Sunday, November 30, 2008

On Animal Crossing and Life, the Universe, and Everything

So I've found myself rather engaged in the new Animal Crossing game for Wii.  If you've read any reviews, you know that it's pretty much the DS game with a few new shinies, but I still find it fun.  Such being the case, I've been thinking about the nature of its appeal and what the game says about life in general.

Okay ... before you give me that look for associating Animal Crossing with the meaning of life, hear me out.  Animal Crossing, for any who don't know, is a Nintendo-developed life game.  As in, a game in which you live life.  The town in which you find yourself is filled with animal people to keep you company, and via WiFi, you can always go visit one of your friends in his/her town.

But playing AC makes you ask an important question: "What's the point?"  No, I'm not talking in a "meaning of life" sense (yet) but more of a "goal of the game" sense.  What is the goal of life in AC?  In the end, the point is to get money so you can have a nice home, nice stuff, and a nice town.  That's the point.  That's what it all comes down to.

Now comes the transition from virtual to real.  If that is the point of the game, what does that say about the game designer's view of real life?  If the game is (loosely) based on real life, are the goals of the game seen as the same goals of real life?  It scares me to think it, but I can only conclude that the game more or less reflects the outlook of the one who designed it.  And that being the case, how sad is that?  How sad is a life without purpose?

So then, is life without purpose?  Or is the purpose of life simply to get as much stuff as you can?  Is it to make your town a better place by planting trees and building bridges?  As a Christian, I can answer these questions with a resounding "no," but at the same time, I know there are people who think along these lines.  Perhaps money is not the ultimate goal, but rather it's relationships.  Perhaps it's living according to a moral code.  Perhaps it's notoriety.  Whatever it is, ultimately it amounts to nothing, just as the bells (the currency) of Animal Crossing ultimately count for nothing.

But my musings didn't end there.  I thought of the AC the game.  Why is the ultimate goal to get money and make your town better?  Because the game designer made it so.  Since the game designer created the world of AC, he got to define the parameters for success, as well as set up the word to give opportunity to players for achieving success.  AC is designed so that players driven to make money succeed at the game, while players who don't have that drive don't progress as well.

In this way, AC is more or less the same as the real world.  For the real world, too, has a Creator.  And as that Creator, he has defined the parameters for success: trusting in him, and consequently obeying his commands.  And he has set up the world so that it presents opportunities for success.  And so life has a purpose - faith in Christ - as outlined by the Creator.

And that is one thing that Christianity has to offer the rest of the world: purpose.  We know the Designer.  He's revealed how he's set everything up.  Rather than trying to invent our own purpose, we follow the purpose around which the world was made.

Quite a lot to think about from a silly animal game from Nintendo.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Times, They Are A-Changin'

Today (or I suppose yesterday) marks a huge shift in anime here in America.  Dattebayo has announced that it will DROP Naruto Shippuuden, effective January 15th.  (You can read the press release here.)  The long-time-Naruto fansubbing group has decided to do this because Viz will be offering subbed versions of Shippuuden streamed for free on their website only a week after the show airs in Japan.  Also, Crunchyroll will be offering streamed versions of Shippuuden for a small fee almost immediately after the airing in Japan.  This is huge and marks a turning point in how anime is done here in America.

I have friends that have been into anime since the days of copied VHS fansubs, but I got into fansubbed anime right on the tail end of the last big shift: the shift to internet distribution with the advent of broadband.  When I started downloading fansubs, the majority of internet connections were still not broadband, but the change was occurring rather rapidly.  Within a few years, the change was complete - most people had broadband internet connections.  With this shift, anime fansubs shifted, too.  The primary mode of distribution became the internet.  Quality shot up.  When I began downloading fansubs, 320x240 was the typical resolution.  With broadband, this went up to 640x480 and beyond.  Distribution methods shifted from KaZaA and LimeWire to Bittorrent.  Fansubs became quicker and of higher-quality with regards to translations and typesetting and karaokes for the OP and ED.  Broadband refined the fansub to the point where many releases rivaled professional DVD quality.

But now the wheel has turned again.  Fansubbed anime addressed the consumer demand for high quality subtitled episodes released mere hours after airing in Japan - all downloadable (or at least viewable) for free.  And the anime industry has now responded.  It began with a few peripheral series.  I first noticed Hulu had streaming episodes of SquareEnix's new series Shikabane Hime Aka almost synchronous with its airing in Japan.  The series seems to have been licensed in America nearly at the same time as in Japan.  But this was a new series, not a well-established one with a rich history of fansubs.  Now with Naruto, the mainstream is changing over as well.  American distribution companies have learned to harness the same broadband that brought about high-quality fansubs in order to compete with those same fansubs.

What does this mean for the future of anime fans in America?  For fansubs in general?  Will the fansubbing community step aside or will they compete?  What will the ability to only stream new releases mean for anime DVD sales?  What will become of fans like myself who prefer to download a file and then watch it, rather than stream?  I don't have the answers.  I merely am pointing out that this is history in the making for the anime community.  We are at a turning point, and it will be interesting to see how this will all turn out.

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Long-Awaited (Maybe) Anime Update!

Yeah, I promised this two weeks ago, but never came through ... until today!  Yesterday after church and most of today I had plenty of time to do some catch-up on new anime episodes.  There are still a few series I haven't gotten to watch at all, and still others that I haven't had time to follow up on.  BUT!  I made some headway today.  And now I'll report my findings:

Follow-up on Hyakko!
This one looked promising.  It really did!  The first episode had lots of fun character interaction and situation comedy.  Taking four very different personalities and getting them lost in a huge school was brilliant.  Why, oh why did they not stick to this for the next two episodes?!  Episode 2 focuses on the group of four trying to find a club, but REALLY only focuses on Torako and Tatsuki - the strong personalities - facing off.  The third episode keeps the focus on Torako and some new, strange characters, while keeping the other three of the original four on the periphery.  Without the character-driven aspect, this show just doesn't have the same charm.  I'll follow it for a few more episodes, but if it can't turn it around by then and recapture the fun of the first episode ... I don't know if even Hirano Aya can keep me coming back.

Bottom Line: This show has lost its magic after the first episode.  Whether it can get it back is anyone's guess.

Follow-up on Toradora!
This series surprised me.  The first episode was looking pretty generic, but a catchy opening and a bit of character development has done wonders for this series.  (I find that a catchy opening really helps a series.  It can be the most mundane thing in the world, but a catchy opening will keep me interested at least long enough for the show itself to become interesting.  And that's what's happened here.)  In many ways, the show reminds me a bit of School Rumble (Horie Yui aside).  Just like in Sukuran, the comedy is driven by main characters who can't manage to express their feelings and the awkward situations they end up finding themselves in.  As in Sukuran, the love interests are pretty generic, but even that adds a bit of humor to the whole situation.  The dynamic is different, though, since Taiga and Ryuuji are at the same time developing their own relationship, albeit not a romantic one.  So far, nothing's been quite as over-the-top as Sukuran, but that's probably okay for this series.

Bottom line: This one's actually pretty funny thanks to interesting characters, good use of situational comedy, and, of course, a catchy opening.  I'll be trying to keep on this one.

Follow-up on Casshern Sins:
So, I'll be honest.  I didn't know when I started watching this that it was a remake of an older anime - that certainly explains the stylistic choices made in its production.  From what I understand, though, the story is vastly different this time around: much much darker than the original.  And I've got to say.  It works.  As each episode progresses, we learn a bit more about what it was that actually happened between Casshern and Luna to create the massive ruin that is plaguing all of robotkind.  Also developing is Casshern's own understanding of himself and of the "sin" that he has committed.  It is interesting that the story is told almost entirely from the perspective of a race of robots who we learn subjugated humanity.  From the robot's perspective, this is the end of the world.  But one wonders how the humans (other than the one rogue we've met) view the ruin.  In any case, the show has already begun to confront the themes of dealing with death and sin, as well as the pain of having to live on in that sin while everyone else must suffer the consequences.  It should go without saying that such themes are an excellent entry point for some Gospel proclamation.  This show has potential to engage people and make them confront and deal with the emptiness of the real world reflected in this tale of fiction.  Very, very exciting, this one.  I'll be watching and following it closely, and depending on how it proceeds, perhaps even do a feature on its usefulness in understanding Japanese evangelism.

Bottom Line: This one doesn't pull any punches.  The themes are engaged head-on.  Death, dying, and guilt are all waiting to be dealt with.  It should be fun to see how Casshern does so.

Follow-up on Kannagi:
Here was another one that kinda looked like it was heading one direction, but then chose a more interesting path.  Certainly, the "attractive girl suddenly living in my house" aspect has not been dropped, but the focus has begun to shift.  It has begun to shift towards a plot development deeply tied to a Shinto religious outlook.  The problem can be summed up with the idea that: "gods are only gods when they are worshipped."  To be honest, this statement alone deserves its own feature post, and likely will get one, but for now, suffice to say that this outlook seems that it will drive the rest of the series.  Nagi, who, if you remember, is a god of the land who inhabited a sacred tree until it was cut down, is losing her divinity.  Why?  Because her tree has been cut down and no one remembers her any longer.  Solution?  Find a way for people to worship you.  The method that has been mentioned (and likely will be tried, if the opening is any indication) is, ironically, to become an idol.  A Shinto god ... becoming an idol.  Brilliant!  This intelligent idea, combined once again with some interesting characters (notice a theme here?) make this show look like it'll be an interesting one to watch.  At the very least, the concepts surrounding the nature of divinity will keep me watching for a while.

Bottom Line: Good characters, a refreshing plot twist with a touch of irony, religious content, and a catchy OP make this one to follow this season.

Well, I'm afraid that's it for now.  Not enough hours in the day to watch all the anime I need to be caught up, but oh well.  What you gonna do.

Oh, and just a reminder, since tomorrow is election day here in America: GO VOTE!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

A Short Update - More to Come Tomorrow

So ... I haven't really posted in a while.  This is not because I've not had time to post, but more due to the face that I haven't had much time to watch new anime.  With my job, a computer failure, and keeping up with old anime, I just haven't had much time till today.  So, I intend to give you the short version tonight, and then watch more and do the long version tomorrow.  So here's the short version:

Casshern Sins: Apparently a remake - still quite interesting.

Toradora!: Catchy opening + 2nd episode = better than I expected for this show.

Hyakko: Less focus on characters and more on goofball situations = not as interesting as expected.

Detective Conan Movie 12: It's another Conan movie, and better than some, but a bit slower than it should've been.  Still a good movie.

Look forward to the long version and more tomorrow!