Recently, myself and John, a friend and colleague at work, were talking about anime and when we’d each first started actively watching anime. By this, he meant watching anime with the knowledge of what it was. For me, that discounts a good chunk of my childhood as although I’d grown up watching Robotech, it wasn’t until much later that I was able to link my favourite shows to the fact that it was not just another cartoon series.

I think the first active foray into anime and manga for me came while I was at college, working for the campus computer services department, one of the few departments to have access to the Internet in 1997. A classmate of mine that was also working there pointed me in the direction of the SUNET FTP server where I found an anime repository, with pictures, sound bytes and low-res video clips from shows such as 3×3 Eyes, Ah! My Goddess, Bubblegum Crisis, etc.

I downloaded many of those pictures in the time I was there and sometime that year I remember buying my first manga magazine from a store that used to sell old overseas publications by weight. That magazine had an article about mecha and referred to Robotech and Macross. It also mentioned shows like Akira and Plastic Little, and little by little I was drawn into the anime world. For some time, my main focus was on Robotech, recalling with fondness the childhood memories of running home from school to watch it on TV before settling down to chores and homework. Sometime that year, my friend Bruno brought over his VHS tapes of Macross Plus which we watched during breaks in our LAN games one weekend. I think, then, that I fell in love with anime (again).

Later, with access to the Internet, I put more and more pieces of the puzzle together to discover that other childhood favourites had also been anime. Shows like Galaxy Rangers, Saber Rider and Star Sheriffs and way way back in the distant past, I recall watching Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind while visiting somewhere.

However, my first real discovery of anime since the Robotech and Macross craze came with the discovery of the Ghost in the Shell movie in 1998. After that, a colleague of mine, Michelle, let me watch Ninja Scroll and unfortunately, Urotsukid?ji – Legend of the Overfiend, my first experience with the world of ecchi and hentai. I recall being rather shocked at what I’d seen and telling her as much when I returned the VHS cassettes to her the next day. She just smiled and shrugged, telling me that that sort of thing was normal in some anime. Thankfully I learnt that this was not the case and that there were indeed separate categories… though some series tended to border on crossing the lines between them.

I recall finding evidence of a planned TV series and spin-off game called Mission to Avalon, done by Human Code Japan, presenting a space colony cel-shaded anime adventure. I was obsessed with the project, downloading trailers, listening to the music, browsing through screen-shots… I even mailed one of the project artists, Sergio Rosas, sometime ago, when I suddenly saw the site go offline. Sadly, he informed me about the project’s demise and the fact that no further work would be done on it. Truly a pity as it looked as though it could have been quite good.

After that, I recall watching Akira, AD Police, and ultimately, I began collecting the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series and now after a few years I have every DVD except the OVA, the original mangas, the console games and the collectible merchandise, except for one figurine of Motoko Kusanagi, based on her look from the original manga.

In the meantime, friends have introduced me to series such as Trigun, Macross Zero and many more (thanks John, you’re officially my dealer of anime fixes!). I’ve also moved to Johannesburg and gained access to shops like Outer Limits and Animeworx.

Recently, through exposure to the Animax TV channel, I’ve come to see a lot more anime, though admittedly, I’m disappointed with the service the channel provides, considering how disjointed the sequence of the series shown are, let alone the constant repetition.

That said, it’s helped a little with my anime education and has pointed me in the direction of new shows for me to explore, such as Basilisk, Black Lagoon, Eureka Seven, Speedgrapher, Wolf’s Rain, etc.

These in turn have led people like John to take it upon themselves to properly educate me by letting me watch some of their fansubs and boxset collections… such as Burst Angel, Code Geass, Elfen Lied, Gun X Sword, Gundam 00, Hellsing, Kekkaishi, Mai Hime and Mai Otome, Mushishi, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, etc… in the hope that they can get me out of the habit of watching, in their words, badly dubbed versions of good shows, preferring the more purist route of watching the shows in the original Japanese with subtitles.

I hope to do proper reviews of each of them in time, something I’d promised a fellow otaku some time back.

So what is it about anime that makes it so appealing?

Honestly, I think it’s because, as a visual medium, it is truly entertaining and it appeals to a wide and varied audience. And, according respect where respect is due, the Japanese truly are masters of animation, blending stunning matte scenes, action sequences that defy the laws of physics, awesome 3d animation and modelling, and fantastic storylines with some of the most memorable characters I’ve ever seen.

The only thing that doesn’t always grab me is the soundtracks, though composers like Yoko Kanno have gone a long way to change my opinion with their solo work (Macross Plus and Macross Frontier, etc) and their collaborative work (Ghost in the Shell SAC, 2nd Gig and Solid State Society) with the likes of Origa, Ilaria Graziano, Gabriela Robin (though some may argue that Kanno and Robin are one and the same) and Tim Jensen.

Another brilliant composer that has come to my attention is Yuki Kajiura thanks to her work on the Mai Hime and Mai Otome soundtracks. And I’m sure there are many more out there like them.

Let me end on that note for now… More to come later when I have some more time and inspiration.

Update (20/7/2008) : I’ve added some Wikipedia linkage for those interested in looking for more information about the shows and artists mentioned here.

After Friday night’s movie, I pretty much expected the rest of the weekend to be restful and relaxing. Life, however, decided to surprise me in the form of my new housemates taking me out to Gold Reef City for the day on Saturday.

Now bear in mind, I haven’t seen Gold Reef City in probably 21 years… I was still in primary school when I went there with my Mom and her family. And my recollection of the place is dim, except for some events… like me trying to walk out of the mint with a gold bar.

It certainly appears to have changed a lot since then.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Andrew, Gwen and I went on some of the rides (Gwen’s face after the Tower of Terror was both amusing and concerning… the poor girl was quite shaken by the experience) and wandered around the park, experienced the 4D theatre, saw the Gumboot Dancers, tried our hands at winning some prizes at some of the stalls, etc.

We got home around 5pm or so and I had to get ready to go out to Catz Pyjamas in Melville for the joint birthday bash organised by Rozz for herself, Nick and I.

Craig was kind enough to pick me up as my little old VW Beetle was not up to the task, suffering a little with battery issues at present so driving at night becomes quite hair-raising unless you keep your foot on the gas to keep the lights on.

By the time we got there, most of the folks were already there, except for Rozz, Nick, JJ and Vanessa who were stuck in traffic due to some accidents on the way from Pretoria.

From there, the evening just kept on getting better and better. Good food, good company, good times!

And I got spoilt rotten… to the point that I was almost in tears, very much overwhelmed by the generosity and thoughtfulness of my friends.

Gift #1 – From Matthew, Marti and many many others who I still need to thank.

They surprised me with a TomTom ONE XL GPS… Now you have to understand a few things here… I am notoriously bad when it comes to directions. I get lost in my own backyard… And I’m forever getting lost whenever I go to a new place. Sure, I have software on my laptop to try and work out routes, etc but as my friend John recently discovered, the software does not necessarily choose the best or safest route.

However, with this gift comes a new joke… TimTim (thank you, Pieter… you’ve scarred me for life!) has a TomTom…

Gift #2 – From JJ and Vanessa

I’ve always loved swords. From the day my father showed me his grandfather’s cavalry saber (which we sacrilegiously used in the garden to chop up small branches and other such vegetation) to the day when Maarten offered me the chance to learn kenjutsu in exchange for some website work to promote his academy. There is just something awe-inspiring about holding a sword in your hands, feeling it cut through the air. And this applies even moreso to the Japanese katana.

When JJ and Vanessa gave me this long, wrapped box, I wasn’t too sure what was in it, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to open it up to find a beautifully crafted sword. Especially not a recreation of the sword from “Last Samurai”.

It is a truly stunning looking piece.

Back to the party… dinner was great but all in all, I think the best part of the evening was the company. And if the time we left Catz is anything to go by, I’d say everyone got on pretty well. We eventually stumbled out around 12:30am after which Craig and I sat talking at my place until around 4:30am, catching up a little on what has been happening in his life.

Sunday, after trying to catch up on some sleep, was spent relaxing at home, watching the Code Geass anime series I’d gotten from John, reading and listening to music or playing a little Warcraft III now and again to take a break from what I was doing.

It was a good weekend. No, it was a great weekend. But now it’s time to get back to work.

I’m on training tomorrow and Wednesday so I best get some work done today so that I don’t sit with a small mountain of it on Thursday.

Ciao for now.

Between heading back to my normal office after my last day on-site at ABSA and catching up on mail and office news, I met up with Rob, and my other good friends, Pieter, Tania and their daughter, Zania, at Fourways for supper. Supper turned into late night coffee and cakes at another restaurant when the first started hinting we should leave due to them wanting to close and later Rob and I went to go watch “National Treasure 2“.

NT:2 was good. In some ways better than the first, but in hindsight, my reservations about the first may be skewing that judgement.

Saturday, after playing catchup with the folks at home, I got dragged around Northgate by Tarryn, who initially only went there to get some Tupperware. Several hours later, we eventually emerged, Tarryn having bought a new handbag and some clothes. I picked up a ‘Men’s Health’ book on lifestyle change to combat the typical stresses, etc men fall victim too.

Later that evening, Rob and I went to Brightwater Commons and saw “Alien vs Predator 2” after a very decent meal at Scrooges. AvP:2 was… well… crap. Not bad enough to walk out of, but certainly not memorable. The first was infinitely more memorable.

And today, Rob had some more time to kill before flying back to Cape Town, so we went back to Brightwater Commons and paid a visit to AnimeWorX, where I took the plunge and replaced my Ghost in the Shell : Alias figure, that got broken a while back and secondly, indulged in a Mon-Sieur Bome : Fate/Stay Night – Saber figure.

The first was something I was fond of, not only because I own just about every GitS product short of the games, but because it was originally bought for me as a Christmas present by Rozz, and admittedly, I should have taken her advice back then and left it in it’s packaging. Which I intend to do with both new figures. For now at least, or until I have the means of displaying them out of harms way.

The second, is a series I quite enjoyed recently (many thanks to our resident otaku, John-san, for letting me watch it – may your broken ankle heal soon) and I was quite intrigued by the character of Saber, who turns out to be a female incarnation of King Arthur, known there as King Artoria. Again, my fascination with mythology kicked in…

While I don’t count myself as an otaku, I do enjoy my anime and manga, and if I find something that I like, I tend to collect everything I can from the product range.

So far, I’m looking to collect:

• Fate / Stay Night
• Eureka Seven
• Genshiken
• Hellsing
• Battle Angel Alita
• Robotech / Macross
• Last Exile
• Ergo Proxy

with many more to be added in time to come, I’m sure.

For anyone that works in the IT industry, the old saying, “no rest for the wicked” could not be truer… You work your allotted time at work and perhaps a little more than necessary (I know I do, as does Rob and Rozz) and then go home and generally do one of two things… either sit down in front of a PC again to play games or surf the ‘net or try and switch off in front of the TV or some other distraction.

Usually I watch some anime or whatever is playing on the TV for a bit, research a little and maybe update this blog a bit, browse deviantART for new wallpapers or inspiration, then try get an early (or earlier than usual) night, knowing the next morning I need to be up before most people, a) to avoid traffic and b) to get a head start on the day’s tasks.

Lately though, I’ve been doing upgrades on my forums, from phpBB version 2.0.22 to 3.01, fighting with South African latency while uploading a million and one small files to my internationally hosted server, creating backups (just in case, you know!) and trying to puzzle through the documentation to see where I am going wrong…

Or building an old server up into a general workstation for the girls at home to use, as Tarryn is starting her new job soon and will lose her old laptop, and frankly, I’m a little wary of letting anyone other than a work colleague, that I trust, use mine. Last night I managed to get a majority of the work done on the server, but it was painstakingly slow-going as it’s an old Pentium III, with 512MB RAM and two SCSi 20GB drives… Windows XP runs on it… or should I say, it ‘jogs’.

I’ve loaded all the chat programs they could want on there… MSN, GoogleTalk, Yahoo… and most importantly, antivirus. AVG is perhaps not the best, but hell, it works… And I made each of them their own limited privilege profile so they don’t have to stress about anyone else reading their mail from the dating sites they’re so fond of frequenting.

Need to sit down with Tarryn as well, sometime, and teach her Adobe Photoshop. Think the poor girl has jumped into her new job without really knowing what is expected of her… if she’s going to be doing design work, I think she may be in over her head…

Other than that, now that my one set of forums are upgraded, I need to tackle the other one. And then figure out how to integrate all the other php packages  such as phpRaid, etc back into the new boards…

When I will get a chance to play again, I don’t know… we’ll see what happens end of the month. By then things should have settled a bit more. Right now, all I seem to be able to manage is getting home, feeding myself, showering then collapsing onto my bed, watching a few episodes of anime (recently finished “Eureka Seven” and “Fate / Stay Night” and about half way through “Ergo Proxy“) then drifting off into an uneasy sleep, only to wake up a few hours later, feeling like a truck has hit me…

She’s always talking about her 18 month old daughter, Taneka, and I noticed that the only photos she has of her are taken either with her cellphone camera or with a small digital camera.

So, I offered to take some photos of them together, down at a local park in Fourways, around the corner from where we both stay, well, close being a relative term in Johannesburg

I went through 3 spools of film… going to hand them in on Monday and get them scanned to CD.

I must admit that the afternoon reminded me of times with my friend Rob, his daughter, Timeah, who is also my goddaughter. Bouncing around a park or playground, taking photos, laughing with the kids, being a kid at heart myself again.

In some ways, I think I’m living out my Mother’s wishes for a grandchild through these sessions. With my godchildren (I have 3) and the children of those I call friends, I get to capture photos of them the way I would one day hope to do with my own child.

Anyway… on to less somber thoughts…

That afternoon also set the mood for the weekend… I’m house-sitting for another colleague, Matthew, who is away at Kruger Park for his birthday weekend away with family.

It’s been a relaxing time. No noisy housemates. No fights at home. Not having to lock my groceries away because certain people cannot keep their hands to themselves.

So I’ve spent the time watching the Animax channel on DSTv, enjoying some of Matt’s wife’s homemade coffee icecream (to die for, I might add), playing a bit online and trying to understand the though processes of their cats, Storm and Jewel, with no real luck…

Hope everyone had a good weekend as well. Back to work tomorrow.

Gaia Online (Main Site)

Gaia Online Wikipedia Entry

How to best describe Gaia Online?

I think I can sum it up as an anime-themed forum turned web-based MMO.

Why an MMO?

• You have a fairly customizable avatar (even from starting) and can continually kit this paper doll out as you play. You can initially customize the following:
  • Hair style and color
  • Eye style and color
  • Mouth style and size
  • Skin tone
  • Gender
• You accept quests and receive rewards for completing them.
• It has a virtual economy and marketplace.
• It has events “in-game” and it’s own timeline.

Over and above that, it has, what has been called the web’s largest forum, with over a million posts made daily, over a billion posts in total and 2.5 million unique users per month (stats from Wikipedia).

It’s annoyingly cute at times but fun for those times when you just cannot be bothered to log into World of Warcraft or browse your usual websites (whatever those may be…)

2 weeks ago, in the aftermath of seeing all that Anime and Manga at the rAge expo, I placed my order for this DVD:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society – Limited Edition (Steelbook)

3-Disc Collection Featuring 2 DVDs and SSS Original Soundtrack

• Features
  •     Anamorphic Widescreen
  •     Animated Interactive DVD Menus
  •     Japanese & English 5.1 & DTS Audio
  •     English Subtitles
• Extras
  •     Uchikoma Days
  •     Work World File
  •     Anime + Car Design – Designing the Future Car
  •     Making of Tachikoma Robot
  •     English Production Interview
  •     Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (Production I.G) Interview
  •     Storyboard Subtitles

I picked it up during this week and I’m not disappointed. It is everything I’ve come to expect from the GitS:SAC series and more.

And it’s one step closer to completing my little collection. I have all 3 movies now and SAC Season 1. I just need SAC 2nd GIG now and I need to get the relevant Manga and replace my Alias figurine that broke recently during a recent spring cleaning session.

I wonder if I can find a mini Tachikoma to put on my monitor at work? Hmmm…

Sure, it’s not E3 or any of the other overseas gaming conventions… but my word… it’s impressive nonetheless.

The plan for the day was to head through to rAge with Rozz and Nick (Kellia and Ulat from my old Affliction guild) but Rozz ended up going through alone earlier and I followed by about a half-hour… the drive through to Northgate (just up the road from me) was uneventful, until I tried to find parking. 3/4′s of an hour later I eventually gave up on the idea of trying to find parking near the Coca-Cola Dome and parked underground… on the other side of Northgate. My legs and feet are still complaining…

Anyway, I eventually got to the Dome, stood in the queue to get my ticket and started wandering around. I found it rather amusing that the first thing I saw that caught my eye was the female Night Elf Druid statue at the BT Games stand. Clearly I’m more addicted than I thought… though that purple hair does stand out a mile.

Anyway, getting back to my tale… Lo and behold, the first familiar face I run into is my good buddy, Craig, videotaping a presentation about Assassin’s Creed (I want that game so badly, it’s not even funny). Chatted to him for a bit before he headed back to his Xbox 360 stand then resumed my meanderings. Shortly after that I ran into Rozz who then proceeded to act as tour guide for me. We went to go see Louise (a.k.a Chronic) at the Intel stand where she was Tournament Director for the weekend. Poor girl was looking somewhat flustered by the time we got there.

On with the tour… I got to see the new Playstation 3… nothing spectacular in my mind, but still a pretty piece of hardware. The Wii… now that looks cute… some fun looking games. But by far, I think the star of the show was the Xbox 360. Sure it’s been around a bit longer than the other 2 platforms but damn, I have to admit that Microsoft have done a good job on this one. Halo 3, the other big attraction (they even had a Master Chief actor marching around), looked pretty damn good, even though I’m not the biggest fan of FPS games. Transformers caught my eye though…

Let’s see, what else… ah yes, the obligatory expo bag to collect brochures and cards in. Well, mine has a bit more than that in now. I subscribed to Popular Mechanics while at the show, getting the latest issue free and a cap. I got a copy of the new look SA Computer Magazine (SACM now)… and somewhere in there are my entries into several competitions. So if Lady Luck feels like being nice to me, I could walk away with… let’s see… a HP Laptop, the Xbox 360 Elite, a copy of Halo 3, a portable movie player… but who am I kidding… not with my luck.

Ran into some guild mates from Affliction (Sythenia and his lady) and Awakened Guardians (Jakalas, Papillon, Kiteena, Malystra, Serpentza, etc) there as well. We ran around for a bit, looking at all the things we could not afford (Oh to be a rich man!) before they went off and I looked up Rozz again and kept her company for the rest of the afternoon.

Had a look at the AnimeWorX stand as well as they seemed to be hosting a mini-comic con as well. Saw a lot of anime that I would love to get my paws on… but it will have to wait for a bit. However, I think I need to get AWX to book Ghost in the Shell : SAC2 and Solid State Society for me. Was quite amused to see some cosplay going on as well.

Oh, the one negative thing I have to say about the show… the pricing of their drinks and food. R8 a tin seems a bit steep for me, and R8 for bottled water is even worse. Or R30 for a hotdog that is more bread than anything else… the only real value may have been in the pizza’s from the mobile pizza van, but they were so damn slow it was painful. That and the fact that they seemed to screw up more orders than get them right and often the end product was burnt.

All in all, though, it was a good day, which I enjoyed with good friends. I will definitely make a plan to go again next year.

For an insider’s viewpoint on rAge, head on over to Craig’s blog entry.