Copyright in the Digital Download Era
What follows here is just my thought process on copyright and piracy. I'm not trying to judge, just bring to light the factors at play.
A recent discussion amongst a few of my followed on Twitter brought this question to mind: how did the piracy of copyrighted works evolve to how it is today? Thanks to digital reproductions of digital products, there is rarely any difference between an original licensed work and a pirated copy. When copyright law was envisioned these circumstances can't have been imagined.
NIS America to Publish Anime
NIS America
With the recent losses of some anime publishers in America, it's welcome news that another company will be stepping up. NIS America, a subsidiary of Nippon Ichi Software, is known for bringing quirky niche video game titles like Disgaea to the United States.
In a press release dated February 12, the company has announced their intention to meet the growing demand for Japanese culture in America by releasing anime series on DVD. The "first 4 anime titles" are: "Toradora", "PERSONA -trinity soul-", "PandoraHearts", and "Our Home's Fox Deity".
These four shows seem to span the thematic spectrum. It ranges from the darks of Persona to the high school love of Toradora. I look forward to seeing how well NIS America's efforts do. Their experience in the niche market of RPG and Strategy RPG video games should prepare them well for a similar experience in anime.
East Meets West: Anime and Manga of American Superheroes
I'm Lovin It!
There's more to an art form than the medium itself. Some subject matter lends itself better to a particular style. I'm sure you could do a landscape of a spring meadow with a sculpture, but surely an impressionist watercolor is better suited. That's a bit of a stretch, as different painting styles really can't be segregated that way, and there's an exception to every rule. In the plastic arts (wikipedia) this may not be so clear cut. Even in literature, it becomes difficult to make divisions along the lines of content being paired with style.
Serialized illustrated work seems to have taken an interesting evolutionary path. Compare the American comic book and Japanese Manga industries. While there are standouts, the American comic book is often about a costumed super hero. Sometimes there are secret identities, but more recently they have taken a back seat to the main course: heroes vs. villains. Crazy fights in worldy and other places with amazing powers. All of this done in beautifully drawn and colored artwork. These are amazing to behold.
Crunchyroll – Anime on Your iPhone
Crunchyroll
Wow. Thankfully I was checking out Anime 3000 while listening to my friends over at Reverse Thieves. A3K happens to be hosting their new podcast. Go give it a listen!
Anyway, this is an amazing development and I can't believe I hadn't heard about it till now. For those who don't know, Crunchyroll is a a legal streaming site for anime and live action drama from Asia(Japan and I think Korea). Before Netflix had their streaming, I used Crunchyroll a lot.
The Sky is Crawling with The Sky Crawlers
The Sky Crawlers
Directed by Mamoru Oshii, this movie is definitely more cerebral than the typical anime that becomes popular here in the US. I find it hard to review movies after just one watching but I'm going to to my best.
As you can see on the cover art there to the left, Oshii is credited with bringing us Ghost in the Shell. In his works, the viewer is transported to another world like our own but different in a few key ways. At first glance The Sky Crawlers could be taking place in one of the theaters of World War II. The opening features a beautifully rendered dogfight between a wing and a solo planes of a nondescript make and model. As the story progresses, the viewer is treated to unfolding layers of secrecy that both the audience and some of the characters are unaware of.
With the exception of the motherly mechanic, most of the characters are flat and undeveloped. They have the bare necessities required to get their role in the story across. If you want a movie with interactions between complex characters you will probably be disappointed. That's not to say that there isn't character interaction; the relationships between the key figures in the fighter squadron is integral to the story. The blank expressions on the box art inform us of the mood that Oshii strives to display on the screen.
Yah for Gunpla!
My good Hisui over at the Reverse Thieves briefly mentions his brief foray in to gunpla (usually refers to the building of Gundam Plastic Models). He went nuts in a good way and assembled a Perfect Grade original Gundam kit.
I've just started with my HG Guncannon kit. I saw it in the store and at around $20 fell within my impulse purchase range. It's pretty rare to see a Gundam kit this far north in New York State. Take a look at his assembly, it's quite well done! Eventually I'll post about my experiences with my HG kit. I quickly finished a Strike Gundam 1/144 scale kit and promptly murdered it with heavy acrylic paint.
A Missing Gap in Solty
Curse you Netflix! Why must you be so awesome and yet so tantalizingly close to perfect?
New York Anime Fest 2009
I will be attending New York Anime Fest for the first time as press! Super Amazing Number One will be updated September 25-27 as I sit and learn all about what's new and happening in the anime industry. I haven't decided exactly what days I'll be covering, but it will definitely include Saturday. On that day, I will be participating in the Blogger Roundtable panel on Saturday from 8 - 9 PM! This panel is happening thanks to the awesome blogging duet over at Reverse Thieves.
Yoshiyuki Tomino will be at the show! Like you, I wasn't too excited either until I was informed that he's the creator of Gundam. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say, since he just made some people angry saying that video games are evil.
Looks like AKB48 will be there. They appear to be a famous idol group based in Akihabara.
Well I'm most likely going to cover the stuff I think is awesome. When it comes to anime, that means giant robots. If I have any readers, and you'd like me to cover anything specifically, please let me know!
Okay, I've looked at the schedule, and here's my tentative coverage:
Friday
- FUNimation Industry Panel
- Final Fantasy/Square Enix
- Vertical
- Aniplex
- AMV Contest?
Saturday
- Del Ray Manga
- Bandai
- Manga Entertainment
- Anime News Network
- Robotech: Past, Present, and Future
- Blogger Roundtable!
It’s been too long Solty
So disk 5 of Solty Rei finally arrived in my mailbox thanks to Netflix. It's been a few months since I watched the last disk and I was a bit confused starting out. I still like the show and I can't wait to see how it ends. There's a plot twist that I wasn't expecting, which is neat. The support for the twist is pretty weak though.
I watch Solty with the English dubbing because I'm lazy. I've started to watch my anime with dinner and it's too difficult to read the screen and try and eat my food at the same time. Fortunately the voice actors are pretty good. Solty's voice is definitely familiar, and one of the RUC girls I recognize as the main character from the Witchblade English dub. The male lead, Remmy I think the character's name is, is voiced by the voice director. His work is pretty good. Unfortunately he thought it would be fine to cast himself as some of the filler soldiers. Although competent, versatile in his vocal stylings he is not.
Kekkaishi makes a turn for the better
I think Kekkaishi has finally hit it's stride around episode 17. It's finally at the point where I want to know what's going to happen next. They've built up the world and have started to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding it.
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