The Otakusphere: Pacing problems, cultural literacy and the evil that is Bandai Visual

So I'm back with another roundup on my thoughts on some of the big posts I've come across. Or at least posts that I thought were important. Well... maybe important is to big of a word. Perhaps, interesting?

Anyways, lets get on with it.

To be fair, I've had far away and no where bookmarked for a long time, but after reading this treatise on cultural literacy, I'll definitely be checking back more often. I'm kind of torn on the whole thing though. To be fair, I've always been fascinated with how groups define themselves. Although I do have a sense the next post is going to contain references of how we as a subculture create our own myths and then create an in-group/out-group dynamic.

Also, it seems that reddit has an anime section. This seems like an awesome way to both build the community (if you're one of those people who believes in community), or just get more hits on your blog (if you're an attention starved blogger like um... yeah anyways.)

Only the Bitch Knows had a pretty fascinating post on Shigofumi (and Bandai Visual's release on it). The first part brought up an interesting point about pacing, stating that slower shows are more complex. It's not something I really agree with. I think slower shows have more of a chance for interpersonal drama and reflection, but if dot Hack is a horribly complex show, then I'll stick to my "mecha-porn fests" (as Owen called them in this post)

All of that said, the real meat of the post revolved around Bandai Visual's release of the show. Now in all fairness, I'm still not a fan of the idea of "buying to support the industry". I'm a much bigger fan of the idea of "buying because you enjoy the show." And while I don't really like BV's pricing structure, I have to say "not buying to punish the company" isn't a really sound idea either.

And to finish it all off a man that needs no introduction, Owen S. wrote a really long diatribe on true tears. Now I haven't seen the show. I don't really have any intention of seeing the show. I'm still trying to catch up so that I'm even with all the people who've seen all of these show, and am a bit concerned about talking about stuff that is two or so years out of date.

That said, he made an interesting distinction about eliminating taste from judging whether a series is good or not good. Now since I agree that you have to take taste into account, I don't think it's a factor that can be eliminated because on some level you have to make a judgment about whether you think a show went far enough, did enough, was dramatic enough.

And that in the end is all personal taste.

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