Updates

** Update: As of May 2013 my senior project is completed and titled "Establishing a Post-human Identity through Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell and Innocence Films." It can be found on the Post-humanity tab above, and is available in PDF format.

Hey everybody, Nelson speaking. Time to let everyone know what's going on as of late, and why posting has been hilariously erratic on The Anime Guardians.

I've finally done it, and by "it" I mean reached my final semester of college. I've got my senior project and graduation to think about before finally beginning the rest of my life. Yeah, my impending adulthood feels more like a journey into a dark tunnel with an ominous light at the end. I've no idea what awaits. Perhaps I'll work in a museum, which seems the likely course so long as I go with the flow. Maybe I'll become a fighter pilot, a childhood dream of mine. Maybe I'll publish a book. Who knows. Everything's up in the air.

Although I've been watching plenty of anime, I haven't written much as of late. I'm gonna stick to writing entries about the cyberpunk shows I've been studying. Mardock Scramble's second film was released this year, so I gotta snag a DVD copy. I'll be focusing on anime from the beginning of 2000 from now on instead of reaching far back into the 1980s and 1990s.

I'll still be posting, just at random times. I'm still fighting the good fight.


Nelson Rolon
Editor in Chief at The Anime Guardians
anime.guardians03@gmail.com

Your Flesh is Irrelevant, Because it's the Data that Counts

In the book How We Became Posthuman, author Katherine Hayles devotes some of chapter two to analyzing William Gibson's Neuromancer, particularly where protagonist Case claims busy Ninsei Street  resembles "a field of data... the dance of biz, information interacting, data made flesh in the mazes of the black market." From this paragraph, Hayles draws several conclusions about Neuromancer and cyborg literature in general:

"Pattern tends to overwhelm presence, leading to a construction of immateriality that depends not on spirituality or even consciousness but only on information... Information is the putative origin, physicality the derivative manifestation... If flesh is data incarnate, why not go back to the source and leave the perils of physicality behind?" (Pgs 35, 37).

PSYCHO-PASS. © Production I.G.

The world of PSYCHO-PASS has taken these conclusions and made them concrete rules that society must abide by. The software program known as the Sybil System governs almost all of one's activities, relying on calculated assessments and aptitude tests to maintain order, dictating matters ranging from what career one would be suited to, to determining if a latent criminal should be paralyzed and apprehended or blown to pieces. In the case of PSYCHO-PASS, the "pattern that overwhelms presence" is found within the Psycho-Pass chip inside one's body, which relays stress levels and other biological readings via cymatic scan to Sybil.

Anime Sushi: Television by Otaku, For Otaku!

* Here's an interview I recently published on GoBoiano. Enjoy, and support the cause!

Last week at Anime Los Angeles a certain Kickstarter project held auditions for their upcoming television series. Cosplayers and convention goers appeared in droves to display their television hosting skills and proudly show off their meticulously designed wardrobes. The name of the series is Anime Sushi, a program dedicated to discussing anime, gaming and other topics that make otaku giddy. The charm with this show is that there will be a heavy emphasis on audience generated content, so fans will play a large part in what gets aired. 

Interested in the project, I reached out to producer Karl Laundy to find out more. As it turns out, he's as much of an otaku as the rest of us, introduced to anime through Speed Racer and Gigantor, and then starting a career cutting broadcast versions of works such as Wicked City, Silent Moebius, Neo Tokyo and Akira. Below is a preview of the series, followed by my interview with Laundy. Enjoy!

First Impressions: MAOYUU

One of 2013's newest shows, Maoyuu bridges grave politics and romantic humor through the clumsy, adorable interactions of its characters, the male Hero and female Demon King. The various preview images of the show caught my attention because the Demon King's horns reminded me of the main character in the esoteric Ico and Shadow of the Colossus games. Thankfully Maoyuu has more going for it than just the horns - they turn out to be fake.

NEKOMONOGATARI: KURO

For those unfortunate souls who aren't already informed, the Monogatari anime franchise from SHAFT is largely an exercise in "Tarantino-esque dialogue, surreal avant-garde imagery, and clever deconstruction of harem tropes." When I caught a glimpse of Bakemonogatari half a year ago, I was floored by the show's cleverness, and I'd argue that there are few anime that can match the incisive wit of the Monogatari series. With great excitement I began Nekomonogatari: Kuro, a four-episode installment showing Araragi's encounter with the oddity cat that possessed his poor buxom buddy Hanekawa.