Welcome to the Fantasy Zone
This Zone is dedicated to the lesser known elements of anime hosted by the cast of Victory Script.
What weapon is the best?
Who will win in this Death Battle?
Is this costume practical?
You name it, it's all covered here in the Fantasy Zone!
This story acts as an Urban Legend but I can assure you that the events leading up to it are true.
Minky Momo is a magical girl from the 80s and very popular during her run and is the likely inspiration for those who suceeded her. The series was very kid friendly and nothing really bad happens to Minky Momo herself bar a few perils typical of a standard kids programme; then during one episode she loses her powers which is then followed by her death when she is hit by a truck, while the death happened off screen, the eerie sounds of an ambulance can be heard as a toy ambulance moves towards where Momo lies. The death was so shocking it is said that the airing of the episode was followed by an Earthquake making the whole episode a bad omen. But why was Momo killed off in such a way?
The way most anime function is through sponsors, mostly from toy companies and one company pulled funding midway through Minky Momo's run due to poor toy sales; this annoyed the animators working on the anime, so as a protest they killed off Minky Momo with of all things, a truck carrying toys as a way of saying "Company X killed off your beloved favourite character", except it worked a little too well and the whole series was retconned to continue airing. This is why you don't upset the animators, let this serve as a cautionary tale of abusing power.
Welcome back to Otaku Insight, this feature will attempt to ask the question about characters and anime well hated by a good portion of the community to see if said hatred is deserved. We start with Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke is a symbol of dark edgy emo entertainment, too cool and aloof to need anyone but has a mind focussed on achieving a task, revenge! It's difficult not to draw comparisons between him and Shadow the Hedgehog and while it can be really irritating how popular Sasuke got, it was only the start of the edgy emo trend as we then meet Akatsuki with the dark coats, the purple manicure and penchant to preach about pain, death, destruction, pretty much anything that involves cult like activity.
Then when you get into the rest of the Uchiha you realise how messed up things got story wise.
But it wasn't until after Shippuden ended that Sasuke came back alot more mellowed out and calm, accepting he was in the wrong but not quite ready for normal life exemplified by his interactions with his daughter.
So to answer the question is Sasuke Uchiha really that bad?
Looking back there are alot of things about Sasuke that annoyed me but the fact that he was out of action quite frequently between the original and Shippuden meant that when he came back you didn't feel too annoyed seeing him especially when his replacement was just awful early on.
The only thing I can really blame Sasuke for, is starting Naruto's emo trend. Gaara, Akatsuki, Kabuto, Obito, Madara, in fact Akatsuki are so notorious for it that their leader is called Pain!
The fact that Sasuke has grown out of his emo phase speaks volumes about his development as a character.
Conclusion: Not really that bad anymore, character development has saved Sasuke more than once. The really bad characters are those who followed him because Kishimoto just milked the emo trend to death.
Welcome back to one of my favourite features. Enjoy!
"My Pain is far greater than yours!" - Naruto Sub
Looking at that face I'm inclined to believe him.
"Even Electronic Brain Pancake Crystal Elderly" - Ghost in the Shell Sub
I'm intrigued to know how the subtitle writers got to that conclusion.
"I'll now proceed to pleasure myself with this fish" - Code Geass Sub
A classic line from Anime past
"What was that? It sounded like a Homo being strangled!" - Fushigi Yuugi Sub
Is that the same as a dying giraffe?
"The density of this boner makes it as hard as steel" - Naruto Sub
What sells the picture is the many angry Naruto's im the background
"Guess where my other hand is!" - Clannad Sub
Gee I wonder?
"She has six boobs! I saw them!" - Toradora Sub
I believe you, but show me anyway
"Your breasts have ruined my Christmas" - Yuru Yuri Sub
Well I like to keep it topical
"And then I invoke the permanent card The Dignity of the Retarded" - Yu-Gi-Oh Sub
I'm curious to know what that card does or is it on a banned list?
"This Ramen is my Girlfriend" - Voltron Sub
I guess some people take those crazy Ramen commercials to heart.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a manuscript written by Luo Guanzhong about the events of the unification of China from 169AD-280AD mixed with historical events, myths and legends but why do Japan love it so much when the countries themselves don't really see eye to eye on culture?
The novel's influence is seen throughout Japanese history. Japan's earliest recorded events along with it's earliest stories borrow heavily from the novel as well as the war strategies, bushido code and the Samurai themselves, there was nothing quite like it.
Strong definied personalities along with the cleverest minds of the era fought a three way battle for unification, if you look at the entire Sengoku period, one of Japan's most turbulent yet most dramatized eras, it's pretty much the same setup, a battle between three major factions for the unification of Japan but with alot more players, even Nobunaga Oda is modelled and stylised on the look and beliefs of Wei General Cao Cao, so much so you almost wonder if it's the same person or history repeating itself in a different nation.
Very few nations can honestly say that they built up their heritage on their own and now reading how much one book defined centuries of codes, legends, battles and culture, you realize that Japan owes more to China than you might think as much as it pains them to admit it.
I mentioned eras of anime so I thought it would be good to expand on that meaning especially from a Western perspective.
Early to Mid 90s: Ultra Violent Taboo era
This era is defined by the limited selection of anime available post release of Akira in the west. Most were Sci Fi, most were overly violent and extreme in nature, and was such taboo that viewing it put you in the same camp as those who buy pornography. In short, no one in the west knew what to do with this anime thing.
Late 90s to early 00s: Pokemon Toonami Era
Networks open up to anime with great success due to the ratings winners of Pokemon and Dragonballz; with interest established, curiousity leads to more anime being green lit for home release. Anime is still very niche and some semblance of the previous era remained especially with DVD being in it's infancy.
Mid to late 00s: Otaku Golden Era
With DVDs being default, computers being fast enough for torrents and a number of top tier anime being released including Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note and Naruto. Anime cons were now common place and there was no limit to how much anime that was coming out, being a fan in this era was a dream.
2010s to mid 2010s: The Hangover
The endless party brought on by the previous era was beginning to bite; Anime Distribution holders were starting to go out of business, long runners were out staying their welcome and Western Cartoons fought back with the likes of Avatar and Adventure Time. On the brightside the taboo label it used to have was starting to come off.
Today's Era: Meme, Stream and Waifu Wars
Today's era is controlled by the internet, the popularity of new shows is dictated by how well it can be memed, the waifu quality and how easy it is to obtain through streaming. Meanwhile certain older titles are upgraded to legendary status while today's sensibilities are catching out people who partied too hard in the Golden era, it's also making up dumb controversies which are worth ignoring.
Summary
So to summarise what I like and dislike about each era
Ultra Violent Taboo era
While I didn't like the lack of originality or diversity, one thing you can never take away from this era is the shock and awe of seeing something that was animated and actually being serious, it really did feel like a rite of passage watching these titles.
Pokemon Toonami Era
Most people I know started here and it felt like a second rite of passage because we finally have diverse shows of all types and really set the bar of what can be expected in the future, but I look back with a sense of frustration that the networks did far too much censorship.
Otaku Golden Era
Probably the best era for anime and the one best remembered by fans today, being a fan in this era was the best but it's legacy is being felt later on and you get the sense that you were getting alot of meh among juggernaut titles.
The Hangover
I was sad to lose ADVfilms along with a lot of distribution houses, I also found it was getting harder to like the newer top tier anime especially the high standard that came before, but I least felt I can take my time with what to watch and there more hits than misses.
Meme, Stream and Waifu Wars
The ease of anime is just a click of a button and I kind of feel that anime relies on Memes to be relevant way too much, but my job as a reviewer is easier for it and I wouldn't be doing such over ambitious projects.
