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Category: Anime Industry

Anime community 0

Reflecting on the KyoAni Arson Massacre

In my 20+ years of being an anime fan, the thought of a twisted individual committing mass murder against those within the have anime industry never crossed my mind.  Anime studios are known to receive death threats from disgruntled fans for whatever reason. Studios dismiss threats because those who send them never follow through with them. They are treated as people who talk a big action but never follow through.  Thus, (and sadly) death threats aren’t taken as seriously as they should within the industry at times.

Until recently.

On July 18th, 2019 around early morning at the Kyoto Animation studio, 33 lives – mostly young people who not only just got their start in the anime industry,  but in life in general – were senselessly taken from the world.  Their stories, wisdom, ideas, and creativity for the anime industry will never to be brought to life for the world to see – because of one angry disgusting man whom decided to end their lives. Buildings can be recovered and restored, yes.  Alas, we can not recover nor restored the talented lives that were lost.

It’s reported that the murderer was angry at Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) because they stolen something from him.  It’s rumor that what was stolen from him was a light novel idea that KyoAni allegedly rejected and used said idea for one of their anime production.  Out of anger, he broke into the main studio, pour gasoline on not only around the entrance of the building (to prevent people to escape the building) as well as inside it, but on his victims.

Even if KyoAni did steal this man’s novel idea, it is no reason for him to commit murder — let alone mass murder — through such inhumane means of turning a beloved animation studio into a death trap; burning people to death in the process.  As a creative person, I understand the rage of having people steal your ideas/works and claiming them as their own.  I would be livid if somebody stole my works and gain something from it.  I even admit that I would  go as far as to cause physical harm against a person if they stole my works. But, to commit (mass) murder over something I could prove was mines or creative a better version of it is maddening and illogical.

What was so valuable about that horrible man’s work that he had to take so many lives over it?

Is the love for one’s own art that extreme that people should be murdered over it?

 -Benjamin Snow

Anime Industry 1

Kyoto Animation Arson Attack: 30+ Injured And Multiple Fatalities Reported

Multiple people confirmed dead and 30+ injured at famous Kyoko animation studio from alleged arson attack. According to reports, police captured and arrested a man in his 40s who admitted to police he used a liquid accelerate to start the fire.

FROM ANIME NEWS NETWORK: “According to a report by The Kyoto Shimbun newspaper, nearby residents heard an explosion on the first floor of the building. NHK also quoted a man who supposedly heard an explosion in the building at around 10:30 a.m. JST, after which a fire erupted in the building’s second and third floor.” Kyoto Animation is an animation studio and light novel publisher founded in 1981.

Kyoto Animation is most famous for producing popular series and movies such as “Full Metal Panic!”, “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”, “Clanned”, “Free!” and “A Silent Voice”.

My Personal Thoughts: Anime — and entertainment in general — isn’t that serious to the point that you have to commit arson and murder. If you’re gonna kill somebody, kill them because they harmed/killed a family member or they’re threatening to kill/harm you. Don’t lose your freedom and endanger others over some damn cartoons.

SOURCES:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190718_31/
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2019-07-17/kyoto-police-multiple-deaths-confirmed-in-kyoto-animation-fire/.149101

 

Anime Industry 7

Pirating Does NOT Hurt the Anime Industry

On August 11th, 2017, YouTube anime vlogger Digibro uploaded Where Should We Watch Anime?, a video where he explores four seperate anime streaming services: Crunchyroll, Amazon Strike, Netflix, and the infamous illegal site “KissAnime”. Digibro states that while he does use Crunchhyroll to view anime and  support the industry, he  also uses KissAnime, but only as a last resort (if there’s no legal alternate to view an anime, if the legal services offers a worse product than the illegal websites, etc.)

Despite his statement (and because anime fans lack comprehension skills), the anime community misinterpreted his words; believing he was  promoting the illegal sites. This resulted in his his follow up video Utter Morons ForneverWorld & Half of Anitwitter Totally Miss the Point Of My Streaming Video where he states once again, that he only uses the illegal streaming services if the legal ones are offering a worse product than the legal websites or if he can not find a legal alternate to view an anime.

Both backlash and support for Digibro’s views followed.  Many were furious at him for “suggesting” the usage of illegal websites.  Others praised and understood Digibro’s stance.  Those who supported his views brought up that the anime industry doesn’t make enough money off Blu-Ray and DVDs sales, that the industry’s main profits come from secondary sources of income (which he also states in the follow up video) as well as bringing brought up how major studios take most of the profits from the different income sources and not paying their artists a fair, livable wage. The  anime fans opposing piracy rebuttal; to them,  every dollar counts in supporting the the industry.

These videos breathed new life into an age old controversial topic within the community: Does pirating anime hurt the industry?

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As someone who keeps it real, it’s my duty to tell you how I feel about this subject it is without holding back. From researching the topic, reading  articles, and watching anime vloggers of both sides of the argument,  I don’t think pirating hurts the industry.   I do  get where opposing fans are coming from with their anti-piracy stance, but again, I don’t feel that piracy does harm to the industry.

From my research, I discovered how the anime industry create captial in the modern era outside of Blu-Ray and DVD sales. Aninews’ video The Data Behind Digibro’s Stance on Anime Streaming: Legal vs. Illegal, breaks down how legal streaming services fund the industry through bidding for the rights to stream an anime on their services (the link to the video is listed in the cited source section).

When a streaming company wins the rights to a show, they’ll have to pay the licensing company (such as Aniplex)  the cost of each episode, royalties, and licensing fees.  Once paid, the licensing company takes their cut of the the money and split the rest up with everyone involved in the production of the anime.  This meansthat regardless if you use an illegal  streaming services or not, the animation companies have already received their money for the shows the provided to the streaming services.

At worst, the streaming companies will operate on a lost from ad revenue due to not breaking even or beyond from piracy.  Therefore, the company will have to operate at a loss – forcing them to reduce the number of series to buy off the licensing company for the upcoming season.

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Another way anime studios make money is through product placement. Some industries in Japan (such as the automotive and food  industries) will reach out to animation studios and offer to pay thousands or millions of dollars for the show to promote their product or brand.  For example: Sunrise 2006’s anime Code Geass, famously promoted the pizza brand Pizza Hut in many episodes due to a deal between both companies.  This provided Sunrise extra capital for their pockets. Misty Chroenexia’s video Piracy is NOT Killing The Anime Industry explains this further in depth (the URL to the video is listed below in the source section).

Finally, companies make extra capital from merchandising such as toys, video games, figurines, body pillows, drama CDs, and  music soundtracks.  Bigger companies such, as A-1 Pictures, are linked to major companies: giving them access to extra funds. Miki Sim’s article How The Anime Industry Earns Money further explains this:

      ‘A few larger anime studios, such as A-1 Picture, actually sits within a larger entertainment ecosystem. They are linked to record companies, such as Sony Music Entertainment Japan. With the popularity of anime OPs drive the sales of anisong singles and albums. That is another reason why the anisong industry is becoming larger than J-Pop too.’

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In short: Some studios are large enough to use high amounts of capital thanks to a connection with a thanks in part of another major company or brand.

What does all of this means for me?  Well, if companies are making profits through other sources of income, have already received money from  streaming websites such as Netflix and Amazon ,  and have connections to larger companies such as Sony (who have diverse income thanks to their products and investments) for extra cash, then me pirating their shows does not hurt them at all.

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Admittedly, I do have an active Crunchy Roll subscription to support the industry. Crunchy Roll is wonderful and they provided me with good services.  If Crunchy Roll has a show I want to watch then  I will view it on there as oppose to say KissAnime.  Now, if they do not have a show I want to see and there is no legal alternate available (that I like), then I’ll use an illegal streaming site.

This brings me to my next point.

I’m going to keep this all the way real: It’s the fault of the Japanese animation studios for not releasing their new shows outside of Japan (where there is a market for those show, niche or otherwise) to a legal service in North America (or any other international regions). Consequently, this forces fans to pirate shows that they cannot access legally because the Japanese businesses do not want to adapt to the current trend of anime viewership globally.  In my opinion, this is bad business.  Anime is a global market.  You have to carter to fans around the world.

You have fans who’re willing to watch new shows legally.  They want to show their support with the money, but these companies  aren’t listening.  If they do release a show, it’s usually a season or two later.

Example: Netflix recently acquired the rights to Kakegurui, one of the most popular anime series of the Summer 2017 season.  Netflix will air Kakegurui in Winter 2018 – two seasons after its original Japanese broadcast run. This means if you want to watch it legally, you will have to wait five months (at the time of this writing) to support it legall.  The only way to watch Kakegurui  and stay current with it  is through an illegal streaming service.

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Now, if you can’t afford to pay Netflix that $10/month plus tax because you have other paid streaming services you’re subscribed, to and you want to support it legally, well, you’re out of luck.   This is another case of bad business practice.  You have three streaming services fighting each other to win the rights for a show.   And if the winning company is Netflix, you may have to wait a few months to view the show.

Now that I think about it, this is goofy.

Once a company wins the rights for a show, they have that show exclusively. No other streaming company can have it, just that one company.   Let’s say Amazon Strike wins the rights to the show The Misadventures of an Alcoholic Magical Girl (this is not a real show). Since Amazon is the only North American company to stream that show, you cannot get it off your Crunchy Roll and/or Netflix account(s). You really want to watch and support the show, but can you afford an Amazon Prime account along with the cost of $4.99/month with Strike and $6.95/month with your CR account?

So, what you’re going to do?  Spend that extra cash?  Cancel your CR account to save some money?  You can do that,  but  now you have to wait a week  to watch the newest episodes of a currently airring show.  If you really  want to watch it, then you have to pirate it.  Which is not that bad if you bare in mind the animation studio has already earn the money from Amazon.

Let’s take this a step further.

Netflix and Amazon are notorious for not understanding their anime fanbase demographic. Netflix has been under fire for uploading anime shows with false “HD” and horrible subs quality. Amazon Strike requires you to have an Amazon Prime account along with paying $4.99/month for Strike.  Doing the math $8.99+$4.99 = $13.98/month.  Then you have your Crunchy Roll account, which is $6.95/month.  So $13.98+$6.95=$20.93/month.  THEN, if you want to watch an anime that’s only on Netflix, you’ll going to wind up dropping $10/month plus tax.  So $20.93+$10.00=$30.93/month plus tax. Finally, if there is a show that you desperately want to see that is not available legally on all three legal platforms, you’re out of luck.

Unless you pirate of course.

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Pirate sites host anime with true 1080p or 720 HD (both native and upscale). They have fansubs in excellent quality.  They offer a massive selection of anime that you can stream and download for free without worrying about hundreds of dollars on.  There are shows on these websites that may never get a re-release.  Viewing them on these sites is the only way to experience those shows.  If you want to explore the history of anime at its fullest, you may have to use KissAnime or 9anime.

This begs the question: Why pay and support a service to companies that doesn’t care about their anime demographic, rip them off by offering them “HD” quality that is not HD at all, and provide low quality subtitles?  At least  CrunchyRoll understands their given that company is fun by anime fans. They need our money and support.  But Netflix and Amazon?  Screw them. Screw them and their bad business practices If Amazon Strike and Netflix’s anime streaming services belly-up due to piracy, oh well.   They’re large companies with other sources of income to keep them afloat.  I doubt Amazon and Netflix would suffer that much.

The whole business model is stupid.  Japan not expanding further and adapting to the current trend for their anime demographic is ass backwards. I honestly don’t feel bad for pirating their stuff.  They’re providing poor-to-bad services because of it.  If you’re giving the customer a bad experience due to your shitty practices and you can’t help with their needs, you don’t desire to make money.

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At this point, you may be asking “Ben! So what about the little guys?  Yeah, cooperate assholes may make a lot of money, but the artists and creative team only make little to no money a month!  They need your support!”  Well, that brings me to my next point – a good point Digibro brought up in his video that I like: A donation button.

Artists put in countless hours of hard work into their craft; providing us with amazing shows that we all love and enjoy.  Because they work hard and passionately, they deserve our money.   However, while  there is a lot of capital flowing in the industry, the top people will get the largest payout while the smaller ranking dudes will get less.  Way less.  The average animator in japan makes about $300-$500 a month.  The “lucky” ones make $1000 month.  Still, that’s criminally wrong. Even if I do view anime legally through Crunchyroll, the animators are being screwed by their employees regardless.

This is why I like the idea of studios of exploring alternate ways to make money through donation service websites such as Pateron or Go Fund Me.  Let’s say at the end of an episode or season, you can click on the donation button and give whatever amount you feel that episode or series was worth. If you feel a series was excellent, then you can drop $80-$100 on it. If the series was horrible, then you give it little-to-no money.  This allows fans and the studios to cut out the middle man and have a direct connection with one another payment wise.   Most anime fans stream anime nowdays and Blu-Rays and DVDs are pricy (although not as pricy as they were ten years ago), and enjoy the convenience of watching a show on-demand, so this could work out in the future.

Studio TRIGGER is rumored to have experiment with the idea of using Pateron to crowd fund future projects, but efforts have been slow to pick up due to Japan’s conservative, old-school ways of performing business.   Animator Jun Sugawara has opened an animator dormitory in Japan funded by Generosity.  This dormitory is open for animators across Japan who don’t want deal with the bullshit of the current industry standard, as well as work in a fair, almost stress-free environment I think these are great ideas and I hope it catches on within the industry.

I would rather pay the creative staff behind my favorite shows my money to support them, rather to give them to Crunchy Roll.  As much as I respect Crunchy Roll and support them, the money I give to them supports shows and studios I don’t like – not just the ones I enjoy.

This means that shows I hate such as In Another World With My Smartphone and Sword Art Online are being funded.  I don’t want those horrible shows being supported off my hard earn money.  A1 Studios is also getting a cut of my money.  I can’t support that company after the fact their strict, brutal practices caused an animator to commit suicide in 2014 due to being overworked. I can not support that company ethically.  I don’t feel right about that.

Let’s hope that  more teams and studios get on board with this new donation and crowd funding model.  Japan really needs to adapt to the new era and stop being stuck in traditional about their old-school way of handling business within the anime industry.

It’s clearly taking a toll.

While I am not bothered by piracy, I do understand why people are against it.  Pirating shows take away extra profits off Blu-ray and DVDs sales.  Mother’s Basement’s video How Much Money do the Biggest Anime Pirates Make states that the pirates of  KissAnime earn an estimated $18,000,000 USD a year from ad revenue – much more money than the animators in the industry.   KissAnime also has a history of stealing subs from official streaming services and fansub groups and reuploading the files to their website.

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According to  GoBoiano’s  article How Much Money You Cost the Anime Industry When You Illegally Stream illegal streaming services and torrents  has cost the anime industry an estimated $33,009,636 to $132,038,554 in 2016.  In 2015, animation studio Manglobe (famous for Gangsta and Samurai Champloo) filed for bankruptcy due to an estimated debt of $4.43 million USD.  Fans have theorized that the lost profits from piracy resulted in the company’s demise, but this is just a theory without any solid proof backing these claims.

In July 2014, the Japanese government founded the “Manga-Anime Guardians Project” to combat against online piracy of anime and manga, monitoring illegal websites for uploads, and  as well as help fans find legal alternates to stream and watch anime.

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With pirates making multi-million dollar profits from stealing official subs, the industry losing millions from it, the Japanese government having to step in and protect the work of artists, and a company bankrupted due to possible piracy, I can see  why opponents of piracy want to end it.   Animators are losing jobs and money from illegal activities.  You can easily assume the reason why animators are underpaid is because of piracy and the companies have to operate at a loss.  A loss of money means less pay and fewer jobs on the market.

To conclude, I do not see the big issue about pirating, but I still want to support the industry.  With companies making money through other sources of capital such as promotion, legal streaming, and maketing,  I don’t feel that pirating doesn’t hurt the industry at all. Even if stream anime legally, the major players of a company will take the majority of the profits, leaving the creative forces with less than livable wages. The industry and businesses need a new model to operate on. People aren’t buying blurays or DVDs anymore. Fans would rather stream their shows.

The idea of studios and animators using crowd funding for anime is a fantastic idea which we as a community need to get behind. Animators deserve a living wage for the hard work they put into their craft.  While this won’t completely stop piracy overall, it does give fans a chance to support their favorite companies without a middle man.

I am just one person who believes piracy isn’t harmful but there are many who believe it is and they have good reasons to think as such.  Illegal streaming services cost the industry millions is lost capital. That’s not right.  The animators earned that money – not the pirates.

And finally, if you believe that these legal streaming services are giving you a worse product and service, stop using them! Don’t give them your money because it’s the moral and right thing to do.  You know what’s not moral and right?  Ripping off people with a shit product.

Vote with your wallet you weeaboos.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS:

Where Should We Watch Anime by Digibro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSZDkF0YTRo

The Data Behind Digibro’s Stance on Anime Streaming: Legal vs. Illegal by Aninews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYmKCRRbTIM

Piracy is NOT Killing the Anime Industry by Misty Chronexia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5nxyV0Jrvg&t=406s

Frost Bite: Anime Piracy and Illegal Streaming by Glass Reflection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxMQ6ROoB00

How Much Money do the Biggest Anime Pirates Make by Mother’s Basement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAg4gIhdfg

 

MONEY IN THE ANIME INDUSTRY:


http://www.digihara.net/anime-industry-earns-money/

http://kotaku.com/average-anime-industry-salaries-get-depressing-1774852881

http://goboiano.com/heres-money-actually-made-anime/

http://kotaku.com/the-average-anime-salary-in-japan-is-shockingly-low-1700892325

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/062515/how-netflix-pays-movie-and-tv-show-licensing.asp

https://www.otakujournalist.com/where-your-crunchyroll-dollars-really-go-an-interview-with-the-ceo/

 

PRO-PIRACY ARTICLES:

http://www.japanator.com/does-piracy-help-anime-sales-in-japan-study-says-yes-18459.phtml

https://torrentfreak.com/internet-piracy-boosts-anime-sales-study-concludes-110203/

Alison’s Hawkins’s Piracy as a Catalysis for Anime Evoultion essay
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/102759/allihawk.pdf;sequence=1

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/402969/when-piracy-becomes-promotion/

 

 

ANTI-PIRACY ARTICLES:

 

http://aminomailer.com/page/anime/5240302/the-dangers-of-anime-piracy
http://goboiano.com/much-money-cost-anime-industry-illegally-stream/

http://www.animeherald.com/2015/11/12/manglobe-begins-bankruptcy-proceedings-reports-544-million-yen-debt/

http://www.animeanime.biz/archives/21786

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/jpgjj4/japan-protects-its-anime-with-anti-piracy-hires-

http://manga-anime-here.com/guardians

 

MISC. SOURCES:

Jun Sugawara’s Animator Dormitory Project
https://www.generosity.com/fundraising/2017-animator-dormitory-project

http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2014/05/07/suicide-of-anime-worker-recognized-as-job-related

http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2014/05/a1-pictures-animator-suicide-caused-by-overwork/

http://manga-anime-here.com/guardians

IMAGE CREDITS

Featured Image:
Erika Furudo from Umineko: Ougon Musou Kyoku CROSS (Golden Fantasia CROSS)
©2007-2017, 2012-2012 07th Expasion, Ryukishi07

Ruby Heart from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
©2000-2017 Capcom

Nami from One Piece
©1997-2017 Eiichiro Oda, Toei Animation

Marika Katou from Bodacious/Miniskit Space Pirates
©2008-2017 Yuuichi Sasamoto and Satelight

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What TO Do At Cons DJkillzone Feat. Yuki The Snowman (Text Version)

NOTE: This is the text version of the audio discussion between my friend DJ Killzown and myself on the same topic.  The link to the YouTube will be provide below.

 

Conventions are a wonderful place to have fun and let loose with fellow nerds.  However,   conventions can also be overwhelming for newcomers,  lacking knowledge on  what to do. So, out of the kindness of my heart (and because I need to clean  my public image), here are a few things to do at conventions!

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Panels

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Wanna learn interesting tidbits  and facts about your favorite series, gain knowledge that’ll set you apart from your peers, or learn more about your favorite voice actor or creator? Go to a panel!  Usually, conventions will have four types of panels: Fan, Interactive Industry, and Guest.

Fan panels are run by passionate and all-knowing fans of a series, sharing their expert knowledge to others fans and newcomers alike.

Interactive panels are panels in which you can partake in the action and/or have an hands on experience in relation to the subject.  Examples include sake tasting, sewing tutorials, murder-mystery solving, cooking anime inspired foods, and hypnotism panels.

Industry panels are run by industry guests such as Funimation or Viz Media. Industry panels will host series reveals, news on upcoming projects, and the industry hosts will answer your questions about what’s currently going on in the industry.    Sometimes, industry guests will reveal get exclusive news  andcontent about a project first at their panels before the rest of the world get the information.

Finally,   guest panels.  Guest panels are of course hosted by the guests of honor. It’s worth your time going to one as you can learn about your favorite voice actor on a more personal,  learn how they got their start, and even learn how they feel about their co-workers that they normally wouldn’t say in front of their face (did you know that a lot of America voice actors hate Vic Mignogna?).

 

Meet Guests

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Me with Ryukishi07 (creator of the When They Cry  series). Anime Centraol 2014

One of the best experiences of a convention is meeting your idol and having them autograph their materials for you! To start,  learn when and where the guest(s) that you want to see are hosting panels and  autograph sessions and attend them.  Did they make your favorite manga?  Get that shit sign.  Are they a voice actor you really love? Get your DVD signed by them!  Do you want to know how your favorite voice actor got their start?  Go to their panel! Be aware that  popular gusests tend to have a long waiting period for autographs sessions. Be sure to have  fully charged cell phone or a book to read on standby while you wait!

Cosplay/Fandom Meets
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Higurashi and Umineko cosplay meet
Met new friends within you fandom and show off your cool (or trash) cosplay!!   You can find information on meet ups in the program booklet or on the convention social media and website. Showcase your cosplay or just chill and kick with fellow fans and make new connections.

Dealers Room/Hall

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1/8th of the mammoth-sized dealer’s hall of Comiket.  Yes. 1/8th.  Imagine the full  hall.

The dealers room is a hall or room full of offical merchandise, fanmade items, wigs, cosplay materials, etc.  They’re open all weekend but it’s  best to wait until Sunday for the best deals and discounts on products, as merchants want to reduce the amount of items they have to take back home Sunday or Monday.

Game Room

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Scrubs playing a wannabe fighting game.

 

Play video games here with other cons goers (or be that one asshole who hog ups the console all day because you couldn’t even make friends at an convention) Setups can range from the old school, current games, arcades, or a mixture of all three. Tournaments (such as Street Fighter, Project Diva, Mario Kart. etc.) are often held here, so you should try to join in a tournament if you’re confident in your skills.

Make Connections
Relax! You’re with like-minded people!  Cons  are a great place to make new friends and networks that can last for life (or a few years until some petty drama comes up and ruin your friendship)!   You are all here for a common passion and love.  By networking and befriending fellow comic book nerds, weeaboos and otaku alike, you will build a network that can help you find and learn about more conventions in the area and other cool nerd shit outside of cons.   Who know what new connections can lead you in the world of convetions.

For you bloggers, vloggers, etc –  make sure that you have a business card if you’re networking with others in your field (thanks for that DJ Kill Zone)

 

Cosplay

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Dress up as your favorite character and join the cosplay gatherings and meet.  Take pics taken of you in your  cosplay, never to find them online!  Cosplay is a wonderful hobby that will bring joy and new people into your life!  At least do one cosplay in your life if your curious about it!
That wraps up my “What do do at cons” post!  I’ll hope our tips will help you enjoy the con!

IMAGE SOURCES:

Lost Girl Panel:
http://www.mcmbuzz.com/blog/2013/10/29/disguises-surprises-and-cross-over-ideas-lost-girl-panel-at-mcm-comic-con-london/

Comiket Picture:
http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/31516/lets-go-to-the-ultra-con-introducing-comiket/

Game room:
http://agamersescape.com/post/107228508851/winter-sacanime-2015-review

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What TO Do At Cons DJkillzone Feat. Yuki The Snowman (Collab Video)

Audio collab between my boy DJ Killzown Jones and myself.  With the convention season well into the summer, DJkillzown and I figure we will be nice and give nice audio guide on TO do at cons.

This is the follow up to our previous video, “What NOT To Do At Conventions”

TOPICS INCLUDE:
Attending Panels
Meet Guests
Cosplay/Fandom Meets
Dealers Room
Networking
Cosplaying

DJ Killzown Jones’s social media accounts:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwO0lojnveRjDrVyJyl167A
https://www.facebook.com/Killzown314/?ref=br_rs

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What NOT To Do At Cons DJkillzone Feat. weebtrashyuki (Collab Video)

 

Audio collab between my boy DJ Killzown Jones and myself.  With the convention season well into the summer season, DJkillzown and I figure we will be nice and give nice audio guide on NOT to do at cons.

TOPICS INCLUDE:
Cosplay is NOT Consent
Respecting Personal Boundaries
Personal Hygiene
Ghosting Cons
Alcohol/Drugs Consumption
Hotel Partying
Creeping on Women

TEXT VERSION COMING SOON!!!

DJ Killzown Jones’s social media accounts:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwO0lojnveRjDrVyJyl167A
https://www.facebook.com/Killzown314/?ref=br_rs

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Reflecting on the Dragon Ball Super Eps. 95-98 Leaks (*POSSIBLE MAJOR SPOILERS*)

Before I begin I want to say two things:
1.  These leaks have yet to be confirmed until we have scans from the official Japanese TV Guide (usually provied by Herms98 over at Twitter).  Take these leaks with a grain of salt.  However, Toru Furuya (voice actor of Yamcha) posted a tweet that may confirmed the truth of these leaks.

2.  You assume the risk of being spoil if these leaks are legit. If you do not want to take that risk, turn back now. You have been warned.  With that said, let’s go!

DBS_Episode_Spoilers_95-98
Today has been a wild news day for the Dragon Ball community.  Recent leaks from 2channel have surfaced containing major spoilers for Dragon Ball Super episodes 95-98.  Let me say that (these spoilers are some straight up game changers for the Tournament of Power of the Universe Survival Arc (assuming if they’re real of course) .  Freiza betraying Universe 7 and joining Universe 4?  Universe 11 recruiting warriors from different universes to target Universe 7? If you fall off the arena, not only you will die, your existence will be erased as well?!
Man, this is crazy!  Let’s break down the episode spoilers and I shall give my opinions on each!

Episode 95 (Airdate: 6/10/17)

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Members of Universe 9 decide to take a nice and fun little universe studies field trip to Universe 7 meet their favorite people in the whole wide universe: Goku and Frieza.  No, not so they can get their autographs or anything cool like that.  They wanna kill them both before the tournament begins. If you remember from episode 93 of Super, Universe 4’s God of Destruction Quitela hired spies to scout Universe 7’s  warriors and discovered that Goku recruited Frieza for the Tournament.  Surprised that Universe 7 have went as far as inviting  dead warriors within their rank, Quitela starts plotting with Sidra (God of Destruction of Universe 9) to assassinate Frieza.  Frieza and Goku, for the very first time, must join forces to take out the assassins of Universe 9.  They decide to waste no time, as they have little of it before the tournament.

Do not get too content with Frieza and Goku being buddy-buddy for long.

Episode 96 (Airdate: 6/17/17)

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Ya really thought this man would work with a Saiyan!

Oh no.  Oh my. Frieza doesn’t wanna work with Universe 7 after all. He betrays them, linking up with Universe 4 instead.  Man that’s so fucked up. I can’t believe that this  man Frieza would backstab Goku like that.  Are you surprise as much as I am?  Well, I dunno how Quitela managed to get Frieza on his side, but he got him.  Maybe Frieza is playing mindgames with both Universe 4 and 7, killing members off of Universe 7 first,  and then betray Universe 4  and will  kill them  off as well just for his own personal and selfish gain.

Welp congrats Frieza, you played yourself!  Say goodbye to the deal of you coming back to life  with the Earth Dragon Balls (as if he could had use them to come back to life again). Beerus might just reward him with a stupid prize (Hakai) for playing stupid games. Well, Goku boy is short a member, again.  Universe 7 enters the Tournament of Power with just nine warriors.  But wait!  Who is the 10th  member entering at this 11th hour!?.  Who is “He”?

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$200 says this “He”.  Screenshot this post.

Well, there aren’t any information within the spoilers about who’s the new 10th member, but some rather interesting “meta” information have came out on Twitter within the last 24 hours or so of this writing.  There are talks in the Dragon Ball community of Yamcha being the possible 10th  member of Universe 7th.  How do we know this?  Well, let’s check out this tweet by Yamcha’s voice actor, the legendary seiyu Toru Furuya.

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Seriously the 10th member is Yamcha just screenshot this post.

“I was tired talking a lot with Yamcha.” (Gotta love Google Translate) Hmm. And he can’t go into further details about what he was talking about.  That’s rather suspect, isn’t it? Yamcha has been featured in a few episodes of the Universe Survival arc, waiting for Goku to recruit him (poor fellow) but perhaps he’ll finally have his chance to prove his worth with Frieza’s betrayal and leaving Universe 7 one member short.  I for one can’t wait to see Yamcha shine!  Plus, I figure Toei needs to sell some Yamcha figures and toys because there’s a fan demand and market so why not!

Enough about Yamcha, let’s move forward to the next episode, and my lord, the Grand Priest’s new information is  grim, scary, and depressing.

Episode 97 (Airdate: 6/24/17)

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There’s something about his smile and the camera’s angle…

Finally!  After 20 episodes, the Tournament of Power kicks off with this episode (I’m gonna have some beers and trees on standby for this one).  The warriors of the eight universes gather at the World of Void to combat for their survival!  Before doing so, The Grand Priest drops some dire news: whoever falls off the  arena will not only die, but their existence will be erased on the spot!  That’s it.  Game over man. You’re gone for good!  Yea, I mean this is Dragon Ball, nobody (good) stay dead forever.  It’s pretty obvious the victor will use the Super Dragon Balls to revive all the universes that were erased, but this is some pretty grim shit.

Now that I think about it, the “no killing allowed” rule make sense.  In the world of Dragon Ball, if you die, your spirit will either go to the Other World or Hell depending on if you were evil or good in your life. You will still exist unless you either die again in the afterlife or if a God of Destruction erase your existence.

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Ghosts can get it too. 

So let’s imagine if a warrior  in the tournament was killed  by say  Frieza.  Their spirit would enter either the Other World or Hell, and tell the rest of the dead folks some shit like “Hey, so I was just killed in a fucked up tournament in which if our universe loses, we all being erased.  Let’s go to this World of Void and revolt against the Onmi King and his priests! Also Son Goku of Universe 7 caused this to happen so let’s kill his love ones!”

You know how chaotic things would be if word of  a tournament of this nature got out to the other universes?  Pretty great insurance policy the Grand Priest installed by banning killing.  Eh, I’m just hopefully speculating at this point. Let’s move on to the last episode leak.

 

Episode 98 (Airdate: 7/1/2017)

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The  warriors are divided into two groups: Those who’ve joined forces with Universe 11 to take out Universe 7 , and the rest who do not wish.  Universe 11 were going around recruiting fighters from outside their own ranks to link up and take out Universe 7’s warriors.  Goku, being the asshole he is, is just sitting back enjoying his own allies being targeted by Universe 11 and their new temporary teammates. This is interesting and we had clues that this  might happened.  First off, let’s check out a screenshot of second opening of Dragon Ball Super.

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Kale if you were taken  in by Universe 11 against your will please blink twice

It’s possible that the woman in the background next to Jiren is new best girl Kale of Universe 6.  I can only assume and speculate that Universe 11 managed to recruit Kale to join the assault on Universe 7.  Now, this is interesting to say the least.  Universe 6 and 7 are counterparts.  Warriors such as Cabba and Hit hold Universe 7 in high regrades. To see Kale on Universe 11 side to attack Universe 7 will create conflict within Universe 6.

Also,  remember that Universe 11 pride themselves as being warriors of justice, yearning to rid the universe of any and all evil by any means necessary.  Let’s take this one step further by examining some  lyrics Dragon Ball Super’s 7th ending theme “An Evil Angel and A Righteous Devil”:

‘”For all that is righteous, destroy this evil!”
They say, “The whole world is waiting for you!”

“’For all that is righteous, fight this evil!”
They’ll say “You’re our hero!  You’re the one!”

As stated earlier, Universe 11 prides themselves to their oath to destroy all evil and defend righteousness.  I can imagine members of that universe sweet talking somebody like Kale to use her powers for justice to attack Universe 7, the evil doers.  Plus, as fucked up as this sound, it’s probably easy to convince like Kale (who has self-esteem issues) to join forces with a group like Universe 11 to give them some confidence in themselves..  Just tell them “Hey, Goku and his team are evil and we’re the good guy.  They’re the reason why we’re in this situation!” Some fucked up game of politics if you ask me.
I really hope these leaks are true because if so, this makes the Tournament of Power and the Universe Survival Arc in general interesting as all hell.  Frieza betraying Universe 7 and joining Universe 4, Yamcha may make a comeback, Universe 11 recruiting warriors of other universes to attack Universe 7, and the rule of not only dying, but being erased if you lose?

Yeah, this will be a fun arc to watch!

SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION:

Geekdom 101’s DBS Episodes 95-98 spoilers video
Ken Xyro (translator of the leaks):
https://twitter.com/KenXyro

Toru Furuya’s Tweet (English):
https://twitter.com/EmperorBigD/statu…

Toru Furuya’s Twitter:

Featured Image Source:
https://www.facebook.com/DBZexclusives/

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Resurrection of Freeza. Again. Yay… (Slight Freewrite)

This past week, news from  2channel (Japanese image board) surfaced citing the return Freeza to Dragon Ball Super (DBS) for the Universe Survival Arc.  I didn’t care at first; the major Dragon Ball YouTubers (Geekdom 101, Qaadman’s Land, Dragon Ball Nation, etc.) I follow and trust didn’t believe it was legit news.  The lack of a secondary and more trustworthy source made it less believable. It’s 2channel.  Any ol’ (Japanese-reading) nerd can post some fake ass shit on there and pass it off as “legit” news.

However, long-time Dragon Ball news translator Herms98 posted his translations of the upcoming Japanese TV Guide  Dragon Ball Super episode synopsis; confirming the return of ruthless tyrant. Freeza will replace Majin Buu in the Tournament of Power (whom once again, has gone to sleep right before a major tournament).

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Japanese TV Guide “spoilers” for Dragon Ball Super Ep. 90-93

I’m honestly not happy with Freeza returning.  I mean yeah, having a different warrior outside of Goku’s clique representing Universe 7 is refreshing. We didn’t need ten warriors from Earth as a team that suppose to represent a vast universe.

Yet, Freeza replacing Buu just seems like lazy writing on Toei’s end. The Majin Buu falling asleep trick is old. We’ve seen Freeza returned ten times throughout the series.  We get it; Toei has a hard on for Freeza.  Some of us fans do not.

Toei, please end the Freeza dicking riding session.

While I’m not happy Freeza is coming back, I do look forward to his interactions with the Z Warriors.  Especially with the ones he has a storied history with (Piccolo, Krillin, Goku, and of course Vegeta: prince of no one).  Piccolo’s home planet was invaded by this man. Krillin pretty much has PTSD from Freeza torturing and killing him. Vegeta and Goku’s entire race was wiped out by this dude; with Vegeta being misled about Freeza’s killing his.

I doubt Freeza wants to work with past enemies, but if it means getting out of that damn cocoon surrounded by pretty stuffed animals and fairies as a bargain, then I guess he’ll have to work with folks he don’t like.

DxzwWyj

 

But seriously Toei stop the dick riding of Freeza.

 

SOURCES:
Herms98’s translation of Freeza’s return

Geekdom101 video on Freeza’s return:

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A Short Weeaboo Guide to Convention Planning (and Survival)

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With the 2017 convention season starting (and me still angry with people whom won’t shower at these things), I figure that I’ll be nice and give some helpful advice to survive the convention year.   These tips and advice come from my own personal experience such as budgeting, taking care of me, and saving money.  I hope you’ll apply these tips for your convention plans.

The Hotel

__christophe_giacometti_georgi_popovich_ji_guang_hong_katsuki_yuuri_leo_de_la_iglesia_and_others_yuri_on_ice_drawn_by_mamemomota__sample-d265ad8e5e3efe0ed8ae553874cc6596.jpg
An example of chilling in the hotel during downtime. 

Generally, the convention’s social media page(s) and website will post booking information such as the start date of booking for hotel(s) blocks (reversed sections of the hotel for the event staff, guests, and attendees) .  Once the reservation dates are revealed, mark your calendar. The night before hotel reservation begins,  set an alarm up to an hour early than the time the hotel will accept reservation.  Have your credit/debit card information ready.  If you’re a rewards member of the hotel company (I.E. Hilton HHonors), have that information ready as well.  You may gain points or a discount for being a rewards member.

If booking by phone, please note that everyone and their moms are going to do the same.  You may get put on hold, and there is a chance you may not get the room.  Please, please, PLEASE, do not go off on the operator if this happens.  It’s not their fault.  Be kind to them.

Some hotels may require an one night deposit upon reservation.  This is to prevent last minute cancellation and people hustling and flipping the room(s) to others at a higher price than the average (although the latter is still possible.  Make every dollar.). You best be fully committed.

The Badge

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My Anime Central 2016 badge (do not post images of your ACEN 2017 badges on social media. They’ll banned you from the convention.)

Now that you’ve booked with the hotel, it’s time to pre-register for the badge!   If possible, buy the badge as early as possible when pricing is at its cheapest.  It’s a smart investment.

Think about it: Would you rather invest that $45 on the badge right now, when it is at its cheapest and not worry about saving up, or would you want to stand in line for hours, and pay $75 for the at-the-door prices?  That was $75 for extra food, a cool ass Mystic Gohan figurine at the dealers room, or at least two top shelf liquor for a room party.

If you cannot afford the badge right then and now, stack up and budget for the next tier price.  If the next tier price is $50 in about two months and a week, put aside $10 aside each paycheck for five pay periods, or $25 aside for two pay periods.  Then, once you got your money straight, buy the badge.

Seriously, you do not want to buy at the door.  You’ll lose more money and time that way.

The 3-6-1 Rule

Three meals a day.  Six hours of sleep.  One bath a day.  You think something as simple as taking care of your hygiene, eating, and sleep are easy tasks.  Indeed they are! However, you have those few who don’t follow this rule (especially the bathing part).   To those who will follow these rules, I’ll break it down for ya.
3 Meals a Day: It’s that simple.  Have a healthy breakfast to provide energy until lunch time. Toast, yogurt, eggs, nuts, grains, etc.   If your hotel offer free breakfast, take advantage of that, even if its food you do not enjoy.  Your favorite food is free food.

For lunch, I tend to go with something between a light and heavy meal. A sandwich with chips and another side is a nice go-to lunch meal. It’s not a bank breaker and it doesn’t leave me feeling tired or sluggish because I ate more than I could handle.  Dinner is where you want to eat something heavy, especially if you’re going to be going to a room party with alcohol, the rave, or doing many night time convention things.  I recommend pizza, pasta, fried chicken, etc.  Do not eat too heavily though.

Another helpful tip: Snack between meals such as fruits, nuts,  and those fancy multi-grain bars.  Drink plenty of water as well.  The key is to have energy and  not feel like shit because you haven’t eaten at all.  Ramen and pockey does not qualify as meals.

Yes another helpful tip: If your hotel has  a full kitchen (stove, oven, fridge, etc.) and you know how to cook, cook your own meals.  It’s a money saving tactic and you’ll have leftovers throughout the day.

__saigyouji_yuyuko_and_son_gokuu_dragon_ball_dragon_ball_z_and_touhou_drawn_by_kamishima_kanon__sample-d3e10d43e5792fc9e9cb927fc3e759c2

Six hours of sleep: Please, get some rest.  You should sleep for about 8 hours a day, but 6 hours isn’t too bad.  If you’re running a panel or event, get as much rest as you can.  There is no shame in resting up and missing out on a few things at the convention to keep  alert and active.

Sleep Tip: Powernaps are wonderful.  If need be, take at least 30-45 minutes every couple of hours  to powernap.  If you’re doing something major such as hosting or partying, try to get at least 1-2 hours of sleep.  Your body and energy levels will thank you.

 

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Nebraskon’s mascot has the right idea! (This blog does not condone the act of vandalism) 

1 Bath/Shower a Day: There is absolutely no goddamn reason for you not to  shower or bathe before going out in public.  A convention is not exempted.  Nobody is trying to smell your nasty ass because you did not want to shower and use hygiene products.  If you’re a cosplayer, plan on changing clothes, or sweat a lot, please take a shower before and after an outfit change.

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The best Fate/Zero girl takes bath.  Why don’t you?

It’s 2017 and we are still debating if people should shower and take care of their hygiene.  Yay for human evolution.

Showering Tip: Beer showers are fun.  And an early sign you might be an alcoholic. Go me!

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Having a beer while taking a shower/bath is relaxing as hell. I suggest that you’ll do this, my 21+ drinking followers! 

But seriously, fuckin’ take a shower and use deodorant.

Budgeting

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Unlimited Budget Works

Ah the fun part for us adults: budgeting for the convention.   In general, the plan is to stack up save up, and split funds for the event.   No one’s budget will be alike from the other guy.  This is normal.   Here’s an example of my budget for  Wizard World St. Louis:

Badge:  $50
Hotel: $217 ($73 for my share between three people)
Food: $60
Misc: $200 (Not required.  For things such as dealer room, liquor/mixers for room party, “vices”, etc.)
Total: $383 ($183 if I removed the miscellaneous items)
Paydays until Wizard: 2

Friend owes me $66.  Use that for the badge
Save $51.14 per check.  Since I’m using the money I’m owed for the badge, this isn’t a huge blow to the budget. Take another $51.14 from income taxes.
Simple budget, yes.  Admittedly, my math may not be right and I’m too lazy to whip out my calculator to get the correct total amount.  You get the picture here.  Just manage your money correctly and save up.

If you’re splitting hotel costs, pay up.  Nobody likes a mooch.

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You don’t wanna end up in this situation if you have yet to pay for your share of a room.

Let me say this: If you cannot afford to go to a convention, don’t go.  If you have needs such as bills to be paid, medical expenses, etc., take care of that first. Skip out on the convention if your money isn’t right.  It’s not worth going broke or screwing up your money just to go to a convention.

The convention ain’t going anywhere soon.  Wait until your money is right and go to the next convention.

‘Let me tell you something: You gotta find the balance between having fun and having funds.’
Nino Brown (American rapper)
I hope my tips will help you in this convention season.  If you have anything else to add please feel free to state them in the comments section!

Have a fun and safe time at the convention(s) you’re going to this year!

 

Art Sources:

YURI!!! On Ice Art:
http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=60232886

Haruhi cosplay:

http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=3265564
Yuyuko and Son Goku eating:
http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=25590837
Best girl bathing:
http://bo.xrea.cc/fate/

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Please Bathe or Shower at Anime Conventions

Bait/Zero – Unlimited Clickbait Works

For the convention season,  please take a shower or bath before you head to an anime/comic/sci-fi con.  Nobody is trying to smell your nasty, unwashed, unclean ass because you refuse to take care of basic personal hygiene.  Body odor is not cute and nobody isn’t trying to get sick because your ass do not wanna hop in the shower for 15 minutes and put on some deodorant.  

Trust me, I legit had asthma attacks from overpowering B.O. from unwashed nerds at cons.  It ain’t fun.  

It is 2017 and i should not tell people this but this is the state of the convention community as of this writing.  Hell there’s even a debate on the Anime Boston Facebook group on if people should shower before heading to a convention. An convention group.  Having a debate.  On if you should shower or not. 

Let that stink in.

Art source:

https://touch.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=34307721

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Digibro – Oh Shit…

Digibro1

 

“Holy shit!  This is gonna be good!  My lord, this is gonna start some shit within the community!  Can’t wait to get home to watch this shit!”

Just shitalkin other anime youtubers for like half an hour, oh god what have I done’.

As soon as I saw the title of the ever controversial Digibro’s video, I knew I had to hurry up with my work, get home, and watch it.  I could had play the video on my phone while at work, but something of this caliber needed to be experienced a larger screen to be  great detail.

Plus I can’t drink at the job so there’s that.

“Oh fuck, who pissed off this nigga this time? Who is he gonna go in on this time?”
Digibro’s rant videos are like special events for me.   There just this feeling that know there’s gonna be some backlash and butthurt off of his  drunkenly brutal honestly.  It’s a fun time for the anime community.

 

Right off the bat he’s going off on niggas with bravdo.  My dude is straight up telling these cats that  they suck and their videos are garbage.  He ain’t being subtle with disdain either.  He’s name droppin’ like crazy; Mother’s Basement.  AnimeEverday RCAnime.  The Canibal Effect.  My dude  Digi out here callin’ folks out on their “flaws”,
negative” points of their content, and overall “lack” of quailty  This dude doesn’t’ care  and I love it.

He’s like the weeaboo Tupac.

(It is dishearting to hear him talk shit about anime youtubers I do enjoy. I can’t even lie because the people he name dropped do have great content. )

“Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!  Is he trying to start beef with these guys?  Does he want the rest of the community to hate him?  I mean, he already got haters so why not more?  More haters and drama make the world go round!  Haters are motivation!”

As I predicted, the community was shaken up by this.  For the past 72 hours since his rant,  people on both sides have given their views and expressed their feelings.  Some are understanding upset by his words while others are supportive of his rally call to improve the community.  I’m in the middle but I’m learning towards supporting him.

Personally, I don’t think he should have called niggas out and their works like how he did.  But sometimes, you just have to be that guy.  The bad guy; like Scarface.   I mean forreal the liquor was flowin’ in him and certain substance make you tell the truth without a filter.

I do feel Digibro on his stance on the community.  Some people aren’t reaching out to one another and helping folks come up and improve.  People are putting out the same old bullshit and there ain’t much diversity.  It sucks.

Maybe I’m somebody who is way too optimistic for my own good  but I love it when people help each other. We need more diverse content from all range. I want to see this community improve and grow.  I may not be as harsh and brutal about it as Digibro was in his video, but I’ll be direct and blunt.

If I see a flaw in one’s works, I’m going to try to help that person out because I like seeing people improve.   I feel that people should strive to do better in their craft.  I don’t mind it myself when others tell me the areas I need that I need to improve on.  I welcome it.

Also, tell me that I suck and that I’ll never get better.  Not because you wanna feel better about your miserable life but because I’ll prove you wrong one day, work my ass off fixing my flaws, and come up.  Thus so when I come up and fix my weaknesses I can make you angry that I stop sucking. ❤

But that’s just my good ol’ pride talking shit!

What I’m trying to gain from Digibro’s controversial video is the sense of the community helping one another.  We all in this together ya know?  We all want to be successful and we want others as well.  I mean fuck, my homeboys and I are almost always on each other asses on our goals and passion, checkin’ one another and telling each other if they’re doing something wrong, how to correct it.

But that’s just me.

‘The question everybody wants to know is why they got this nigga started?’

-Reporter (Tupac – Bomb First)

The video:

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Eudial n da Hood

Eudial_using_Heart_Snatcherrajon-rondo-shooter

I’m not saying Toei may had borrowed some ideas from a certain early 90s gangsta movie but I also don’t believe in coincidences.

Speaking of strange coincidences, Sailor Mars’s image song, “Fire Soul Love” sounds like a certain Janet Jackson song.

Sailor Venus’s theme song in the god awful (but ambitious) Sailor Moon fighting game is a complete rip off of Banarama’s “Venus”.  They were not even slick with that.

Goddammit Toei.  First Dragon Ball Z Kai and now Sailor Moon.

Sigh…

 

 

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Crunchyroll and the Premium Quality “Decrease” (Freewrite)

CR_logo

Crunchyroll has been under fire for decreasing the streaming quality of premium level users to save on cost. While this may seem terrible from a customer’s point-of-view, you must remember that Crunchyroll is a business.  Businesses may have to cut down on costs to save their money and investments.   Customers may have to suffer these costs as well but business first, customers second.

I mean, dont get me wrong. It  does suck that premium users have to deal with the loss of quality.  However, you must think about a few factors for these money-saving cuts.

Piracy is a major issue in the anime industry.  Piracy can cost the industry upwards to billions of dollars (I do not have an exact estimate right now) a year.  That’s a huge blow to all companies within the anime industry.  Anime companies suffer from piracy and are forced to cut back on funds.

Next, everyone involved in the  anime industry wants a share of the money.  Investors.  Distributors.  Publishers. Workers.  Everybody  needs their cut.  Crunchyroll gotta respect that and take care of their business partners first.  Then they gotta take care of the fans.  If you don’t take care of your workers and business partners, they ain’t gonna take care of the customers.  That’s gonna look bad on you as a business leader.

(Trust me; I have worked in the restaurant industry for eight years.)

Finally, perhaps the issues with low quality streaming is with you.   Yep.  You.

I have a friend who has a premium membership with Crunchyroll and despite the “dip” in quality streaming, he told me he still has high quality streaming.  Why? Well, he has 45” HDTV with fiber internet.  Your internet connection does have an impact on video streaming quality you know.   Streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix, and Crunchyroll change their encoding to match your internet speed.

If you’re using Wi-Fi to stream, you’re going to get garbage quality.  If you are using fiber internet, you’re getting the best quality.  In addition, you are paying $7 worth of quality with Crunchyroll so there is that factor as well.

Lets put it in more…not so legal terms:

You put in $5 for a reggie blunt, you’re going to get low quality.  Put in $20 for a kush blunt, you’re going to get higher quality.

…not that I know anything about that,  I swear!

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Crunchyroll is a business.  Businesses gotta make sure they have enough money to stay afloat and  provide as well.  Businesses must make sacrifices and those sacrifices might even have an impact on customers.   It sucks but that’s how businesses are.

FURTHER READING:

Crunchyroll’s reduced video quality is deliberate cost-cutting at the expense of paying customers