Monday, June 24, 2013

Interlude



Hello, true believers! This is Nelson, creator of The Anime Guardians. I'd like to announce that the blog will be on hiatus for a time, as I'll be pouring time into the other website I've recently co-founded, Project Otaku. I've held onto this blog for a year and a half now, and it's helped me to develop as a writer in ways unimaginable. But it's not easy blogging alone; Project Otaku is a great place for me to foster the writings of others and myself. Being part of a community is what blogging is all about, or this is what I've come to believe. Those faithfuls who have followed my writings until now should show Project Otaku some support at http://www.projectotaku.com/.

The Anime Guardians Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Google Plus pages will still be up, allowing for me to spread news of my continuing endeavors. Thanks for the love throughout these months. See you on the other side!

- Nelson Rolon
anime.guardians03@gmail.com

Regarding 009 Re:Cyborg

This film was on my radar from the moment it was announced. I've never seen or read the previous Cyborg 009 works (unless 009-1 counts), but the names "Production I.G" and "Kenji Kamiyama" were enough to catch my eye. The bizarre 3D CG animation also caught my eye, but the style grew on me as I watched the film. Should you watch 009 Re:Cyborg?




Sunday, June 16, 2013

Border Crossings: On American and Japanese Comic Book Culture


*Man of Steel spoiler below!*

I saw Man of Steel 8:00PM Saturday night with a couple friends. A devout fan of anything involving Christopher Nolan (except that last Batman movie, that I could have lived without), I was expecting great things from Man of Steel. My friend Leslie, after viewing the blockbuster, felt no shame in claiming it was better than The Dark Knight; I'm still debating that myself. Later that night I told Erica, Project Otaku's site manager and co-founder, about the film. She hilariously responded with, “I don't intend to watch. Not big on Marvel heroes.” We'll forgive her for the huge faux pas, but it does raise some interesting questions about Americans who enjoy Japanese manga and anime, but cannot stomach our own home-grown superheroes.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

"Thanks for Playing": Life After Immersive Video Games

So I recently finished Katawa Shojou for the first time with Emi. For those who aren't informed, Katawa Shojou's a dating sim focusing on girls with physical handicaps, e.g. amputated limbs, blindness, etc. Emi's a girl who lost her legs below the knees, but instead of crying about it all the time she sprints on metal prosthetics. I spent several hours of play time patiently working through her resistance towards emotional closeness, but I eventually succeeded in getting the happy ending I sought. I was Emi's boyfriend and we loved each other... and then the story was done.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

KATAWA SHOJOU So Far...

Aside from the crude Galaxy Angel and Ganguro Girl dating sims that have been around for years on Newgrounds.com, I've never played anything close to a visual novel. I think they're unique to Japanese culture, like RPGs kinda are. When I checked up on Megatokyo.com like I periodically do, I saw a post by Fred Gallagher which included a link to Katawa Shojou, a free to play visual novel about attending a special needs school. I'd heard about it before and it sounded just as strange the first time around. Dating handicapped people? Who the hell came up with this?


Friday, June 7, 2013

How Did I Become an Art Agent?

I've dedicated the past few weeks since graduating from college to embellishing my otaku nature. For me, that involves actually learning some Japanese. I signed up with MyLanguageExchange.com, and quickly found a Japanese native who happened to be in New York and wanted help with his English. His name is Mago, and he's an accomplished artist in Japan struggling to find a little fame in the Big Apple.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Chronicles of a Down (But not Out) Otaku



I haven't posted any hard-hitting material since college graduation a few weeks ago. Truth is, life has offered me some hard-hitting disillusionment. I think I'm depressed... no, I'm sure I'm depressed. Maybe I'm a little impatient, but finding a job as an Art History grad isn't the easiest thing to do, especially since I don't wanna teach and every employer wants 2 - 5 years experience, which they (shockingly) aren't willing to offer. I hate sitting at home with all this time to think about my future and my place in the universe. Watching anime isn't even fun anymore - yes, I'm shocked to hear myself say that too. But I'm trying to be a productive otaku. Here's some of the more interesting parts of this period thus far: