There are many anime series out there filled with subtlety and grace, like Aoi Hana; a realistic story about what happens when girls fall in love with other girls; the bittersweet drama of Your Lie in April; or the excellent Genji Monogatari anime, the 1000 year old story of the playboy son of a fictional Japanese Emperor and the amazing loves he experiences. Then there are series with no subtlety at all, such as the new fanservice anime Keijo!!!!!!!! about a fictional sport in which athletic women must push each other off floating rafts using only their butts or boobs. In a way it’s a standard sports anime about athletes training to be the best, while on the other hand it’s quite possibly the most over-the-top fanservice since, well, last season, described by a poster to J-List’s Facebook page as “so stupid it’s awesome.” While a show with so much “plot” and “backstory” will always fall flat with some corners of fandom, I’m finding I can really get behind the new show. And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re letting Miyazaki-sensei down a bit…
Recently, we had some friends from Malaysia visit us, and we spent several days showing them around our home prefecture of Gunma, located in the exact center of Japan. We were lucky enough to be in Maebashi during its big annual festival, we made plans to check it out, and enjoyed seeing different groups carrying heavy omikoshi portible Shinto shrines around the city while everyone drank beer and ate food from stalls. While I explained the religious background of the Japanese — the way they’ll usually claim to have no religion even as they embrace the bright colors of Shinto for festivals or baby naming ceremonies then grow more Buddhist later in life — I was aware of how much simple Japan’s religious history is compared to a country like Malaysia, which has to balance Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism. Of the many, many things I love about Japan, the way it treats religion as an important aspect of culture rather than something to fight about, is definitely one of my favorites.
October 14th is Super Sonico’s birthday, and we’ve got some great news for everyone! First, we’ve got the Sonico Dakimakura pillow covers in, with an original image created for us by Tsuji Santa. Even better, we’ve got the last stock of the Sonico Collector’s Edition, with the giant full-body mousepad, though there are only 30 so they’ll go fast. Finally, we’ve got a Sonico contest up, with awesome prizes that you can win!
