Animation
Sakura-con Plays Matchmaker
Maybe not me personally since, as a member of the press, one must keep an arm’s length in these situations–or maybe I’m just no Don Juan–but however you look at it, Sakura-con spared no expense finding ways to marry off the masses of single anime fans at their convention. The first night hosted a panel called “How to Talk to Girls,” which included some examples of what not to say from popular anime. Later that night there were waltzing lessons and a grand masquerade ball at which people actually danced. I might have expected something more like that one dance-less
Anime is for Feminists, I Think: Part 2
Just before PAX, we took a look at Kino no Tabi and its place among the few anime that could be deemed feminist. We concluded with the promise of violence–a promise I fully intend to keep as this week we take a look at Kanabe Mamoru’s Elfen Lied, a brilliantly violent series based on the manga by Okamoto Lynn that is either the most profound or most offensive feminist statement in anime. A bit of plot summary can be found in my Elfen entry on underappreciated anime. For our purposes here, we’ll dive right in.