Do you live in the Los Angeles area? If so we hope to see you at the upcoming Anime Impulse convention Jan 14-15. J-List will be there, and I will, too!
One reason I believe anime became so popular around the world is that it’s a medium that’s free to tell dramatic stories involving violence, death, love and even sex, which was a big change over the days when American cartoons were overseen by parental watchdog groups to ensure they contained only “wholesome values.” While anime has always been well stocked with stories about giant robots, transforming magical girls and sports heroes, there’s always been the ecchi side too. The modern “hentai” genre began taking shape in the mid 80s with the classic Cream Lemon, a series of loosely related stories created by the top creative talent of the day, directors and animators and character designers who also worked on Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross, and other mainstream shows. While Akira, Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing were bringing mainstream anime to fans around the world, ecchi titles like Urotsukidoji/Legend of the Overfiend, La Blue Girl and Bible Black were introducing the steamy side of animation. While Japanese know their popular culture is celebrated in the world, they’re generally unaware that many people associate Japan with “naughty tentacles.”
One anime I started following is Demi-chan to Kataritai, or Interviews with Monster Girls in English. It’s about a world in which monster girls like vampires, succubuses, dullahans (headless beings) and yuki onna (the “snow women” from Japanese folklore) live alongside us in the real world, and a high school teacher who ends up having several at his school. He’s interested in these mysterious beings, and asks a cute “vampire-chan” named Hikari to tell him about what her life is like. It’s quite similar to the Flying Witch anime a few seasons ago: a pleasant feel-good show about an alternate version of our world, without a lot of story or action, which is somehow soothing to watch nevertheless. It’s worth checking out!
We’ve got great news: J-List is having a big sale on all 2017 anime, art, traditional photo, and JAV calendars, with reduced prices on all our stock. We’ve still got great offerings for you, from Re:Zero to Cardcaptor Sakura, but they’re selling out fast.
