I’ve been a fan of science fiction ever since I picked up the Ray Bradbury short story “Frost and Fire,” and have enjoyed the genre in its many forms over the years. One thing I like is analyzing influences from one work to another, for example deconstructing the books that inspired Hideki Anno to create his classic Gunbuster ~ Aim for the Top! (namely, Ender’s Game and The Forever War). The barriers that exist between the various sub-genres of science fiction are important, however. While both Britain and Japan often find themselves at the center of intergalactic invasions and other interdimensional phenomenon, we’d all cry fowl if Japan-style giant robots or sentai five-teams started showing up in the Doctor Who universe…though I’d really like to know why the Doctor is eating out of Mio’s shimapan bowl in the picture above. Incidentally, if you’re wondering where the Japanese stand on Doctor Who, sadly the series is not really a thing here, as it was only broadcast on NHK for a few years and never developed that much of a following.
Some thoughts on science fiction and shimapan.
