Category: Otaku Links

Otaku Links: Fanservice and fursuits

• Fellow aniblogger Serdar has upgraded his blog, Ganriki, to a new blogging platform he built from scratch! Serdar’s been working on this since I interviewed him for Build Your Anime Blog and it’s so neat to see such a big project complete.

• Hey Anime Fans: Stop Making Excuses for Fanservice — reader Amelia, an Otaku Journalist herself, wrote this thoughtful, well-researched take on why we should stop shrugging off panty shots as “just the way anime is.”

• It was terrifying to write about my experience with sexual harassment last week, but it was worth it to get comments like Tony’s. He wrote a good follow-up to it at Manga Therapy this week.

• Should we really be calling the people who make death threats to Leslie Jones, “fans?” Of course not! Elizabeth explains the myth of the entitled fan for the New Statesman.

• Life is improved now that Colette is regularly on the K-pop beat. Her latest: How male K-Pop idols are redefining masculinity. BTW, if you haven’t checked out her K-beauty site (one of my affiliate blogging success stories), you should!

• The surprisingly un-creepy story of why furries wear fursuits. This comic is safe for work, but the site it lives on (Oh Joy Sex Toy) is definitely not!

• My Forbes colleague, Ollie, interviewed the man who designed the iconic mecha of Mobile Suit Gundam. I still write on Forbes occasionally. One of my latest is an interview with British idol Beckii Cruel.

• Want to review video games? Polygon is looking for new reviewers for small and indie titles, and they pay.

Photo by K B

Otaku Links: 100% Politics Free

Politics are important, but after a week of work at a political organization by day, and watching the Democratic National Convention by night, I’m ready to forget they exist for a few days and catch up on anime.

• Circumstances led to me getting to visit my favorite sushi place twice this week (and they now recognize me when I come in). I love eating sushi with that spicy green paste, but I was surprised when Zoe sent me this link and I learned I’ve actually never had wasabi, not even in Japan!

• Also shared by Zoe: people are turning Pokémon Go into an entrepreneurial opportunity. I am all for this! The best way to generate a business idea is to figure out a timely demand, after all.

• Speaking of  Pokémon Go: 3 Makeup Looks for When You’re Playing Pokémon Go. We’ve reached the unbearable humid swamp season in DC where I rarely leave the house with makeup on anymore (unless I want it to melt right off), so I just have to read other people’s makeup posts. Like Chic Pixel’s Card Captor Sakura eyeshadow palettes, for example.

• After the popularity of Love Live, is Love Live: Sunshine going to be a ho-hum sequel or something that can truly shine on its own? Louis weighs in on the ways that Love Live: Sunshine both acknowledges and subverts its predecessor.

• Anime News Network turned 18 this year! Jonathan Clements, author of Anime: A History, weighs in on the veteran anime news site’s cultural impact.

• What do you think about Secret deodorant’s tone-deaf cosplay tweet? I am happy that brands are interested in appealing to our particular demographic (see: Nature Valley), but this was a clear misstep.

• Bree of Geek & Prosper didn’t like her job, so she quit and went freelance. Her story is fantastic: How I Went from $0 to $3000 Per Month (and Quit My Job) in Just Under 4 Months.

Photo by slgckgc on Flickr

Otaku Links: Deru deru deru

• John has been on an NES gaming kick and it led to us digging up these vintage Legend of Zelda commercials. I don’t know what’s better, these 4Kids-directed rapping kids in America, or this Michael Jackson-style flashmob in Japan. (Read all about the making of the latter, including the exact dance moves, here.)

• Fellow otaku journalist Colette Bennett interviewed Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and described her as “a cute bird” in a Facebook post, which sounds exactly like I picture her. Also shared by Colette—What’s Behind Japan’s Obsession With Cuteness?

• Remember the guy who did that addictive One Punch Man English cover? (If no, dare you to listen to it just once.) He’s now released a My Hero Academia English cover that’s just as good. Now I can sing along!

• Nathan wrote about the unique experience of being an indie game developer with ADD, or as he calls it, “a hyper mind.” I’m excited for part 2 of this series.

• Pokémon Go has gotten me out of my house and walking a lot more than usual. But is it leaving disabled players behind? A disabled player discusses ways to make it more accessible. HT Zoe.

• Adam argues against backstories in comics in his uniquely philosophical writing style. Does seeing a character’s background, he argues, change the way that  in the present?

• Joseph Luster interviewed the creator and director of Mob Psycho 100, which seems to be summer’s most promising anime. A highlight: “I wrote the manga, but it’s like I’m experiencing Mob Psycho for the first time with the anime.”

Image of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu via. 

Otaku Links: Pokémon stay a while

Last week was pretty rough, to the point that I sat down to write Otaku Links and thought, “Why bother?” But I got a great email from reader Greg, letting me know that reading this link list brightens his day. I hope all of my readers have been taking care of themselves, especially my minority readers, and I hope this silly round-up makes your weekend a little better.

• When life is too heart-breaking to post listicles. This is what I should have written last week! Sarah offered a list of actions you can take if you’re angry/upset about this summer’s violence.

• Who else is playing Pokémon Go? It’s my favorite escape from reality that has gotten me out walking a ton and socializing with my neighborhood. There’s a LOT in the news about this, most of it clickbait, but Zoe linked me this great round-up of thePokémon Go phenomenon.

• Anime News Network gave me the amazing opportunity to interview Xavier Lim of Bluefin, the North American official Gunpla distributor. I was surprised to learn that after 20 years, the most popular Gunpla in America are still from Gundam Wing!

• Haha! A light novel contest has been overwhelmed by “alternate world” entries. After Log Horizon and No Game No Life, what did they expect? My favorite entry title is: “Doing My Best to Pet Fluffy Things in an Alternate World.”

• Honda is going after the coveted cosplayer demographic with a car commercial starring cosplayers.

• Lost in Anime’s Guardian Enzo does a good job explaining just why Mob Psycho 100 is going to be the anime to watch this summer.

• Chic Pixel checked out a subscription box just for fujoshi, and the most interesting thing about it (I think) is the length to which the creator is prioritizing discretion. Even though nothing is X-rated, shounen ai stuff can certainly raise eyebrows among the normies in your life.

• Is season 2 of FLCL going to be any good? With returning musicians the Pillows and returning character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, how could it not be? 

• My Otakon panelist badge just arrived in the mail. I will be presenting a panel summarizing the history of Gundam anime this year, so I’ll share more details when they’re out!

• Finally, I got my Streaming Anime Review assignments for summer—and they’re both sports anime! DAYS and Cheer Boys!! Hope you’ll check them out, and we can forget Ace Attorney happened.

Screenshot via Mob Psycho 100.

Otaku Links: Spring season wrap-up

• The spring anime season went by so quickly! I ended up finishing all the shows I planned to watch in April except Joker Game, and I’m working on finishing it now. At Anime News Network, myself and the other reviewers picked our two favorite and one least favorite shows of the season—mine will not surprise you.

• A Cosplayer Is Running For Political Office. Everyone is sending me this link, from my editor to a former journalism professor. It’s neat to see how this Green Party candidate stays true to herself. I’ve seen enough political scandals to know that many politicians have WAY worse hobbies than cosplay, so power to her!

• Millennials are obsessed with side hustles because they’re all we’ve got. From blogging to self-publishing to affiliate marketing, I’m obsessed with making a side income. This article goes into how becoming your own boss, even for a fraction of your career, can give millennials a sense of control in this messed-up world.

• How am I going to wait for the next season of My Hero Academia? In the meantime, I loved reading these translated character sketches from creator Kohei Horikoshi. Thanks to @LossThief for sending me this when I asked!

• Day of Gar Gar Stegasaurus wrote an angry but poignant essay about homosexual erasure in Kiznaiver. Maki went from yuri mangaka involved in her own lesbian romance to suddenly straight heroine, and it’s a little odd.

• The secret life of K-pop fans over 30. Colette went to K-Con and wrote about the not-insubstantial group of older fans who have made a place for themselves in K-pop’s youth-obsessed culture.

• About a year ago, my friend Scott let me beta-read his short story about a brave and capable science fiction heroine. Now, he’s about to be published in an anthology of diverse sci-fi—Enough Space For Everyone. With two more weeks to go, the Kickstarter is a third of the way there!

• When is the best time of year to visit Japan? Zoe sent me this article that really just makes me want to visit Japan during any season. I need to go back and try the sweet new Gundam Cafe menu, at least. I start Japanese 301 next week so I can be ready for anything!

Screenshot via Kiznaiver