I continue to sample the (more than 30!) currently airing anime series in order to pick the most interesting ones and report on them to you here. One show I was impressed is Re:Creators, which answers the age-old question, what would happen if your favorite anime characters came out of their 2D world and into our 3D one? That’s the premise of the show: due to a malfunctioning iPad, several anime, game and light novel characters find themselves in modern Tokyo with a high school student named Sota, where they do battle with each other and come to understand the ways in which our physical world is different from theirs. (For example, magical girls have to learn that in this world, injury and destruction of buildings happen when you fight using magic.) It’s quite a good show, with a high budget and very good visuals, plus a villain wearing a cool military uniform. I liked the episode where the main heroine meets the writer who created her, and her character designer, who apologizes for not designing her to be stronger. It’s kind of anime’s answer to Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, which features characters going on a quest to meet their Creator (the writer himself), or the programs in Tron having a religion about the Users who programmed them. In keeping with recent industry trends, the series is being funded by Amazon, streaming exclusively on their video streaming platform. You should give Re:Creators a try!
Technology and society change very quickly these days — a few months ago in a Los Angeles hotel I saw my first-ever robot, casually delivering something to a room on a floor above mine — and every few months it seems new businesses spring up in response to these changes. Since it’s hard to find time to date in busy Japan, a lot of people turn to 婚活 kon-katsu, or “marriage activities” including matchmaking firms that help them find the right partner without all the hard work. Recently I saw a smart new company in Akihabara called ToraCon that puts on otaku-friendly social events for marriage-minded people who love anime, manga, and video games — they even have discounts for doujinshi artists and other creators. While companies like this might be a positive way for people to find happiness, some other new business are facepalm-inducing. One “Happy Life Appeal Service” will dispatch fake friends to you so you can take selfies with them for posting on social media, so your friends will think you’re a riaju (short for real life jujitsu or someone leading a happy, fulfilled life).
J-List has a new service for our customers: the J-List Anonymous Shipping Service for onaholes, which provides an additional layer of privacy and security for you. Our dedicated packing staff will take responsibility to open your item(s) and repack them in a secure generic inner package, discarding the outer box. Great for customers in certain countries! So, which waifu(s) will you order first?
