The last week seems to have hosted an array of good news for gaming fans who also happen to dive into Anime.
This sentence relates particularly well to both ventures of Spiel Anime and Spiel Times. While the former is a newer sister-branch of the latter focusing only on anime, the latter has always been primarily about gaming. Other times, it has been about celebrity deaths and how to win the lottery, wordle hints and stuff as well.
CONTEXT: Spiel Times is the primary platform that has been here since, well, ages. Spiel Anime was born out of the desire to have a complete anime-only platform. Spiel Anime is currently only five months old.
The reason I mention this is simple. The latest week brought us the hefty news of Devil May Cry Anime being turned into a reality.
With NieR Automata Anime, segments of Final Fantasy being animated, and heck even Genshin Impact getting its own show, Devil May Cry seems like the right call for many OG fans.
While we are talking about DMC, you may be wondering if the Anime will be entirely in CGI. My fellow colleague had an interesting take on that, so do read that up here.
Berserk, Vagabond and the Inadaptability of Manga
A panel of Vagabond, image courtesy of Viz Media
Talking about CGI and Anime adaptations inevitably leads me to think about Berserk Anime and how it went down further into the abyss. For the uninitiated, Berserk Anime is the universally accepted fall of the franchise.
While the Manga is revered as an unprecedented masterpiece, disturbingly the Anime quite did not live up to the calling.
This topic also calls me to wonder about a particular manga that has not been adapted into an Anime yet. This is particularly stellar considering Studios and Publishers are usually always on the hunt for what will be the next big Jujutsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer.
Why the masses actually deserve good mature Anime and not some shonen garbage being dumped for fan service
John Snow, image rights belong to HBO
I had Neha, another of my amazing colleagues, research a little and pin down why Vagabond shall never be Animated. And quite indeed she also stumbled upon the same conclusion - the content of Vagabond is not for the faint-hearted.
While typical shonens (even Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen) appease the general newbie weeb, shows like Berserk, Monster, and a potential Vagabond Anime are of another level altogether.
Mature themes and deeper tones of unconventional narratives are not everyone’s cup of tea. But every once in a while such unconventional relatively ‘darker’ shows do end up being the money duck. Take Game of Thrones for example, it did not adhere to any cliche or a typically dumb audience.
Perhaps GoT is one of the indicators that the producers and big capitalist powerhouses need to consider putting out content that seems ‘non-money-grabbing-reaching-to-the-masses’. For all we know, Vagabond could be the next big thing so long as it does not mess up the source material.
Well that’s that from my side, I do hope you enjoy what we have for you this time. Signing off,
- FOR THOSE WHO DARE DREAM
- From the Editor’s Desk
Rhytham Das, Editor-in-Chief, Spiel Anime
A world without Light (Yagami?)
Did you know that Misa Amane, a popular character from the Death Note series, was born on Christmas Day (December 25) and died on Valentine's Day (February 14)?
This coincidence is likely to be intentional, but it is interesting to note that Misa's birth and death dates are both associated with holidays that are traditionally associated with love and affection.
Misa herself was a character who was deeply in love, both with Light Yagami and with the idea of justice. She was willing to sacrifice everything for those she loved, even her own life.
Death Eater?
Did you know that Death, the headmaster and founder of DWMA in Soul Eater, was inspired by Jason Voorhees?
Ohkubo intended to make a frightening yet classy and popular character. He has also stated that he would choose to be Lord Death because of his power.
How Gestures, Quotes and Mannerism of Anime have bled into real life
I asked Rishiraj to lovingly pen his feelings on this topic, and I know I couldn’t have asked anyone better.
"Finding more fallen-out hairs on your pillow, watching your favourite stuffed bread disappear from the convenience store. The accumulation of those little despairs is what makes a person an adult."
- Kento Nanami
DO NOTE: this article is more suited for a more immersed fan of the Anime community, and new fans may have some trouble grasping it. But the basic thing Rishiraj is trying to convey is how the quotes of Anime, certain gestures and mannerisms that would have otherwise been completely apprehensive in reality at one point in time are now being imitated and brought into everyday life.
Are fans becoming delusional and trying to bring their fictional world into reality, and if so, is it a bad thing?
As we grow old, we all start to realize how lame and cringy our "chuunibyou" days were. Our dark past not only haunts us, but it goes further than that. Anime quotes and mannerisms that seem cool for the fandom instead put up a warning sign for all of society to see.
While it is certainly evident that the effect hasn't been all plus ultra, it also hasn't been all "yamero".
The fandom has two faces:
Where all their behaviour is subtle and moulds in perfectly with the normal day-to-day lives of people.
Where all their behaviour is so extravagant, that it's hard not to notice.
But what are these gestures, quotes and mannerisms exactly?
The protagonist always sits in the last corner near the window, but are you doing that too in real life?
Things like going for the right corner of the classroom, preferably with a window [cue in cool protagonist vibe], are very subtle and do no harm.
While things like flapping hands around to seem more cute to others end up being a free pass to get bullied [senpai did notice you, but well...].
This is not where it ends, there are thousands of other ways where they are either very subtle or very flamboyant. These things stack up to form a barrier around the community.
Do such gestures being imitated in reality indicate something negative?
Not only does it seclude the community, but it also hampers the normal growth of an individual in a society.
The individual is illusioned to perceive everything in the world as fantasy, to perceive everything in the world to go according to their whims.
It has grown to such an extent that the phrase, "delulu is the solulu" has become everyone's go-to answer for all their life problems.
Other functioning members of the society look upon the community with disgust, their antics considerably hindering other spaces. To shout the name of whatever they are about to do/attack seems redundant to other people, its only purpose is to disrupt everyone else's private space and time.
While it would be fine to say "I end my turn", in YuGiOh fashion, when playing card games, it is not so fine to say "eeeeeeeee" every time something surprising pops up in the conversation.
All this might remind you of Perona and her Hollow Hollow-no mi, but that's alright.
The quotes may be worth it
Not all apples are ripe. While the fandom's mannerism might sour someone's day, anime quotes on the other hand is bound to make someone's day. From empowering speeches to clear satirical dialogues, everyone agrees that anime has some of the hardest-hitting lines in the history of art.
As awe-inspiring as it is for the fandom, it is equally of note to the other members of the society.
Erwin Smith’s speeches are indeed quite soul-moving
Erwin's speech has amassed such a following, even though many among them have never watched Attack on Titan.
Doflamingo's speech on Justice has been quoted on many occasions but people do not believe that it's from an anime.
Anime has had a diverse effect on society, having flagbearers on both extremes. While it is always easy to see the bad, the good should receive similar praise.
The community has been a medium of motivation for several individuals, getting them up from depression to make them healthy and functioning members of society. It might not be all sunshine, but one appreciates light only when one experiences the dark.
CONCLUDING
I would say this time around this piece was a little more developed than our other pieces in Mugen Mondays, which are almost easy to understand-spoon-fed articles for fans.
Yet part of the reason why such specialised topic-writing is encouraged here at Spiel Anime is primarily because we consider that the audience is not stupid. We acknowledge that there are those who want a place that gives out content that is only and only Anime.
With such dreams, I justify this conclusion with what I said in the beginning, that most money-hungry corporate entities, be it Anime publishers or even content-writing websites, seem to put out content that serves everyone, content that everyone will have a minimum gist of.
Hardly few dare attempt specialised content that requires certain expertise in the field, a certain level of intelligence quotient, and of course, the interest to actually keep on reading, watching, or immersing.
We are Vagabond readers, but we do love Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and other mass-produced content as well. Similarly how we love how easy-go our previous articles were, we want you to appreciate specialised content, although slowly, but surely, from now on as well.
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