Hey, Answerman!

Samurai Ecks vs. Sever

Good morrow to thee, fine connoisseur of anime and manga-related discourse! This is Brian, I write Hey, Answerman! Which is a thing where people send me questions, I answer them, and we all learn a little bit about life, love, and the afterlife.

Or maybe I've just got some questions about weird anime dubs and stuff? All in the eye of the beholder, man.

---

Hi Answerman,

It seems like some manga books are released in England by a different publisher than in America. I don't know if it's still the same company releasing under a different name in a different country, but my main question here is this: Are there any series that ended prematurely in America but continued to be released in English in a different country. There are a few series I want to keep reading but aren't being put out in America anymore. (Aventura) I was hoping there was still a way for me to read it aside from buying it in Japanese and trying to translate it.

Sad to say, but yeah - if scanlations aren't your thing, you're pretty much out of luck unless you can read Japanese.

We'll get to this in the next question, but it's awfully common for certain popular ANIME titles to receive different English dubs and releases outside of the US. It's still a bummer to me that there's a subtitled DVD of Tanoshimi, a publisher with roughly the same relationship with Kodansha as Del Rey. They shuttered in 2009, so they're only option to continue ongoing series was to import books from Del Rey or, later, Kodansha Comics USA.

Of course, this is just a recent phenomenon. In the early days, you'd find all kinds of manga that would be translated and published in English, French, and German that would never find their way to the United States, and vice versa. Space Adventure Cobra. There's a storied history there of weird alternate versions of manga floating about Europe. Now that the internet exists as it does, bookstores are struggling, and tablets are nigh-ubiquitous, those days are pretty much over. With the digital revolution going strong, here's hoping that arbitrary region-restrictions will soon be behind us.

---

Hey Brian!

I have a question about licensing that's been bugging be for a while. It boils down to "what was the deal with Crackle after Media Blasters lost the rights over the series, or did they have it at the same time? Is Media Blasters's dub lost forever? And what's the deal with those two dubs anyway?

A similar thing happened to Saint Seiya; DiC produced their Knight of the FUNimation titles?) How did one version affect (or help) the other?

So, yeah, what's the deal with these "dual licenses" kind of cases?

This is where I strongly urge everyone around who's even remotely interested in weird, alternate dubs of stuff to attend any of fellow ANN contributor Slam Dunk will forever remain a shining trophy of incompetence!

Fortunately or unfortunately, this is also becoming rarer as anime dubs are growing scarcer by the minute. The concept of producing a dub for TV broadcast is practically laughable at this point. There are of course dubs being produced by and for Animax that are still an anomaly, but those are the exception that proves the rule. Dubs are now a luxury. And given that, it's now *highly* unusual for something to have multiple versions out there in the ether.

---

Hey, Answerman, I have a question for you about classic anime and how it differs from classic movies and literature. A classic book or movie is one that has remained relevant past the initial generation that it was created in. A classic is also a work that is currently, mostly beloved, regardless of how popular the work was when it was first made. Lastly, a classic is widely considered to be ‘high-quality’ or at least ‘worthwhile’, since a work that's only ed for being awful can hardly be considered a ‘classic’.

These rules seem to mostly hold true for movies and books, but they do not seem to hold true for anime and manga. With movies and books there is usually a group consensus as to which works are classics and which aren't. Homer's The Odyssey, Casablanca and Charles Dickens Oliver Twist are all classics and rarely does anyone argue that there not, but with anime, there is no real group consensus as to which anime are classics or even if any are classics. Even if an anime fits all the above rules, it will often only be considered classic by a narrow group of fans instead of by the anime community at large. Even the big name anime like Cowboy Bebop* seem to be acknowledged as classics only by people who have both seen the show and enjoyed it, and people who dislike the shows tend to argue that the shows aren't worthy of being called ‘classics’. This doesn't seem to be the case for movies and books. Most people will acknowledge that something like Pride and Prejudice is a classic even if they've never read it and don't really like that type of story.

So my question boils down to this, why are classic anime viewed the way they are by anime fans, especially compared to the way movie and literature fans view their classics.

* You noted recently that Cowboy Bebop came out in 1998 (and therefore wasn't that old) and that young anime fans might have only been 6 or 7 at the time. I was 8 when it came out, I am now 23. I have been an anime fan since I was 10. In other words, today young fans may not have been born until well after Cowboy Bebop was released. I am so sorry.

PEOPLE WHO WERE 8 YEARS OLD IN 1998 ARE NOW 23 YEARS OLD!!! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO TRULY " THE 80'S."

Setting aside the histrionics: I don't think we do ourselves any favors whatsoever when we try to differentiate between what makes a "classic" novel versus what makes a "classic" anime. Is it an enduring piece of culture that still resonates with an audience decades after the author had presumably assumed it would be irrelevant? Then, it's a classic. When otaku probably only barely it. Here in the US, we've got entire episodes committed to memory.

In that way, I don't think it's really any different from how movies, literature, or music has been deemed "classic" throughout the years. Blade Runner started out as a failed big-budget science fiction movie, but it persisted until it became this touchstone of movie fandom, where it is now required viewing for anyone considering the term "film buff." Becoming a "classic" is all about persistence, more than anything. It has to stay in people's minds far longer than any piece of so-called "entertainment" logically should. That's what separates the wheat from the chaff.

---

Rejoice, people who hate my opinions! Now is the time where I *don't* opine, and instead give the floor to you, the readers!

Last week, with a major new crop of anime titles ready for public consumption, I was curious about how y'all manage your time to decide on what to watch, and why! Here's the image file that started all of this:

We'll start with Chantel, who digs into the credits and finds familiarity!

When I look at a new season chart to decide what to follow, I look for well, what looks good. I'm not really one for researching what the directors, music creator and writers have done, but if I recognize some of the bigger names, like Urobochi or Yōko Kanno, that does influence me.

Horrible harems are pretty much spot-able a mile away, and the comedies I generally avoid unless they look mildly intelligent- i.e., Hataraku Maou-sama!. So I try to find the show that'll pull ahead of the rest in quality, though I'm not so good at divining that, so I keep an eye on reviews as things come out. I look for a nice guilty pleasure (reverse harem usually) a bit later on, and then I also give myself something stupid to make fun of on tumblr!

Supplemented with a long-running show, that keeps me tided over.

Joe likes charts, graphs, infographics, and lists:

For me, the first step in figuring out what to watch in season starts with finding a chart of what's coming out in that particular season, usually by going to 4chan's /a/ board or getting a retweet of a chart. Once I've got a chart, I look for adaptations of manga I know people are talking about (especially if they're more positive than negative on it). For this season, that wound up being Majestic Prince, because I can't stand Hirai's character designs. I do a final over the chart, looking at the show descriptions for anything that might be interesting, even though it's not in genres I'd usually watch – Asian Risshiden no Shima Kousaku immediately stood out because of its satirical potential, so I picked that up.

Because I look at the charts months ahead of time, anything I decide to watch from there is usually my end-all, be-all list for the season. Obviously, I drop stuff that I don't think is good after a few episodes, but I rarely pick up stuff when the season starts. But I check out the Preview Guide to see if there are shows that turned out more interesting than their descriptions made them out to be. If the reviews are more positive than negative, I give it a shot – I wouldn't have seen The Devil Is a Part-Timer! otherwise.

Hey, at least Peter is honest about it:

I'm what you could call "What's wrong with the industry today" because what draws me to shows are the cute girls. I'll see promo art with a girl whose design catches my eye and I'll want to check it out. It's like seeing a hot girl in real life. Her appearence catches your interest so you go and strike up a conversation with her. After that is when you learn how deep/shallow she is, or what she's all about, how smart she is, her life story, etc. The girls can draw me in, but the rest of the show has to be entertaining enough to get me to stay. I do try to watch as much as possible, but character designs help with prioritizing.

Oh, and robots. Robots are an instant sell. Cute girls and robots? You couldn't try hard enough to keep me away!

Robert has his hierarchy. On a related note, "The Robert Hierarchy" is either a great title for a novel or a Sundance movie:

The hierarchy as I see it usually goes in this order:

First, I tend to pick out the highly anticipated shows, especially sequels to shows that I have enjoyed in the past. Secondly, if it has a really intriguing plot, or simply just tickles my fancy, I'll likely give it a try. Thirdly, I like to look through the staff of the new shows and see who's done what, naturally, if I like their track record, I'll be more inclined to try the show than not. I usually place this underneath the second one because I kind of have to be lured in to get in depth in it. That being said, the spotlight features that ANN has been making is incredibly helpful and makes it much easier to track down small details.

On the list of things that I would really like to watch, Oreimo 2 is definitely up there, as I'm sure it is for a lot of others as well. I have been excited about a sequel even before the new one was announced and in no way will I miss it.

A close second would be Mushi-Shi, one of my most favorite shows of all time. The sound direction is being picked up by Starchild, whom have a track record longer than time itself which is a definite plus.

As far as the random shows that I'll probably check out for S&Gs goes, I'll probably try Hataraku Maou-sama!, Attack on Titan, Red Data Girl, and maybe if I'm particularly bored, I'll try the "Hentai" Prince and the Stoney Cat.

I actually might have enough free time to watch every show if I wanted, but I don't see the point in subjecting myself to that kind of torture.

We round things out with frequent contributor Rednal:

I have a very simple and straightforward way of selecting which shows to watch: I read the summaries, and on occasion I glance through the list of people working on it to see if there's anyone particularly interesting. I mean, if someone like Gen Urobuchi is working on something, it's more likely to be worth my time regardless of what else I know about the series. Even if it's something I don't usually watch.

One thing I've realized over the years is that experience is very helpful. For example, if I notice that a series is an Action/Romantic Comedy based on a Light Novel series from Japan, I'm -probably- going to enjoy it about the same as I've enjoyed other shows of the same type. There are some genres I'm simply not interested in, so I on those, but I do tend to give most shows a reasonable chance. The odd recommendation from friends comes into play, too.

I've seen enough anime over the years to have gotten a pretty good sense of what I'll enjoy and what I won't based on minimal information. They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but let's face it, some stuff is so formulaic that you don't really -need- to look at the cover to know whether or not you'll enjoy it.

My only regret is that so many of the shows I like most have more to the story back in Japan that we're unlikely to ever get licensed. It's very awkward being a fan of something while knowing the story's going to be incomplete...

And that's all the comments! But next week, speaking of things from the Spring Season, there was one specific title that divided fans pretty cleanly in half, which inspired me to throw this question together!

Now you've got this week's question, and it's time to get answerin'.

For those of you new to Hey, Answerfans!, I'll explain the concept.

Believe it or not, I'm genuinely curious what you think.

That's right; as much as I love the sound of my own voice, I do love to listen to what other people have to say on a subject. I'm finding that over the last few years, the attitudes, reasoning and logic that today's anime fans use eludes, confuses or astounds me; I have so many questions for you, and I'm dying to hear what you have to say in response.

Welcome to Hey, Answerfans!

Basically, we're turning the tables. Each week I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to email me your answer. Be as honest as you can. I'm looking for good answers; not answers I agree with or approve of, but good, thoughtful answers. People feel ionately about these subjects and I'd like to see that in the responses I get. I'll post the best answers I get, and maybe some of the crappy ones. Sometimes there may only be one or two good ones; sometimes five or more. It all depends on what I get in my inbox! Got it? Pretty simple, right? Start writing those answers and email them to answerman [at] animenewsnetwork dot com.

We do have a few simple ground rules to start with.

Things To Do:

* Be coherent.
* Be thoughtful.
* Be ionate.
* Write as much or as little as you feel you need to to get your point across in the best possible way.

Things Not To Do:

* Respond when the question doesn't apply to you. For instance, if your email response starts with "Well, I don't do whatever you're asking about in the question... " then I'm going to stop reading right there and hit delete.

* Be unnecessarily rude or use a lot of foul language.
* Go off-topic.

Thanks for the fun times once again, people! Don't forget that YOU, TOO can contribute a question or Answerfans response by sending an email along to answerman(at!)animenewsnetwork.filmscomplets.org! Until we meet again, friends!