Anime: Now Completely Under Siege

Faces of Anime's Past and Present, Reflecting a Troubling Future...

This blog will be one of the most important ones that I ever write. It reflects fears that I've had concerning the anime industry for some time now. Two recent (but in some ways looming) events now come perilously close to confirming that those fears are justified. The picture above is presented here for multiple reasons. For one, these faces are those of prominent anime characters, from animes that can effectively serve as two bookends of a period of incredible growth in the anime industry. 

From 1995's El Hazard: The Magnificent World to 2009's The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya movie, anime has been a place of grand and compelling narratives, and of entertaining and psychologically fascinating characters, able to rival the best that other entertainment genres and mediums could muster. It is true that there were great animes both before, and after, the dates of these two animes, but I personally feel that 1995 to 2009 is where you find the bulk of great animes, and where the industry had both the quality and quantity of material to put it on par with even the best that other narrative mediums could offer. 

But that may sadly be about to end...

The Strengths of Anime

This blog, particularly in recent weeks, tends to focus more on the weaknesses of anime; particularly of modern anime. It does this not out of a love of derision, but as a labor of love.

A very large percentage of the most captivating, imaginative, enjoyable, and moving, works of fiction that I've ever read, watched, or played through, has come in anime. I thus hold its potential in very high esteem, and can't help but to critique it whenever it falls significantly short of that, in my opinion.

But, this can no doubt leave me sounding like a negative nattering nabob. ;)

So, for this blog, I will focus not on the weakness that I sometimes see in anime, but rather on the strengths that I have frequently seen in anime; strengths that caused me to hold anime's potential in very high esteem in the first place.

I will look at what, for me, are anime's seven key points of strength; particularly in comparison to modern western animation.

Please join with me, cherished reader, as I outline the seven distinctive strokes of success of anime...


1. Full Range From Comedic to Serious


From the stupendously stupefying silliness of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, to the slighty more serious but still exquisitely explosive eccentric feel of Nabeshin's Excel Saga, to the even mixture of crisp careening comedy with dark daunting drama represented by Mai Hime, to the starkly serious sentimentality of Grave of the Fireflies, anime covers every point on the sliding scale of comedy.

Having a full range of options between complete chaotic comedies to stern suspenseful stories means that anime can appeal to a large array of fans, of a wide range of sensibilities and tastes.

Beyond that, it means that if you like a balance of comedy with drama in your entertainment diet, anime is readibly able to provide that balance for you all on its own.

This is in sharp contrast to western animation, where comedies definitely dominate disproportionately.

Many champion how "cartoons" are now more "adult" and "mature". They point to the Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, American Dad, and South Park to demonstrate their point.

And they are right in how these cartoons are definitely intended for an adult audience (with the possible exception of early seasons of the Simpsons which were very accessible to almost all ages).

However, as adult as they are, they also speak as loudly as an excited Peter Griffin would to the modern limitations of North American cartoons. That limitation is "comedies only".

Truthfully, North American-made cartoons are less serious now than they used to be. In some ways, then, they are actually less mature and thought-provoking.

I think of cartoons like the great Canadian cartoon The Raccoons...

The Raccoons had a playfully comedic streak to it, much like the streaks that Bert Raccoon would soar through before hitting a tree. ;)

However, the Raccoons also had sincere themes of family, friendship, forgiveness, generosity, and environmental stewardship that are not presented terribly different from how they are in Clannad: After Story and Princess Mononoke, respectively.

And, along with the Raccoons, North America used to produce cartoons like Babar, Chip N' Dale's Rescue Rangers, Ducktales, Gargoyles, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. All of these tried to convey heartwarming wholesome values in a serious and sincere way. Sadly, North America doesn't really produce cartoons like these anymore. Not from what I've seen anyway.

Thankfully, however, anime now fills this vacuum with many of the Key adaptations, and also recently with animes like Kimi ni Todoke, ef: A Tale of Memories, and some of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's works.

Anime realizes that the entertainment medium of animation shouldn't be restricted to pure comedy alone. Anime also realizes that the entertainment medium of animation has just as much potential to move and stir and impact upon its viewers as any other entertainment medium does.



2. Full Range of Genres and Styles


From the badass blade-brandishing Bleach butt-kickers, to the musically masterful moe of K-On!, to the sweet sparkling shojo of Card Captora Sakura, to the eloquently elaborate epic of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, anime covers a full range of anime genres and narrative types.

It is true that the popularity of each of the anime genres have peaks and valleys, but there's usually at least a new anime title or two covering every prominent genre that there is. Once more, we see anime be far more diverse than modern North American animation.

Futuristic war narratives like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, or even the various Gundams, are not something that you really see in western animation any more. And the aesthetic flair of an anime like Card Captor Sakura, or even K-On!, has largely been missing from western animation for a very long time as well. And the dark atmospheres and moods that frequently permutate through out Bleach is equally alien to modern North American cartoons.

Anime proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the potential that the animation medium holds for telling narratives of virtually all types.

This potential for variety is helped along a great deal by the third strength of anime that I'm about to get into.



3. Not Concerned With Political Correctness

One of the characters in this DBZ image
is very politically incorrect.
Can you tell me who it is? ;)

Respect and toleration for people of different cultures, genders, ethnicities, nationalities, races, and religions is generally a wonderful thing. It can lessen boundaries between people, and encourage a greater degree of mutual understanding and sense of common humanity. I certainly do not question that.

However, political correctness, which basically serves to persuade people to hold such approaches, is of more questionable worth. The reason being that even a well-intentioned idea or law, can be enforced overly strictly, become a bit too zealous and overreach, or have unforseen negative side-effects.

I believe that this is true of political correctness, particularly in the realm of fiction.

As I've already argued in this blog entry, fiction is strengthened by variety. By having every point on the sliding scale of comedy covered. By having entries for every prominent genre, and narrative type. And, perhaps most importantly, by having true diversity in character types and personalities. Diversity is not only displayed at the physical level, as is the case with visible minorities. Diversity is also displayed, and perhaps most importantly so, with different personalities.

The problem with political correctness is that it says, to put it as simply as possible, that you can't portray certain characters in certain ways.

You can't have a female character like Kasumi Tendo (pictured above) from Ranma 1/2, who is perfectly happy and content living the life of housekeeper for her family. You can't have a soft-spoken bookwormish girl like Yuki Nagato or Kotomi Ichinose. Going by political correctness, every fictional female character should be strong, very witty, outspoken, and generally kickass in everything that she does.

There's certainly nothing wrong with a female character like that... but not every female character should be like that, just like not every female character should be like Kasumi Tendo, Yuki Nagato, or Kotomi Ichinose.

The central reason being that the more you have of the same basic type of character, the less valuable each character of that type becomes. Hitagi Senjōgahara is an excellent character, but if every female character in Bakemonogatari was like her, it would make Hitagi (and the rest of the female cast of Bakemonogatari) seem far less special because of it.

Political correctness also can make fictional stories, and the dialogue within them, very predictable. Frankly, you can often see the heavy-handed PC theme coming from a mile away, and hence it lands with a thud like an anvil being dropped on Wile E. Coyote.

Due to its lack of concern with political correctness (not going out of its way to be politically incorrect, nor trying to be politically correct), anime avoids these pitfalls that so often plague modern western entertainment.

Its character casts are rich and diverse, and its stories are frequently unpredictable because it's altogether possible that the anime will throw ideas or themes at you that would never pass the North American PC police.

Of all of my seven points, I suspect that this is the one where I will meet with the most opposition by my fellow North American anime fans. ;)

However, keep in mind that I'm not saying that characters like Buffy the Vampire Slayer are bad. Not at all. I'm just saying that a full range of characters, unconcerned with political correctness, leads to a more sincere and subtle piece of work with a greater liklihood of each of the characters shining for their own distinctive elements.



4. It's Actually 2D!

Which of the bottom two images looks the most like the top one?
Here's a hint: It's not the one distributed by Disney. ;)

As you've no doubt guessed by now, I'm a big fan of animation in general. I loved the afforementioned He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, as well as many of the serialized 2D cartoons produced by Disney back in the 80s, and early 90s. I also liked Transformers, Captain Planet, and a whole host of cartoons, when I was a kid growing up.

Saturday mornings were once famous for their several hour cartoon blocks, and I used to look forward to it every weekend, with gung-ho giddy glee. Some kids wanted to sleep in on Saturday morning, but not me! There's no way I'd miss one of my favorite shows. ;)

Along with random video game playing, those shows were the biggest treat of the seven-day week for me, back when I was a kid. I look back very fondly on my childhood, and 2D cartoons is a big reason why.


Sadly, the era of the Saturday morning cartoons has largely gone out with pet rocks, wild 80s hairstyles, and campy sitcoms. Furthermore, the Walt Disney company has, almost exclusively, taken to fancy CGI and 3D imagery for its "cartoons", particulary in movies.

I don't mind a 3D CGI-filled show from time-to-time, but it shouldn't take the place of 2D animation. Old fashioned hand-drawn 2D animation has its own distinguishing charm and visual appeal, imo. The subtle streamlined stylings of a Kyoto Animation have a visual flavor to them that 3D CGI simply can't capture, in my view. And this is a flavor that I don't want to lose, and hence I'm glad that Kyoto Animation (along with many other Japanese animation studios) continue to be influnced by Walt Disney to this day, and arugably moreso than even the company that bears his name does.

Many perhaps don't know this, but Haruhi Suzumiya owes her big eyes to Mickey Mouse. All big-eyed anime school girls do. The big-eyed look that has come to typify anime was inspired by Mickey Mouse. While the Walt Disney company increasingly turns its back on Walt's initial style, Japan continues to revel in it. And, as a big fan of 2D animation, I love seeing that. ^_^



5. Philosophical in a Practical Way

It's been said that Japan's culture values collectivism, while America values individualism. In other words, and to use a pro sports analogy, Japan focuses on the team, while America tends to focus on the star player. This is, of course, a huge generalization, but there probably is some truth to it. A real sense of brotherhood, sisterhood, or camaraderie is present in many animes, reflecting this fact. For all of its simplicity, even an anime like K-On! conveys a sort of sweet and dependable camaraderie better than anything I've seen in western entertainment in a very long time.

Perhaps because of this, the first fictional works to truly take a thorough and in-depth look at what impact the internet would have on our lives, came in anime. Much of the Matrix movies was inspired by anime. Animes like Serial Experiments Lain, and Ghost in the Shell.

A collectivist culture is one that has a good cultural context for exploring the impact of increased interconnectivity, which is, of course, what the internet brought to us. This increased interconnectivity poses many practical modern-day philosophical questions like "Where does the cyber world end, and the real world begin? When I interact with people on the internet, are they seeing the real me, or just a part of me? What is my place, as an individual, within a wired world?"

Anime was posing (and in some cases, attempting to answer) these practical philosophical questions. When philosophy interconnects with practicality, you arrive at a point of purposeful and heightened discussion and contemplation. You arrive at points that can help you better prepare for the future, and to be more successful in finding a satisfying niche in the world.

But even older animes, like the ones starring Char Aznable, would pose pressing practical philosophical issues. These issues also related to people finding a place in an often hostile world, while simulataneously exploring the impact of hostilities themselves upon humanity.

Anime's astute ability to be thought-provoking in a practical way is definitely one of its greatest strenghts, in my opinion.



6. How it Handles Settings


The Bugrom Palace, of El Hazard, is in a region of dark ominous clouds of a purple tint. The Hive itself is very mechanical in appearance, but also very organic. It does make one think of insects... but it also makes one think of the Borg, from Star Trek. And yet, on the interior, it's crystalline corridors and chambers and throne room are luxoriously gorgeous and convey a regal beauty. It is a setting that feels both alien, yet inviting. It truly captures the imagination, as it reflects a vibrant imagination on the part of the setting designers for El Hazard.

Anime has a magnificent sense for aesthetics, and settings that jump out at you, leaving an incredibly indelible impression on your memory and mind. When anime wants to "wow" you with architechture and interior decor, it very rarely fails.

But, at the very same time, when anime wants to put into place a realistic setting that makes you feel that it is very alive and natural, it tends to succeed here as well. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a great example of this, as its settings are based strictly upon real places in the real world. The settings are basically animated copies of those places; detailed line drawings, if you will.


Good, well-designed settings can make a huge difference to the quality of a fictional work, particularly those presented in a visual medium. For a fantasy anime like El Hazard: The Magnificient World, a fantastic setting can go along way to immersing the viewer in that anime, and making him or her feel a part of a grand journey or exploration.

And for an anime like the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, a
hyper-realistic setting can prove very helpful in enabling viewers to suspend disbelief when it comes to the more surreal or extraordinary elements of the anime. I'm of the opinion that the more realistic a setting and central characters are, the more a writer can get away with when presenting elements that some may otherwise find hard to suspend disbelief for.

For example, I've never had any difficulty whatsoever when it comes to suspending disbelief while watching the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, in spite of how it contains aliens, time travelers, espers, sliders, and God-like power within a teenage girl. There's some really weirdness there that many would find hard to swallow, but I never did, and I suspect that couching all of that within hyper-realistic settings like North High helps me in that regard.

Anime as a whole is often like this, as we see with hyper-realistic roads, traffic lights, and electric line poles. The latter has practically become a staple of anime scenes.



7. Romances That Feel Real


Not all anime romances resonate with me, but many do. And the ones that do are quite possibly my favorite fictional romances of all.

The romance between Tomoya and Nagisa (of Clannad and Clannad: After Story) is a perfect example of one such romance. It develops gradually, at a believeable pace, and it never ceases to feel heartfelt and warm. Tomoya and Nagisa's caring for one another moves, after a time, to close friendship, and that in turns moves, after a time, to a deep and abiding romantic love. This love manifests itself with sincerity, as both expresses that love with clear, unambiguous words and gestures to one another.

In its own way, the romance between Hitagi and Araragi (of Bakemonogatari) has this as well. Yes, Hitagi's teasing words to Araragi can often feel overly pointed, and she is a bit prone to pushing literal points up against Araragi during moments of bad temper, but yet... Hitagi is open and honest to Araragi about her feelings for him, and Araragi reciprocates to that in a manner that's easy to accept and feels natural for him given his generally laidback but helpful to others personality.

Perhaps due, in part, to its lack of concern for political correctness, anime is able to present sweet and tender romances that move the heart, and touch the soul.

Yes, anime has tsunderes and yanderes that are occassionally overdone, but many of its romances feel very real, and they're presented with honesty and integrity. It's not hard to see why anime can inspire many people to become passionate shippers for one pairing or another.


I bolded the word "integrity" above, because I believe that integrity is the common strand that runs through all of the greatest strengths of anime. Anime is at its best when it's telling stories in a honest and forthright way, and when it's true to the genres, characters, character types, character dynamics, and ideas and themes that it decides to explore. When its not concerned with appeasing or appealing to any one group of people in particular, but is only concerned with telling a certain story, based on true human nature and fitting settings, in a certain way with characters that can both reflect upon what's real while capturing the imagination.


Well, that sums up this post on the seven key strengths of anime, as I see them. I hope that I did justice in delving into them as I did, and I welcome any and all comments from others on those seven key strengths. :)

Anime Should Chart Its Own Course

Follow the example of Lelouch!
Chart your own course, anime!!

In recent years, the movie industry has primarily been an adaptation industry. It takes the most popular book, cartoon, comic book, and video game properties that are out there, and adapts them into live-action (and/or CGI animation) movies for the big screen. I don't have solid numbers for this, but I at least get the impression that a very solid majority of modern live-action feature-length movies are adaptations rather than "Hollywood originals" or "film originals".

In other words, Hollywood scriptwriters tend to now spend much more time adapting the most popular works of other entertainment or narrative forms than they do creating their own original works. Lately, we've seen them race through virtually every prominent Marvel comics property there is, even with such niche titles as Ghost Rider and Blade achieving star-studded splendor as Hollywood blockbusters. The days of Star Wars, Aliens, Rambo, Rocky, Robocop, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, the Matrix, and the Terminator appears to be fading into the background.

... Remind you of anything, anime fans? ;)

Anime in Japan is very much analogous to Hollywood movies in America, only with two big exceptions.

1) When a popular franchise makes it to the big screen, that in and of itself is considered a huge deal for the popular franchise. The movie itself is everything; it doesn't exist purely to increase the success of the popular franchise, but rather it is considered the pinnacle of success in and of itself. With anime, the animes that are adaptations of other works are generally considered the lesser cousin in its relation to that non-anime source material.

2) The ratio of adaptations to original works is probably even higher for anime than it is for movies.


This is, in some ways, a cause for concern, I think. Especially when you consider that anime is coming close to exhausting the full store of good Japanese light novels, visual novels, and mangas that are or were available for adaptations. Anime truly is running through light novels like Hollywood is running through Marvel comics titles. Eventually, you start to scrape the bottom of the barrell, at least as far as sheer popularity of the original work itself is concerned.

This, of course, leaves anime in a position of dependence. It makes it impossible for anime to fully chart its own course, as it must await the creations of artists and writers in other fields before it can bring much new material to the fore. In some cases, this means mind-numbing filler material, which is often little more than extremely limited and restricted fanfics.

Another negative of this dependence is one that frequent blog commenter tigermoon brought to my attention in his response to my "The Evolution of Anime" blog entry. And that negative is that it means that anime is left working with whatever narrative genres and settings and character types that happen to be popular at the moment (or a year or two ago) in other entertainment and narrative mediums. In recent years, that has meant a disproportionately high number of school-based anime, and a disproportionately low number of animes with epic stories.

Don't believe me?

Well, then lets consider five of the most prominent anime original animes of all time...


These are five of the most beloved and popular anime original animes of all time... and they all had epic stories...

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Story Premise: To try to save the world from "angels" that threaten the entire human race! Later on, a devious plot that would forever change almost every person on the planet is set into motion.

El Hazard: The Magnificent World - Story Premise: An alien world is at war! A battle of wits between two Japanese teenagers explodes into a conflict that will determine the fate of an entire alien planet.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha - Story Premise: Capture the Jewel Seeds to prevent a potentially cosmic disaster! Later on, deal with threats of similar magnitudes.

Gurren Lagann - Story Premise: In a dystopian future, humanity fights back against Beastmen oppressors! Later on, the Earth itself is threatened by beings of great cosmic power.

Code Geass - Story Premise: The world is at war! Japan seeks to rise out from under the bloodthirsty thumb of Britannia, and like El Hazard, two former friends chart the course of the conflict.


Considering that there's not all that many anime original animes to begin with, the fact that five of the most prominent all contain very epic stories, speaks to how the minds behind anime original works may tend to favor such stories.

I would say that a reason for this is that anime naturally lends itself to such stories.

One of the strengths of the animation medium is that it can portray certain scenes that would require very lengthy descriptions in a purely textual format (as the old saying goes: a picture says a thousand words), and that it can portray magnificently imaginative conflicts of a grand scale that would cost countless millions in special effects budgeting to do in a live-action format.

This is, in fact, a big part of the reason why I'm a huge fan of animation in general... both of the anime variety, and of the western cartoon variety. This particular entertainment medium simply lends itself to certain types of stories much moreso than any other entertainment medium (except, perhaps, video games) does.


Effectively conveying action scenes that are on an epic scale, and purely in words, is generally not easy. It is thus quite understandable why most light novel and novel writers tend to stay away from such scenes. Furthermore, visual novels and games involving romantic routes, tend to be very dialogue-based by nature. They certainly can have epic moments, but generally not an epic narrative or story.


There is another key factor here that I think bears looking at.

A common complaint that I've heard of many of the more popular anime that have come out since the start of 2009 is that the pacing of these animes is off. I've very recently heard this complaint applied to otherwise very well-recieved titles like Okakami Kakushi and Durarara!!

There' s a very important reason for why such animes may lack desirable degrees of pacing.

And that reason is this:

The sort of slow and methodical plot pacing that can work splendidly in a light novel, a novel, or a visual novel can seem extremely slow and tedious when cut up into 24 minute anime adaptated chunks. Because there's only so much written material that can fit comfortably within such 24 minute animated chunks.

Now, the anime can, of course, slash and burn vast quantities of source material in order to attempt to trim the story down to where it has good (or at least palatable) pacing for these 24 minute animated chunks. But that tends to result in this...

Beatrice is the Umineko Anime in this pic
Battler is the typical fan of the Umineko source material. ;)

The Umineko anime has been absolutely ravaged with harsh criticism for cutting out so much of the visual novel source material. And, having recently read though most of the first Umineko visual novel, I can certainly see why! I'd estimate that at least two thirds of all of the material within the first visual novel was murdered as though coming in contact with the Stakes of Purgatory... ;)

This is quite possibly the main reason why the first volume Umineko DVD bombed in sales. There are other possible reasons for such an incredible sales failure that I may bring up in a future blog entry, but for now, I'm focusing on the impact of enormous content chops made when adapting Umineko from visual novel to anime.

However... I also know why the producers of the Umineko anime sliced off so much of the source material content. The reason why is because there would be no other way for the Umineko anime to have an even sane level of pacing for an anime.

I think that most anime fans want to see something of plot importance happen each and every episode. This is a big part of the reason for why Endless Eight was not more well-recieved. For Umineko to keep even three quarters of its original source material would have resulted in an anime so plodding, and so uneventful in the first few episodes, that virtually every anime only watcher of Umineko would have dropped it like a rock.

Again... what feels like good pacing in a novel isn't necessarily good pacing in weekly 24 minute animated chunks.

Sadly, Umineko was caught between a Beatrice and a Virgilia, when it came to how much of the source material content should be carried over to the anime adaptation. ;)

To paraphrase Giovanni from the Pokemon musical... "It just can't win!"


Now, all of this being said, I largely liked the Umineko anime, and so I'm glad that it was adapted into anime form.

Still, just imagine how good an Umineko-like story could be if it was an anime original anime! Such a story would be made, in advance, to fit with the ideal pacing of an anime. The plot would be quicker and faster, but character development could still be maintained.

So... what does this all mean?

Well, what it means is that I hope that we see more anime original animes in the future. For that will lead to more animes like the five anime original animes featured in pictures in this post. It will also allow the animation medium to more readily control its own destiny; to shape its own future. And the animes themselves will have better pacing becaue of it.

Just as I hope to see Hollywood one day try to make another Star Wars , I hope to see anime one day try to make another Evangelion. :)

This blog entry and the previous one has been largely critical of the modern anime world, I will admit.

So, in my next blog entry, I will speak on what I think anime has done right, and continues to do right. My next blog entry will be a tribute to anime to balance out with these more critical blog entires.

And after that blog entry... I will finally get back to my Top 10 Countdown list, lol. ^_^;;

In the interim, though, any and all feedback is welcome. I eagerly look forward to your comments. :)

Number 2: Katsuhiko Jinnai!

In my previous blog entry, I spoke of that great invention called fiction.

Fiction, however, usually entails more than just imaginative creation.

Fiction usually involves conflict.

In high school, I learned of the three basic sorts of conflict present in fiction...

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Himself

Man vs. Man


Of these three, the one that tends to most convincingly completely capture the emotions of the player or reader or viewer... is Man vs. Man.

Seeing two personable forces locked in a struggle, be it a purely physical confrontation or a battle of wits or a challenge of ideas or some combination thereof, can truly draw in the viewer, and often force him to view the conflict from multiple perspectives. You don't identify with the blizzard, but you may identify with an antagonist.

Sometimes, this is best achieved through great contrast between the combatants.

And when such contrast is aimed for, you frequently arrive at one of the oldest and most tried, tested, and true character types of many a fictional story...


The Villain


The villain confidently swaggers, struts, and strides into the work of fiction, leaving an immediate indelible impression of antagonistic arrogant attitude.

The villain... many a good villain, in any event... simultaneously repulses you, but yet also beguiles you, with his abnormal morality (or complete lack thereof) and his breathtakingly bold brazen aims and goals.

And Katsuhiko Jinnai, my favorite anime villain of all-time as well as one of my three favorite anime characters period, is no exception.


Jinnai's willingness, if not exciting exuberant eagerness, to murder his greatest enemies is not morally defensible... but it does make for a cool clamorous conflict...


The ferocious frenzied feud between El Hazard's Makoto Mizuhara and Katsuhiko Jinnai is one of the most riveting feuds in all of anime, if not in all of fiction. It is a feud that reaches decidedly deeply down into the tormented psychosis of a man unhinged. Of powerful penultimate pride being badly bruised one too many times.

Jinnai's descent into malevolent manipulative madness, brought upon by the perception of a vexing foe that has been nothing less than a cancer upon his life, is truly a sight to behold. It is one of the highlights of the first episode of the El Hazard: The Magnificent World OVA.

It's ideological intensity is also reminiscent of some of the great feuds of western fiction, such as Superman vs. Lex Luthor, Batman vs. the Joker, and Reed Richards vs. Dr. Doom. Part of the feud between Makoto and Jinnai is their vastly different world views, and their respective senses of their places within it.

Makoto desires to help others, pursue knowledge for its own sake, live a productive but safe and simple life, and get along with others as best as he can. In most respects, he is an admirable soul, but he is also a bit of a meekly mild milquetoast of a character. Makoto is pushed along by the plot, often unwillingly and with whiney complaint, and only near the very end of the El Hazard OVA does Makoto begin to show real signs of trying to control his own destiny, so to speak.

Jinnai is the complete opposite...



Jinnai is the optimal outspoken opportunist, as he never fails to seize the moment, or take advantage of every opening or potential gain that comes his way. His desire for personal glory is insatiable, and his need to placate his sense of superiority is ever-present.

You can see it in his beady eyes, his hungry haughty hellacious grin, and in his dynamic mannerisms.

His ambitions, his drives, his lusts... they are akin to a force of nature. They are every bit as great as those of any contemporary anime character... yes, even including the likes of Kamina and Haruhi Suzumiya. In fact, in some ways, he is even more forceful than them! Because Jinnai is not driven by a sense of brotherhood, or by a desire to gain extraordinary friends... feelings that can be moderated by the moral guidance of a Simon, or a Kyon.

No... Jinnai theatrically triumphantly thirsts for no less than complete and total rule!


Yes, a triumphant thirst, as Jinnai moved at rapid pace to an unparalleled position of power and influence within a totally alien empire, and even through out an entire alien world. The statue above represents the zealous zestful zenith of Jinnai's lofty aims. How many fictional characters can say that an entire alien race of innumerable many, had come to adore and love and even worship him, so much that they make the grandest of statues in his or her likeness, even while he lives?!


And do you know what is absolutely astounding about this?

Jinnai is, at best, a physically normal human being. His only "super power", if you can even call it that, is his ability to communicate with the bugrom. His lone super power, as it were, would be rendered obsolete by a mere Star Trek universal communicator.

Everything Jinnai accomplishes is through sheer brilliance, cunning, guile, resiliency, and wits.

And incredible degrees of courage.

Don't believe me? Then perhaps the talented Deviant Art contributor who made this piece of artwork can add support to my words here...


Here is what the artist ~chad-spider has to say about Jinnai...


"This is Katsuhiko Jinnai from El Hazard, the ballsiest man in anime. I will explain why in case anybody reads this and does not know him.

Jinnai is a high school student--not a high school student who is also a ninja or an alien or a superhero, just a high school student. He gets transported to a fantasy world full of wacky stuff through means unknown to him, and is quickly discovered by a race of insect monsters at war with humanity. They take him back to their fortress, and their queen demands to know if he is the prophesied messenger who is supposed to lead them to victory in war. And Jinnai, without missing a beat, tells her that yes, yes he is. Then he takes over their army and spends the rest of the series at war with the human race to satisfy his own ego." (Emphasis mine)


Katsuhiko Jinnai could even teach Barack Obama a thing or two about audacity. ;) :D


Is there any wonder why Queen Diva is so enamored by him? ;)
A man that exudes such raw potency as Jinnai will obviously hold a massively magnetic masculinity for many a woman...




The picture immediately above is from a late 90s anime convention, and is a picture featuring the star of the show... Y2KJ... a fusion of sorts between pro wrestling's Chris Jericho and anime's Katsuhiko Jinnai.


Just look at the way women literally fall all over Katsuhiko Jinnai. ;)

But not only women are inspired by him.

One of the most famous anime music remixers in the business was so inspired by El Hazard's Katsuhiko Jinnai that he named himself after him.

I'm sure many an anime fan are familiar with DJ Jinnai.


It has to be said that El Hazard, as a whole, was a great classic mid-90s anime. In some ways, it's unfortunate that it came out the same year as Neon Genesis Evangelion, causing it to be overshadowed somewhat.

But Katsuhiko Jinnai is a character who's influence continues to be felt... not only through DJ Jinnai.


If Katsuhiko Jinnai was a brand new anime character, many would call him a mixture of Light Yagami with the CCP of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, or a mixture of Lelouch Lamperouge with Sunohara of Clannad. The general competence and lofty aims of the former displayed by the pratfalling yet flashy style of the latter. A well-groomed meticulous villain with a great mind and commanding presence... but also played for laughs quite frequently.

Many others would point to how his demeanour is the male equivalent of Umineko's Beatrice, as a previous blog entry of mine displayed.


I would argue that parts of Jinnai's character has inspired each of these other five prominent anime characters, and hence the ripples of his character's impact on the anime world is felt to this day. His uproarious famous laugh also reverberates well over a decade after the animes starring him finished production...


Jinnai is truly a classic anime villain for the ages. A character that helped make El Hazard one of the best animes of the 90s, if not one of the best animes of all-time.

However, I will admit that some of his strengths are also, in a way, weaknesses...


Personally, I have always found it impressive when a charismatic villain who has mastered the art of the dramatic entrance... is a physically normal human being, challenging dangerous metahuman protagonists. That does indeed take balls.

Lex Luthor putting his mind to the test against Superman's brawn.

The Joker often trying to get to Batman through attacking the vaunted Justice League.

And Katsuhiko Jinnai is like them in how he must deal with extraordinarily powered foes... all by sheer wits, and the military forces that he takes charge of.


This is a weakness, in some ways, though. There are not many grand one-on-one physical confrontations involving Jinnai and a protagonist. There is the swordfight between him and Makoto in El Hazard: The Wanderers, but there is not much more than that.

I can understand how this can be a negative for some... even though I think that Jinnai more than makes up for it with his overall strengths as a villain.



Others judge Jinnai harshly because, well... many anime fans have an unique liking for the sympathetic antagonist, I think. They don't like the unprincipled sociopaths that many villains are.

However, here I come to Jinnai's defense. For while sheer, unadulterated ego is what pushes him forward, there is a genuine and sincere camaraderie between him and the bugrom race. A good example of this is how Jinnai, for a short time, even adopted bugrom armor to create a greater sense of unity between him and his legions...


Another one of Jinnai's strong points; points that distinguish him from the totally insane and entirely evil villains, is how Jinnai actually aided in saving El Hazard... from Galus and the Shadow Tribe.

Jinnai doesn't destroy simply for the sake of destroying... he is a true and forthright conqueror, who wishes to rule over lands worth ruling; which means that they have to be left standing in decent condition. Jinnai clearly values pristine conditions, as we see in how tightly dressed and impeccably groomed he is...


Jinnai is, in fact, famous for always carrying a comb with him, and making sure not a signal hair on his head is out of place. And, judging by the following picture, his dental hygiene is above reproach as well... ;)


But don't let these good points fool you either... Jinnai is the ultimate laughing villain. He is equal parts Lex Luthor, Joker, Kane (of Command and Conquer fame), and Sunohara (Clannad).

That is what I love about him... he is The Villain.

A great villain, who quickly takes charge of almost every scene he's in; who's impact is felt loudly, if not literally, with his every charismatic entrance.

A 17 year old boy who shakes an entire alien world to its very foundations, and who leads a World War; very nearly winning it as nation after nation after nation falls to his relentless advances.

Jinnai's military genius is perhaps his greatest strength. His tactics... his strategics... his maneuvers... they are all applied with a magnificent mixtue of finesse with overwhelming force.

The best example of this is Wanderers' Jinnai's complex plot to capture Princess Rune Venus. That plot is hilariously named "Operation: Permanent Vacation!", complete with an outrageously funny jingle in the English dubbed version of the anime. It was a plot that met with great success, as Princess Rune Venus was kidnapped by Jinnai and the bugrom, and delivered into the welcoming hands of Queen Diva.

As far as Magnificent World's Jinnai is concerned, there is the method he used to reach Ifurita; a method that made complete fools out of his enemies.

All told, Katsuhiko Jinnai wraps himself in the timeless cape of evil overlord villainy, and wears it with such splendid spectacular style, that he has earned his joyous laughs...



Katsuhiko Jinnai is, for me, the greatest anime villain that I've ever seen.


So why, then, doesn't he solely win the spot of Number 2 on my Ten Favorite Anime Characters of All-Time list, or even come in at the very top spot?

Well, my previous blog entry went into great detail about the illustrious female character that tied him. She is not with out her charms either. ;)

To compare the two further... Haruhi Suzumiya is, in most respects, a nicer person, and perhaps a touch more realistic at a personality level (although I could imagine someone like Katsuhiko Jinnai actually existing in real life).

However, Jinnai is a far more focused character, and I do like that about him. Haruhi's energetic zeal roughly matches his, but its less polished and coherently channelled.

Katsuhiko Jinnai was, also, the ultimate gateway character for me, as he reminded me so much of many of my favorite comic book villains. He, as much as any anime character, helped me become an anime fan.

However, Haruhi is the character that keeps me interested in anime, more than any other. If not for her anime and character, it's unlikely that I would be writing this blog at all.


That makes it immensely hard to choose between them... and, in fact, I couldn't.


Jinnai is the villain that I loved cheering for, and could even relate to... I, too, was a Student Council President at one time, and I, too, was in a tight academic conflict with another particular classmate who was good at computers...

Whereas Haruhi is precisely the sort of classmate that I wish I did have.

Sometimes, it's the little things that count when evaluating a character, or trying to relate to him or her.


As for my No. 1 pic... in the end, The Hero defeated The Villain.

I wanted a hero, a true hero, to win this Top 10 race. A hero who I look forward to writing a great deal about. I hope that you'll join me for that write-up as well, my friends. ;)


However, I hope that I've done justice in speaking well of this often underappreciated anime villain. In anime, a decade can feel like a century, and hence even a character as great as Jinnai can become a sadly forgotten... or even never known at all... character.

But, I hope that this blog post can reflect the never say die nature of the man who kept fighting on, against all obstacles, in spite of the most horrendous of setbacks... a man who never lost his smile, who always kept his laugh, and who is forever etched in the hallowed history of El Hazard!

Top 10 Countdown!: Honorable Mentions

It's the Final Countdown! ;)

Well, not really, but I felt that this awesome AMV above could serve to get my readers pumped and primed for my Top 10 Favorite Anime Characters of All-Time Countdown!

A few ground rules before I begin...

This is, of course, just my own list of favorite anime characters. It primarily reflects my own taste in fictional characters, particularly those presented in an animated medium. This list is not designed to convey which ten anime characters are the most influential of all time... although a case can be made that at least two or three characters on my list are influential. This list is also not meant to determine which ten anime characters are the most complex, multifaceted, and unique of all time... although, again, a case can be made that many of these characters are complex, multifacated, and unique. Certainly, I tend to very much like prominent, unique characters that stand out for me in a good way... but, at the same time, characters that do a truly outstanding job of representing a particular archetype appeal to me as well. For example, my conception of the perfect tsundere is in this Top 10 list.

So, in a neat and tidy nutshell, this list is only to display to you, gentle reader, the ten anime characters that have most left an indelible impression on me through out the dozens upon dozens upon dozens of animes that I've watched. Needless to say, many excellent anime characters never made the cut. To help explain why one or more of your favorites may not be on the list, let me introduce you to a few criteria that I used in rounding down the vast array of anime characters that I have to choose from...


1) The character has to stand out for me, over and above the broader cast that he or she or it is a part of. While it's true that I loved the Sailor Moon anime and its cast, neither one or two of the Sailor Scouts fully stood out to me as being particularly more notable or enjoyable to watch than any of the others. It is a strong and stupendous cast, and I like them all, but I just don't like them enough to put them all in my Top 10 list, and at the same time neither one of them (including Sailor Moon herself) strikes me as more deserving of the honor than either of the others. At some level, I'm inclined to think that truly great characters will shine a bit more brilliantly than their fellow cast members.


2) The character needs to have significant screen-time. I like Akasaka (Higurashi) and Gihren Zabi (Mobile Suit Gundam) a lot, but neither received much screen-time. Each was displayed prominently in one of my favorite anime scenes of all-time. However... I can't really justify putting into my Top 10, characters that may be completely conspicuously cool for a short stretch of time in one episode, but aren't fleshed out a great deal beyond that. By extension, this also means that characters in brand new, yet unfinished, animes (such as Bakemonogatari) aren't on the list. I will say, though, that there's at least a couple of Bakemonogatari characters that may very well challenge for Top 10 spots in the future.


3) How much I like the anime that the character is from is important. Dragon Ball Z was one of the first animes that I ever watched, and I liked it a lot at the time... but looking back on it now after watching much more fast-paced shonen fare, I can see where it has considerable weaknesses, primarily in the pacing department. Due to how DBZ doesn't appeal to me like it once did (the linked AMV above notwithstanding), its characters probably suffer from that. On the flip-side, one of my favorite animes is the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and that helped to lift one particular character into my Top 10 list. You'll have to wait to find out who that character is. ;)


4) The character has to be known primarily as an anime character (at least for me). Captain Falcon is astonishingly incredible, and M. Bison can make you gleefully shout "Yes! Yes!" while watching him fight, but both are known better for their video game roles than their anime roles.


So, all-told, those are my Fantastic Four Filters (provided by the always malleable Reed Richards; him being such a great guy who'll stretch to great lengths for just about anyone's sake ;) ). There are other factors playing into the precise ordering of the characters in my Top 10 list, but you can be assured that each and every one of them survived (or mostly survived, anyway) this screening process.

However, in piecing together my Top 10 list, I found that there were actually close to twenty characters that I had to make some tough choices amongst. Even the Fantastic Four Filters weren't able to totally make this an easy selection for me. As such, I feel compelled to honor five particular characters that just missed the cut, but nonetheless deserve some special spotlight moments, in my opinion.

So... here are five honorable mentions, in alphabetical order, with a brief blurb on each, explaining why I like him or her or it...

Éclair (Kiddy Grade)

Tall and voluptuous is my favorite female form, red's my favorite color, and I love wavy brunette hair. So, on sheer character design alone, Eclair appeals to me quite deliciously. ;) She also has perfectly sized breasts, in my estimation. Eclair was also one of the first leading ladies of anime that I came into contact with after I started watching anime heavily a few years back. Up to then, my exposure to anime was unwitting (i.e. I couldn't distinguish anime from other cartoons), and limited to DBZ, Pokemon, and Sailor Moon. Eclair was the first buxom bodacious broad, of a non-magical girl type, to be a female main protagonist, that I came across.

And she was as luscious in that role as her trademark lipstick whip was... and really, what a cooler weapon for a female than a lipstick whip can you get?! She also had a personality that I found alluring for the most part, and her backstory frequently intrigued me. In the anime, she ends up being a supremely stylish heroine that consistently fights for what is right, even if it forces her to go against her superiors and to take a stand that throws her life into quite dire jeopardy.

Why didn't she make the Top 10 cut then? Her character, for me, was undermined somewhat by gratuitous fanservice; for example, you wouldn't believe just how long it took me to find a non-fanservicey pic of her like this one above. I don't mind some fanservice, especially for a fine feminine fighter like Eclair, but Kiddy Grade (the anime with Eclair in it) sometimes took it a bit too far. Another knock against her is how vaguely defined her marvelous metahuman abilities are. This is a problem that plagues the entire Kiddy Grade cast, in fairness. That, combined with Eclair being virtually immortal, made her somewhat difficult for me to relate to. Finally, there's also the fact that Eclair simply has fewer fascinating character relationship dynamics surrounding her, in my opinion, than some of the similar leading ladies that did make my Top 10 cut.

Still, Eclair is an early favorite of mine, and she definitely deserves a honorable mention at least.

Ifurita (El Hazard: The Magnificent World)

Ifurita, much like Eclair, is here in part due to character design reasons. I simply adore Ifurita's character design, which is one that helped me make the transition from western comic book fan to anime fan. El Hazard: The Magnificent World OAV, as a whole, served as the ideal gateway anime for this Batman, Superman, and Marvel Comics fan. It had several prominent characters with personalities and/or outfits that reminded me a great deal of the costumed heroes and villains of western comics. This is particularly true of Ifurita and one other El Hazard: The Magnificent World OAV character that is in my Top 10.

Perhaps no anime character personifies "mysterious" to me as much as Ifurita does. Even the most diehard of El Hazard fans do not know for certain how organic, or how artificial, she is. She is, in fact, a living weapon of mass destruction, designed precisely for that purpose. And yet, her soft subtle beauty, and magnificent melodic melancholy and style contrast so impeccably with that status. Then there are her epic powers that include creating huge blast radius' that can consume large towns, the ability to copy the abilities and powers of others, dimension dumping, and time travel. Taken altogether, this serves to make Ifurita one of the most intriguing characters in all of anime. As I said, she is mysteriousness personified. :)

So why, then, didn't she crack the Top 10? Because this strength is also a weakness. Like Eclair, she is a bit hard to relate to; perhaps even moreso than Eclair is since Ifurita's personality is more esoteric than Eclair's. There is also the fact that this version of Ifurita simply doesn't get that much screen-time; five episodes in total (eight if you

count her duplicate in the second El Hazard OAV). She simply isn't as fleshed out as much as I'd like.

Still, as Katsuhiko Jinnai says, she is an ultimate weapon that is excellent! ;) And her unusual romance with Makoto Mizuhara is one of my favorites in all of anime.

Jail Scaglietti (Nanoha Striker S)




One area where I would give western comic books and fiction a bit of an edge over anime is in the prominence and quality of antagonists and villains. I know that many will probably disagree with me here, as they may prefer the more understated 'shades of gray' sympathetic antagonist or villain. That's all fine and good, but every now and then I find it very exciting and fun to see the protagonists go up against a cackling, colorful, dynamic, scenery chewing, and theatrical villain. And there's very few in anime that actually surpass the good Dr. Scaglietti in fulfilling such a role.

Of the 'mad scientist' villain type within anime, Scaglietti just edges out Professor Tomoe (Sailor Moon), and Dantalion (Shakugan no Shana) for me. Perhaps the main reason being that, as it pertains to the anime versions of each of those three anyway, Scaglietti gets directly involved the most. He actually shoots blasts and hacks into TVs to make big announcements. Now that's my kind of impacting intense intelligent villain! And then there's the fact that perhaps no villain in all of anime has a larger harem of almost entirely loyal subordinates. I doubt that even Professor Tomoe had the numbers that Jail had. ;)

But even bad puns aside, Scaglietti stands out to me for his funny facial distortions, his reverberating laughter, his wearing of a lab coat over a business suit, and his purple bishi hair. His look is distinctive, but streamlined.

So, why doesn't he make the cut? Largely due to how the anime handled him. He ultimately goes down more with a whimper than with a bang, and he was so hopelessly outmatched that I actually pitied him frequently... and it's probably not a good sign when you pity a shamelessly diabolical villain before he even goes down to defeat. If Scaglietti had just had more punch behind his attacks, or had a subordinate like, say, Ifurita, maybe he would have cracked my Top 10. As is, though, he's still very deserving of this honorable mention.

Sakai Yuji (Shakugan no Shana)

Sakai Yuji is my favorite character of his anime character type. That character type being what I would call "The fairly straight-laced Japanese teenager everyman central protagonist". This character type is always at least a bit meek and mild, typically with a solemn stoic side, frequently moved around by the plot rather than driving it himself, usually has dark hair, and almost always wears a student uniform. He's a very common anime character type; all-female casts aside, it's a rare anime that doesn't have a character like this.

And for me, Sakai Yuji is the best representation of this character type, just edging out Makoto Mizuhara (El Hazard), and Kyon (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). He is also, of course, leaps and bounds ahead of the typical harem anime lead. What makes Sakai Yuji stand out for me in this fashion?

The main reasons are that he's not downright whiny (a frequent annoying aspect to characters of his character type), his actions and decisions typically make good sense to me, his powers are actually rather neat, and most importantly he really undergoes an impressive character evolution during the second half of Shakugan no Shana II. Simply put, Yuji becomes a man; moreso than any other character that he shares his character type with, imo. After a lengthy period of being a push-over and riding on Shana's coattails, Yuji eventually takes control of his life, and much like Prince Adam of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe fame, holding aloft and wielding a magical sword makes all the difference for him. ;) :D

Yuji is also a deeply reflective character, and, I believe, a much more reliable narrator than Kyon is; this being my main reason for putting Yuji ahead of Kyon here. Yuji seems to truly care about others, and that isn't drowned out in either whiny words or snarky sneering. He is an eminently likeable and relatable character. So why didn't he make the cut?

While he's great in the 2nd half of Shakugan no Shana II, his breathtakingly blind and oblivious behavior in the 1st half of Shakugan no Shana II hurts his character a bit for me. He's probably not as indecisive about romances as many of his character type are, but he nonetheless could be better here.

Still, his romance with Shana is my favorite in all of anime, and thus he deserves a honorable mention at the very least.

Sango (InuYasha)

The four main protagonists of InuYasha (Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and InuYasha himself) are all great characters, imo. I like all of them a lot. So what lifts Sango just a slight touch above the rest of them for me?

Mainly the fact that she's such a sweet and perpetually pure in heart protagonist. She doesn't have InuYasha's boastful abrasive ego, or Miroku's lecherousness. And her fits of tsuntsun strike me as slightly less frequent than Kagome's, as Kagome can strike me as being a bit too quick to anger at times.

Sango strikes me as one of those characters that you'd love to have as either a friend, or as a girlfriend. She is so dependable, firm, and resolute. She has real class and a sense of personal pride. She also brings out the very gallant best in Miroku on a few occasions. When Sango manages to make this happen, it serves to have Miroku become one of my favorite anime characters as well. And when Miroku is at his best, the Miroku/Sango romance is one of my favorites in all of anime. It really resonates with me during those moments when Miroku is at his best.

For whatever reason, Sango is also one of those anime characters that simply exudes Japanese culture for me. And in doing so, she helps me to greater appreciate the cultural heritage of that lovely oriental land, as well as to help me realize why I became an anime fan to begin with. Her fighting style, her choice of weapons, her flying pet cat that can change size and shape... there's a lot surrounding her that's quite nice.

Her outfit is cool and stylish, but while being modest and utilitarian. Sexy with out needing fanservice to accomplish it; now that's a woman who knows how to carry herself.

So why doesn't she make the cut? Sango is a bit understated. I don't mind that in some anime characters, but in Sango's case, I wish she'd get involved in the action and dialogue just a bit more than what she does. Still, she is a character that has earned her place in this "Honorable Mentions" list.


Well, that's all for the Honorable Mentions list.

I hope all of my readers enjoyed this Blog entry, and that people gained a bit of a better understanding in my taste in anime, my taste in anime charcters, my taste in villains, and my taste in romance especially, because of it. As always, any and all comments are appreciated.

Soon... the Top 10 part of the Final Countdown begins! >:)