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!
Over the last month or so, the phrase "Ok Boomer" went viral after a young politician used the term to shut down an older politician who kept heckling her during a speech on Climate Change, in the last week, someone on Twitter suggested that over 30s anime fans should be called "Weeaboomers" captioned underneath an elderly version of Sailor Moon; being in that age group myself at 33 my reaction was perfectly justified by the picture below
First off, I don't even like the term "Ok Boomer", I find it offensive and promotes an Ageist attitude towards the elderly.
Second I hate being associated with Millennials, even if by definition I am one of the first batch of that Generation because I really dislike this holier than thou attitude that seems to have been adopted in recent years.
In regards to the subject matter, there is a generation gap developing within the fandom which can be tested by simply saying yes to statements like
"You know what VHS is"
"You call Goblin Slayer tame because you watched Fist of the North Star"
"You are aware that Full Metal Alchemist had a series before Brotherhood"
"You still think Gen 1 Pokemon is the best Gen"
"You still think Anime is taboo despite being generally favourable"
"You think $50 for a 30 minute OVA in one language on VHS is justified"
You get the picture; while there are areas of this era I dislike, I'm mostly grateful that I'm not going to be shot down so easily for liking certain titles; my aim with Project 1000 is to be the Anime Teacher and educate fans on my experience both for fun and as an eye opener, because anime is so diverse that it's so easy to overlook titles that get ignored for better or for worst because I don't really want to read any more dumb controversies or keep defending my hobby whenever otaku take it too far.
Lately these are the only posts keeping my sanity in check so lets go for another.
Before I begin, I'd like to remind readers that Yakitate Japan is about making bread.
All lines are from the subtitled version.
"Please forgive this ignorant old lady, who didn't even know that you can't dry cats in the microwave"
How do you add to this piece of dark humour?
"It's not unusual for an elderly person like yourself to think of drying her cat in the Microwave"
But the Bill Clinton caricature reassures her that this is normal
"Hey, Freezer Boy!"
Spoken while referencing Super Saiyans
"Not another word! Shut up and eat my croissant!"
A reminder that this anime is about making bread
"The first problem is that the juices trickle out"
Care to elaborate?
"Putting black things into their mouth isn't a big deal for the Japanese"
Always thought that was an American thing
"By Conan, do you mean the show that airs on Monday during Primetime?"
4th wall break to advertise another anime
"Throw away your common sense and get an afro!"
Okay sister, why?
"The feeling of shouting "love!" from the core of an afro"
Oh this is what you meant, I think
"If you show your dick here, the program will be discontinued!"
So what's Food Wars excuse?
I'm having way too much fun with these.
"No more for me, thanks. I've swallowed enough" - Plastic Little Sub
Uhhh, nah too easy
"Porno Sites, Porno Sites" - Chobits Dub
Sumomo listing recent internet history
"Leo Burnett and 4Kids are the Devil" - Pokemon Dub
James from Team Rocket using backwards messages
"Earth to Toddler Bitch!" - Yu Yu Hakusho Dub
Earliest days of glorious Funimation dubbing
"Hold your fire, this man isn't Black" - Dragonball Super Dub
And yet the current Funimation didn't think to proof read this line before going to print
"So you dodged my Gàe Bulg fatal blow" - Fate/Stay Night Dub
The dub actor called it "Gay Bulger"
"My feelings are not a fake" - Bible Black Dub
What do you expect from a hentai?
"How do I look, Darling?" - Darling OVA Sub
What's meant to be a nice moment of bonding between husband and wife you just can't take seriously when her hair is that bad!
"I am Mad Scientist! United States goes and invade" - Steins Gate Sub
Okabe really not doing well with English
"Hanako-sama, you were so delighted by my butt beam until just a week ago" - Asobi Asobase Sub
Maeda upset that Hanako no longer likes his butt beam
Time for some more hilarious lines of dialogue.
"I can't sleep until you fire a laser from your butt" - Asobi Asobase Sub
Hanako's butler displaying his Shogi talents.
"I'll use my trusty frying pan, as a drying pan" - Pokemon Dub
Brock again displaying his talent for thinking on his feet
"It's Thick! And it's Hard! And it's coming to get ya!" - s-CRY-ed Dub
George's Magnum weapon...I hope
"Erupting! Burning! Finger!" - G Gundam Dub
By changing the attack name in the dub you now have a much dirtier sounding attack
"I wouldn't be surprised if one day he starts saying his lack of effort is the reason there is no air in outta space" - Gundam Wing Dub
Duo sums up Quatre pretty well
"I'll take a potato chip and EAT!" - Death Note Dub
Kinda kills the intensity there Light
"I am a boy! This is an Octopus!" - Otokojuku Sub
In standing up to a burly American, a Japanese delinquent uses JoJo Engrish
"Look a Dame! A Woman!" - Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora Lost Dub
Yes, yes it is
"Let that child alone" - Dragonballz Big Green Dub
Piccolo you've had how long on planet Earth? The language ain't that difficult
"Now I'm freakin dead" - Outlanders OVA Dub
You've been stabbed right through your mouth, you shouldn't be talking
After reviewing Shaman King, I was left wondering why it didn't seem to catch on despite modest popularity and it made me realise there are quite a few titles like that.
Shaman King
To bring up what's already been said quickly, Shaman King slotted in nicely among Shonen Jump's Golden Era, it filled the void left by Yu Yu Hakusho and Bleach was still finding it's feet.
What Happened?
Bleach found it's footing way quicker than expected making other Shonen Jump titles stand up and take notes but not one to let his series become generic, not helped by a poor end to the anime, Hiroyuki Takei pulled the plug and has only recently finished the ending and epilogue.
Medabots
A large staple of FoxKids' run of anime following Digimon gave it a decent amount of coverage and is one of the more fondly remembered dubs of it's day.
What Happened?
It's 2nd season bombed, anything after the Medabots tournament arc had out lived it's lifespan and what new they could've brought in failed to capture the imagination.
Tokyo Mew Mew
A very colourful magical girl show that at the time filled a massive void left by Sailor Moon with a very creative art style and a unique concept and likely inspiration for Precure.
What Happened?
4kids that's what; the hack job from 4kids killed Magical Girl anime in the west which it still hasn't recovered from.
Inazuma 11
Level-5's Soccer epic combined everything you ever wanted in a sports anime with some of the most spectacular choreography you'll ever witness.
What Happened?
It's lack of appeal to America mostly, also widely ignored in the UK then relegated to the old 3DS anime channel before being cancelled.
Negima
Ken Akamatsu's magnum opus, a spectacular series of wizards and fanservice with enough action to give Harry Potter a run for it's money.
What Happened?
Poor anime, a plot that got so stuck in it's own lore it forgot how to story and faded out when the Harry Potter film series ended.
Modern Gundam
Name any series post Gundam Wing and you got some of the best mecha anime at your finger tips
What Happened?
Gundam never had the same success as Wing or G Gundam in the west, this can mostly be down to being released at the wrong time or ignoring series that had no impact to begin with like X and Age.
Slayers
Best fantasy anime of all time and the greatest soundtrack of all time.
What Happened?
As much of a travesty this is, alot of Slayers short comings came from an era saturated by alot of fantasy anime, a battle it did win but got lost among other titles due to sci fi anime doing much better in the west.
Mermaid Melody
Looked at one point to be the one to succeed Tokyo Mew Mew and give the west another crack following modest sales in Europe.
What Happened?
This one still has me puzzled, what makes it even more so is the fact that the dub is finished and unreleased.
Beyblade
Competed strongly with it's rivals in the toy anime category and often got the better of it's rivals when most of them had already peaked.
What Happened?
After the original cast of Beyblade ended a strong three series run it was put to sleep before making a poor comeback with bland characters and a franchise that by then was already done.
Sonic X
Even at it's absolute worst form of games, Sonic X kept Sonic relevant in the early 2000s.
What Happened?
I've yet to meet someone who was really into Sonic X when it came out talk about it today without being on their back foot.
With the internet these days, it's much easier to pick out who succeeds and who doesn't but this topic may yet be revisted.
