shows him everything. That scene including many was taken out of the U.S’ showing, but could you imagine the reactions the parents would get if they had seen that with their children? Not a very good one.
Next, violent scenes in Japanese animation are a lot more brutal than it seems. In the movie Kill Bill there was a specific animated scene where O-Ren Ishii’s mother is stabbed on top of the bed and blood was scattered on it. Japanese society is more tolerant with violence where as in the United States it’s different because parents are more worried about their children imitating what they see on television. They also fear that their children will grow up violent as well.
Lastly, cultural jokes are either taken out, or rewritten over here and if no
t they are often misunderstood by the viewers. Nosebleeds for example portray someone being aroused. In Naruto Iruka, Naruto’s homeroom teacher, gets a nosebleed after Naruto’s technique of turning into a nude woman censored by clouds. People here in 
the U.S who aren’t used to seeing anime would not understand this concept. Another cultural joke is the way the Japanese depict other countries. For example, Americans can be seen as loud people who constantly eat hamburgers. Also men in drag are cultural and are often found in animes. It hints how it must be casually seen in Japan or how comfortable they are with sexuality. In other words, since Japan is a whole distinct culture it’s difficult for us to understand their views. Their education is different so we sometimes don’t get the reference of the students having to go to cram school or entrance exams to colleges. In conclusion, cultural jokes, violence, and fan service are often taken out for many reasons whether it’s exposing the young to adult-scenes or imitate violence or simply because it’s something we can’t relate to.
The Anime Expo (AX) is an anime convention that’s held every year in the summer in Southern California and lasts for four days. It’s open to all anime, manga, video games, and others who don't fall under those categories. I’ve only been to AX once and for one day, but I’m planning to stay longer next year to get a more fun experience out of it. From that one day though there were three things I enjoyed which were the cosplayers, various events, and booths. First, the convention center had a variety of booths that sold items such as video games, DVDs, magazines, figurines, costumes, and even artwork. Not all of them were for selling purposes. The convention had companies like Sony, TOKYOPOP, and Nexon that advertised. The best thing about them was the free items that they’d hand out.
Second, the cosplaye
rs were amazing because they were better to see in person and not in photos or videos. Many of the attendees and staff at the convention cosplayed where they did a really good job with their costumes and resembled the characters. There were those who also dressed up for fun and those who competed for recognition. For instance, cosplay groups entered the masquerade where cosplayers performed skits (usually parodies) and people watched. Besides enjoying cosplayers acting out skits, I also liked how cosplayers interacted with guests such as allowing them to take photos of their costumes. Another example was how cosplayers would invite characters of the same anime to take a large group photo.
Lastly, there were many entertaining events that the convention held each day. They had panels and seminars with guests of honors like voice actors, Japanese musicians, animators, and ma
nga artists. The day I had went they had David Hayter who is a voice actor, actor, and screenplay writer and is most famous for voicing Snake and Big Boss in the Metal Gear video game series. Besides the seminars and panels they also had events like: masquerade, karaoke contest, AX Idol, anime music video contest, and late-night dances. There were even rooms where you could read manga, watch a movie, or even learn origami. Next year I would gladly go again to see new cosplay and dress up myself. I'd also want to attend more events along with getting more free items and buying merchandise. Overall, I was pleased with the Anime Expo.
Have you ever wondered if there was ever an anime that impacted others? Well that's what Love Hina did. Love Hina was the first anime to popularize the harem genre, stereotypes, and fan service. Fan service is material that is designed to amuse the audience with sexual content and that happens to be what Love Hina is all about. There’s not a single episode that doesn’t contain fan service. An example is the hot springs which the girls use on a daily basis and usually involve scenes that show the girls’ cleavages. Another service is the costumes that are worn such as bikinis, wedding dresses, and maid outfits. The biggest fan service that Love Hina provides is the multiple scenes of Keitaro, the main character, accidentally doing something perverted to the female residents of the Hinata Inn. Keitaro is usually involved in grabbing or staring at breasts, landing on top of someone, and landing between someone’s legs.
Second, Love Hina famously introduced the harem genre and inspired others to develop animes and mangas of that genre. Harem is when a single male is surrounded by women or the other way around and often deals with one or more of the supporting characters being romantically interested with the male or female character. In this case, most of the girls are attracted to Keitaro in some way. Whether if it’s Shinobu, a thirteen-year old girl school girl, with her innocent crush on Keitaro or Motoko Aoyama, a fifteen-year old school girl, who denies her feelings towards Keitaro and has a violent relationship with him.
Finally, Love Hina uses many stereotypes that are now commonly seen in animes today. There's Motoko who is stereotyped to the kendo girl who constantly practices her martial arts and is popular with others. There's also Sarah McDougal, a nine-year old American from California, who is stereotyped to be loud-mouthed, nosy, and rude. It may seem mean how the creator of Love Hina portrays Americans but it’s not something that should be taken offense of but should be seen as something comical. These stereotypes make the characters seem much more intriguing. Besides, don’t we stereotype ourselves as well? For example, people stereotype Texans as cowboys and cowgirls who wear “ten gallon” while Californians are associated with surfers. In conclusion, that is why Love Hina has become so widely-known and an impact on animes today with stereotypical characters, fan service that entices men and maybe even women, and the beginning of the harem genre.
My argument will be based on Kiriska's review on Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha. The gender of this person is unknown so I'll be referring Kiriska as a female. Most of Kiriska's responses were positive, but there were subjects that I couldn't agree with. For instance, the reviewer mentions how Darker than Black doesn't give straight answers and explanation which she found frustrating. I didn't have this problem because I was able to figure out what was going on when I continued to watch the episodes. If I had I would have tried to come up with my own theories or to make things more clear I could have read the manga since it contains more details than the anime just like how a book is with a movie.
Another thing that Kiriska mentions is how unclear it was to determine Hei's, who is the main character, real personality. She didn't know if it was Hei or Li Shun Sheng, his facade as a foreign exchange student from China. I was sure that Li wasn't his true personality but a disguise to fool those around him and avoid being caught. For instance, in episode eighteen Kirihara Misaki, the Section-Chief of Foreign Affairs who is particularly interested in a contractor who goes by the code name BK201, is at a department store with a fellow colleague and sees a man with his back turned. She suspects him to be BK201 but discovers that it was only Li. Kirihara never figured out that Li was the contractor she was looking for because of his convincing charade. When I thought about what Kiriska said over again, I realized that she had a point. Li could have been his real personality. It was even mentioned later in the series how contractors are able to experience emotions and how Hei was also told by other characters that he was considered more human than a merciless contractor.
Lastly, there was a minor subject that I disagreed with the critic and that was her opinion on some of the characters. Kiriska said, "The rest of the characters aren't nearly as interesting, but together they make a great supporting cast. Mao and Huang are both fun in their own way, though I do wish they had explored the former's past more." I thought all the characters were interesting, but I did I agree with the fact that the anime did not explore too much on the supporting cast's past. For example, with Mao it's only known that he's able to possess animal bodies and that his original body was lost. It wasn't explained why he lost his body, how he received his ability, or his background before that. However, Huang's and Yin's past were clearly accounted for. Overall, I liked Kiriska's opinion in the end since it sounded like she enjoyed the anime as much as I did.
Instead of evaluating another anime this week, I decided to write about cosplay which is a short for "costume roleplay." Cosplay is the act of dressing up as a character to express one's fandom or for one's enjoyment. Many people draw their characters from manga, anime, video games, and musicians. There are those who even create their own characters or come up with a new costume for an existing character. The overall point is that I find cosplay fascinating. Fascinating because people can freely dress the way they want, regardless of gender. A great example is Damon Evans also known as Man-Faye. He’s most famous for crossplaying as Faye Valentine, a female character from the Japanese anime series Cowboy Bebop. Many people may find this disturbing, hilarious, or shocking, but in Japan, this is normal. I'm not saying every guy in the country crossdresses as a woman but rather than that so many people do it that it's become less surprising. In fact, a profuse amount of women cosplay as men.
Another reason why I'm interested in cosplay is because it's artistic. People will come with the most intriguing costumes and even their props are captivating; it never ceases to amaze me. Most of all, I admire those who make create their costumes by hand. We can all find anime costumes online or in stores, though it's rare, and purchase them. When someone actually goes to the store to buy the materials to sew his or her apparel, now that's an effort. It may or may not be as good as the ones you can purchase, but a lot of people applaud cosplayers who attempt to make their own outfit. Plus you get a better response when you tell an admirer you made it instead of buying it on the web. If you're wondering where you can see cosplay for yourself, there are plenty of conventions that are held in California where plenty of people dress up.
Out of all the new anime series that released this fall, I like Kobato the best. I think the story is just one-of-a-kind. It reflects upon a young girl named Kobato Hanato who is new to the world and is aiming to collect scarred hearts in order to go to a certain place. The first episode focuses on Kobato's ability to complete the tests that are authorized by Ioryogi, Kobato's dog plushie companion, and gain a bottle that she could use to accumulate the hearts. The first episode is always significant because it's the bait that lures viewers to watch more, and the anime certainly does the job. I had a lot of laughs just from that one showing. Like when Kobato had to make Nabe, a Japanese pot dish, for the customers. Knowing that she had no experience with cooking whatsoever, she made the attempt anyways and placed odd ingredients such as chocolate which just terrified the poor customers. 
In addition, the main character's personality is very amusing. She's a naive, ditsy, and cheery kind of person. Naive because in a test where she had to throw away the trash, she opens the bag to feed the crows that were eying it and causes Kobato and Ioryogi the trouble of having to run while the crows peck at them. Although she is callow, she is willing to help anyone in need. For example, when an old woman's grandson is constantly crying, Kobato tries to lull the child to sleep with her singing and succeeds doing so. If you'd like to see a hilarious and heartwarming show, then Kobato is for you.
My first review will be on the newly released anime Kämpfer. Since it just came out this month, there has only been one episode released so far. The story begins with Natsuru Seno, an ordinary high school student and the main protagonist, who one day wakes up only to find a bracelet on his wrist and his transformation as a girl. Harakiri Tora, a messenger that takes the form of a stuffed tiger, greets Natsuru and tells him that his purpose is to fight as a “Kämpfer” who are only female. The main character then awakens once more and 
this time in his original body, but he realizes that what happened wasn’t a dream; the bracelet still remains on his wrist. From then on Natsuru begins to face troublesome encounters such as running into a battle with Akane Mishima, another kämpfer and later discovered to be a student at Natsuru’s high school. After watching the first episode I was eager to see more. I thought the storyline was very intriguing; a boy turning into a girl is something that I haven’t seen since Ranma, which is another anime that uses similar circumstances. What I liked most were the comical moments within the episode. For example, there’s a scene where Natsuru, who by then changed into a female, had to use the restroom. It’s funny because he had no idea what to do. I also enjoyed the types of abilities the kämpfers possessed such as Akane's "Gewehr" type which means she uses automated hand guns. 
Generally there weren’t necessarily any flaws in the anime except when there wasn't an explanation on why the kämpfers had to fight against one another; Akane’s messenger, the Black Seppuku Bunny, didn’t even know the reason. I can only presume that they'll answer it later on in the series, but I guess it just makes the storyline far interesting that way. Other than that, I found the show entertaining enough to where I’ll be looking forward to future episodes.
t they are often misunderstood by the viewers. Nosebleeds for example portray someone being aroused. In Naruto Iruka, Naruto’s homeroom teacher, gets a nosebleed after Naruto’s technique of turning into a nude woman censored by clouds. People here in 
the U.S who aren’t used to seeing anime would not understand this concept. Another cultural joke is the way the Japanese depict other countries. For example, Americans can be seen as loud people who constantly eat hamburgers. Also men in drag are cultural and are often found in animes. It hints how it must be casually seen in Japan or how comfortable they are with sexuality. In other words, since Japan is a whole distinct culture it’s difficult for us to understand their views. Their education is different so we sometimes don’t get the reference of the students having to go to cram school or entrance exams to colleges. In conclusion, cultural jokes, violence, and fan service are often taken out for many reasons whether it’s exposing the young to adult-scenes or imitate violence or simply because it’s something we can’t relate to.
