Anime blogging with videos instead of text isn’t the future. You would need higher than average speaking skills where you also get to the point and stick to it. Nobody enjoys watching you move the camera, hearing a dorky voice on the already poor sound quality, or hearing “um uh um” “I mean” and “epic.” Hearing the voice of the blogger can reveal that the person doesn’t know how to pronounce Japanese words properly. Reviewing is harder because you’re thinking as it’s recording. At this time anime video blogging isn’t able to influence others to watch something because you can’t take your time to describe and get all the information that would be needed. Getting to the point about getting to the point, get to the point. Many videos don’t have goals. They upload a video with a couple announcements that were made on other sites and listing off anime they will be watching. That’s nice and all, but that’s not good content for others who don’t know you. I don’t know you so I’ll be watching anime that already interests me. See?
Maybe blogging of this form just needs time and its own set of standards. There isn’t much of a community, interesting interaction outside video replies with rants, and spammy comments.
This new movie will be awesome if it’s based on the original movie by Production IG, not the TV series. Blood: The Last Vampire is an awesome anime which was ruined by the poor series Blood+ that came after. Nobody likes poor erratic animation with less dark atmosphere. The new adaptation will be out in Japan this year.
Blood: The Last Vampire the movie was about Saya, a slayer hired by the government to kill Teropterids (vampire like beasts). Saya is a vampire being herself and now one of a kind. She is sent to a military base to clean it of such human killing monsters. Swords are her weapon of choice. If you want more of the series, there’s a novel and manga. The manga is worth reading since it’s by Tamaoki Benkyo…who brought you Tokyo Akazukin, Necromanesque, and many twisted hentai series. This is the only licensed manga by him, but don’t think it won’t be bloody.
Just avoid any anime or manga with Blood+ in the title and you’ll be caught up enough.
Around the net there are a great many anime streaming, anime download, and ripped wallpaper sites. Many of them are either filled with ads or have ads placed in areas where they’re seen well. There’s nothing wrong with making profit from a site, but would it make a difference if the management of those sites don’t watch anime or even think positively of anime fans? There is likely a difference somewhere in having a site generate revenue from a subject they like and just using its users. These are a couple quotes from around the web and it’s just a hint of what is thought.
My anime site […] has been doing exceptionally well due to some members on my site. I embedded a chatango chat and I guess allot of “anime tards” got pretty addicted to it and swear by it, lol. So if you wanna get tons of traffic try finding some “nerds” with an addictive personality to run the forum/chats on your anime site and watch the revenue roll in.
getting anime nerds to run anime websites usually like getting free employees with no lives
Maybe this is okay and you’re fine with it. However, these countless manga viewing, download, and streaming sites aren’t helping the animanga industry or even to some extent fansubbers and scanlations groups. Nobody is going to pay attention to a 1-3 staffed manga scanning group when they request for their scans to be removed. …when it was added without permission or the series was licensed. A TV Tokyo executive has also recently commented on such sites for the decline of the anime industry in non-Japanese speaking countries. Fansub groups can stop fansubbing, but what good is that when the video has already spread to those unwilling to respect a licensing?
From volume six on forward Yen Press will be releasing Yotsuba&! They just picked up (bought) the licensing and the sixth volume will come out September 2009. This is a pretty interesting turn of events, but this just leaves one question, though. Without Yotsuba&!, is ADV Manga completely dead? They don’t really have much of anything unless they still have Gunslinger Girl, which isn’t really a popular read.
Even though I no longer watch television…except at the gas station or grocery mart where they force me to, I know people who watch such media and it seems one thing holds true. The anime and manga industry doesn’t advertise often or well. Sure their’s pay per click ads on sites (along with manga viewers and streaming sites) and magazine adverts, but there really isn’t that much. Most of it is likely because the companies who publish anime and manga are small, so they don’t have the resources. That’s where arguments that those companies have enough money or are just in existance for money fall, but it’s possible. Video game companies were able to back when they were much smaller.
If ADV and others did advertise to larger audiences, what shows would they put their commercials with? You could have them with anime, but then how would you get people new into it? There isn’t exactly many kinds of media that would fit well. Clearly the Super Bowl would be out of their budget for Eyeshield 21. Perhaps they can get smart with smarter adverts with wide appeal, which would get people linking to it and uploading it to social media sites like Youtube. Nintendo, Apple, and others are prime examples of companies that can drive buzz without deep pockets or when pushed in a corner. That’s how many websites advertise. They don’t. The say, offer, do, or show something that creates buzz. Buzz on the Internet means people will link to you and show you to others. Easier said than done.
In Japan anime is shown on television so illegal downloading and sharing is less needed. Of course that’s not saying that it’s not done. Here in the US and the rest of the world we have to pay for it more often than not. One can say there should be more anime on television, but then that wouldn’t help the unlicensed and new. Not many newer series I’m into are licensed, minus Oh! Edo Rocket by FUNimation.
I’m not againts downloading anime, but just the only download movement that seems to be the norm when watching something the legal way should be. One is not supporting something they enjoy by downloading and companies don’t need to sit around watching torrent numbers all day to see what should be licensed. A good watch or read of the product is good enough. Then there’s also ratings and sales numbers in Japan. Advertising and buzz will help change that. There’s still people wandering around about how dubs are so awful, yet they haven’t bought a DVD in years. Dubs have improved, the DVDs do have subtitles, and that there is more anime out now that is released sooner and without dubbing at all. Maybe showing them otherwise would help.
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On a semi-related note, a manga trading link directory has been added.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has started something new to help drive up donations. American comic artist Peter Kuper (of Spy vs. Spy fame) will be make a special piece of art that donators can have upon donating. If you haven’t heard, there a man in the US being charged with having obscene manga. You know, stuff with characters that look young but may not be. Either way the poor guy had people following him home after he picked up his package. Apparently manga is series stuff and requires people with guns and uniforms. If this is something you support, go check them out. It might be you next them they find someone to defend and you don’t want to face 20 years in prison like this guy.
There’s this anime called Windy Tales from 2004-05. It’s about a small town where there’s of wind handlers and each episode shows the various characters who have such power. The animation is of its own style and the series is fairly mellow at times. Junji Nishimura of Kyo kara Maoh, Soul Hunter, Ranma 1/2, and True Tears is the director. I was not a previous fan of his, but after this I’ll have to consider it.
Taking pictures of the clouds is taking pictures of the wind. Clouds move with the wind, you see? That town really is odd with floating cats who know where to go to have such a windy event. The young school girl in the first episode (Nao) tries taking pictures of the cats floating in the wind, but falls to into the bush bellow after a short while. She leaves the ones without wind abilities thinking is was a suicide attempt. It turns out she was saved by her math teach Mr. Taiki (Taiki-sensei). Windy Tales is a good head trip, but also very light and mellow.
On an unrelated note about for those apart of the community, there are a couple contests on the forums. One is an avatar contest and the other is for manga reviews. Check it out if interested.
