Your gracious hosts bitmap and Dez answer your questions! We are not affiliated with AnimeNation at all! (Even if bitmap's name is John...) (We were planning on writing on the third episode of Twin Angel proper, but a certain aniblogger hit us up with a question in our inbox, and we couldn't help but answer! Unfortunately, this meant deleting our preliminary 1000-word draft consisting mostly of the word "Kugyuuuu". What a shame!)   Question: Hey Dez and bitmap, I've been noticing a worrying trend these days. This summer, there is a new anime called "Thief Angels Twin Angel" which I just find very distasteful. It's full of fan-service, clichés, and worst of all, the characters are all "moé". The main characters are both 15-year-old girls—that's gross! What ever happened to classy, respectable sex objects in anime like Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop? Also, the mecha designs are terrible. I'm worried that soon all anime will look like Thief Angels Twin Angel. Do you think there's any hope?   Answer: As you may know, our opinions on anime are respected throughout the anime community, and we believe that a large reason for this is our rare enthusiasm for all different types of anime. From the passionate struggles of mecha protagonists to the gruesome twists of horror anime, and even in the juvenile sex-laced antics of the latest romantic comedies, we believe that there is great enjoyment to be found in all sub-genres of the medium. Of course, we manage to watch all of these series while still maintaining the excellent standards that allow us to best evaluate shows as objectively as possible. This approach we take to anime is drastically different from the average fan's, who might think that a streak of shows that don't appeal to him means that the overall quality of anime is decreasing. We've heard from many doomsayers predicting the end of anime through our long history as otaku, but our experienced selves know better than to lend these scaremongers an ear. And of course, to this day, none of these predictions have been accurate; anime is as brilliant and captivating as it ever was, if you know where to look. In our eyes, Mysterious Thief Twin Angel (Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel) is no exception to the idea that there is no show without inherent value. But perhaps to understand better where Twin Angel is coming from, a brief history of the pedigree of the franchise is required. Mysterious Thief Twin Angel was originally a franchise for pachinko slot machines. It seems that anime producers are increasingly adapting these "moé slot machine" properties into full-fledged shows; other shows that hail from these franchises in recent years include Rio: Rainbow Gate, Battle Girls: Time Paradox (Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox), Yoshimune, and Umi Monogatari: Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto. Interestingly enough, anime properties have also made the reverse leap, and both pachinko and slot machines based on popular shows now reside in the many gambling parlors of Japan; among them are Galaxy Angel, Tokimeki Memorial, Nurse Witch Komugi, Rose of Versailles, Ranma 1/2, Speed Racer, Kaiji, When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), and of course, the ubiquitous Neon Genesis Evangelion. As for the topic at hand, the idea of strong and classy women, or sex objects, in anime being replaced by underaged waifs has little basis in reality. It certainly is true that, at a cursory glance, recent seasons seem like they are saturated with shows primarily featuring young and frail female characters that pander to the hardcore otaku and "lolicon" audience; some that have stood out in the past year include Shukufuku no Campanella, Strike Witches, Mitsudomoe, MM!, Ore no Imouto, Squid Girl, KissxSis, Milky Holmes, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Yumekui Merry, Gosick, Is This a Zombie?, Dragon Crisis!, Dog Days, My Ordinary Life (Nichijou), A-Channel, Softenni, Astalotte no Omocha!, Aria the Scarlet Ammo, and [C]. Even this season is full of such shows immediately recognizable as "moé" shows, such as Double-J, Ro-Kyu-Bu!, Kami-sama no Memo-chou, Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth (Ikoku Meiro no Croisée), Yuru Yuri, Bunny Drop, A Dark Rabbit has Seven Lives (Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi), and Dantalian no Shoka. But to say that this means the death of strong-willed female sexual interests is a baseless, reactionary stance, seeing as the past year has given viewers many series featuring strong, sexy women such as High School of The Dead, Manyuu Hikenchou, Occult Academy, Tiger & Bunny, Shiki, The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, Qwaser of Stigmata, Kamisama Dolls, Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector, Freezing, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, and Star Driver. The women in these shows are just as charming and alluring as the Fujiko Mines and Lum Invaders of yesteryear; this is one character archetype that is sure to stay its welcome for many more generations of anime fans to enjoy. So in conclusion, no, moé characters are not a direct threat to classic female characters, empowered yet sensuous. It is all too easy to look at the shows that are currently airing and foresee the end of anime as we know it; however, we must always keep in mind our biases in favor of earlier shows. Mediocre shows come and go; this has been true in the past, and still holds today. Anime fans simply are highly passionate individuals, easily led to become defensive; this, combined with their natural tendency for pessimism and a penchant for excessive nostalgia, leads to flawed assessments about anime based on sweeping generalizations. The key is to relish the great shows—the true gems of the medium—when they come, but also to sit back, relax, and enjoy the other shows for what they are. After all, anime is supposed to be fun! How easy it is to forget this simple fact. Permalink | Leave a comment  »
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