Two episodes in a row? Sure, why not! I appeared again as a guest on the Otaku in Review podcast for a live recording that took place right from Anime Boston. Have a listen to hear how awesome it was. And then make sure you go to it next year. Yeah.
I returned as a guest for one episode of the Otaku in Review Podcast to discuss some of the Spring 2011 anime I’ve been watching. Listen to Scott cringe at the mention of some of the shows I’m watching, and see why he’s convinced that me and Mike (current co-host) are the same person. There’s also news and the usual trolling between the two co-hosts.
Many of you who follow this blog are probably wondering what I have been up to lately. Here’s the short answer: Things have changed for me. Simply put, I’ve become less interested in anime and the fandom. I don’t expect my interest to ever die out completely, but I simply don’t have the passion that I once had to write about anime. As a result, Anthony Moores, otherwise known as “Antz”, will be taking over this blog. He has decided not to change the blog name for the time being. So it will still be JanaiBlog despite a distinct lack of Janai. Please give him a warm welcome.
The long answer:
First and foremost, anime has just been less interesting for me lately. I don’t think the quality of the shows coming out lately has decreased, but rather my standards have increased. Also, I’ve become more focused on video games, which I have always enjoyed more than anime. In fact, I just finished playing Mass Effect (which was amazing) and am starting the sequel very soon.
Personal life is also a factor. I need to focus more on work and social life, rather than talk on Twitter all day and blog about the latest controversy. This is also the reason I recently left the Otaku in Review Podcast, now co-hosted by Michael Camacho of The OtakuGamer. If you haven’t listened to this awesome show, you should definitely check it out.
The final factor in all this is the drama. I never realized what I was going into when I started blogging about anime. The amount of drama in the online anime fan community is just unbelievable. So many petty arguments (and I admit, I’m one to talk). I’d rather not be involved in all of that, as it’s just way too time-consuming. Time can be better spent on things other than arguing over whether or not moe is the cancer killing anime.
The time I spent in the anime fan community wasn’t all for naught though. I don’t regret the time I spent talking with fellow anime fans, even if sometimes it made me want to pull my hair out. It was definitely a learning experience. I even made some great new friends in the process, and I especially thank those people.
I don’t know if I’ll ever post on this blog again, but I will still remain on Twitter (@FattyJanai), albeit being much less active than before. You can contact me there.
This is a guest review by Alain Mendez. Alain, a.k.a. Hisui, a.k.a. Saber Fan #1, writes for Reverse Thieves and is a part time detective and otaku. He also has a podcast on Anime3000 called The Speakeasy. You can talk to him on Twitter about a wide variety of topics as he is an anime, manga, comics, science fiction, and role playing aficionado. Just mention your love for female King Arthur.
Let us begin at the beginning. There are a multitude of adaptations of Higurashi but all of the anime, manga, live action films, novels, drama CDs, PS2 games, DS games, and iOS games of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni have a common origin in the original visual novels for the PC. Higurashi is actually made up of 2 sets of 4 visual novels released at Comiket by 07th Expansion. Released as doujinshi games they were a surprise success and put 07th Expansion and the When they Cry series on the map. The first set of games is made up of 4 visual novels collectively known as the question arcs and each game has a corresponding game in the second set called the answer arcs. The question is what makes these first four stand out from normal visual novels as well as from the other iterations of the franchise.
I won’t go into great details about the specifics of the plot. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Higurashi then you should read the manga summaries by TheGinachu for Higurashi Month. They sum up the story of each arc quite nicely. Each arc focuses on a specific girl as we delve into the mystery and madness of the secrets of the town of Hinamizawa and the endless summer of June 1983. Despite the similarity in story there are two major differences between the manga and anime adaptation that make the original games stand out.
This is a guest review by Fernando Ramos. Fernando is a contributor for Otaku USA and Anime3000 and currently lives in Saitama, Japan. Feel free to check out his pictures at Flickr or on mroutside.com whenever he finally gets around to learning how to edit a proper website.
Shrill Cries of Summer (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Live-Action)
Review by: Fernando Ramos
Director: Ataru Oikawa
A great while back, I reviewed Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, released in the US as When They Cry, an anime that brought mixed feelings. It was a gimmicky mix of cutesy clichés and shock horror, but compellingly so thanks to its tightly woven narrative and high production values. Perhaps not all too surprisingly, some producers found value in the property for a live-action cash-in to sell to the J-Horror crowd. So, in 2008, we got a live action version, also entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, renamed to Shrill Cries of Summer.
As mentioned earlier, the original franchise takes much of its appeal from the shocking contrasts of the cute girls and the bloody murder that they create or fall victim to. Oh, but Higurashi isn’t about cookie-cutter slasher film murder. No, it’s about cruel, sadistic torture complete with pleas for mercy and maniacal laughter. It’s all about the visuals and the audio drilling into your soul driving you insane until you see the scorpions stinging you to… I digress.
