Changes Coming; Burnt out on Harem Comedy; Gary Gygax RIP

Otaku Public Library has been up and running (for lack of a better word) about 4 months now. I started it on a lark but now I’m feeling that it could use some improvement – basically, the writing is amateurish at times and the layout is pretty dull, and I feel I’m overdue to try and make some enhancements.

So, over the next couple of weeks I’m hoping to:

1) Make the layout and design of the site a little more interesting – what I have right now is a basic out-of-the box Blogger layout. Maybe add some actual color? Who knows...

2) Edit, rewrite, or delete some reviews. I have to admit there’s a lot of half-assed writing on this blog and I really ought to tighten up some grammar and rewrite awkward phrasing; in fact, one or two the reviews are real stinkers and perhaps ought to be deleted. Lastly, some reviews have misleading tags or no tags at all, so by improving those, the reviews will be easier to browse (I hope).

3) I’ve been pretty blasé about grabbing images from the internet to catch the reader’s eye, and I’m sure that most, if not all, of those images are copyright protected. I don’t see that as being that big a deal right now, because I highly doubt that the creators are on this website on a regular basis (or anybody, really….hahaha). Still, I may be changing some images here and there, and probably changing the out-and-out references to P2P downloading to something a little less blatant. Just covering my ass, y’all.

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In any event, I’m “burnt out on Harem Comedy”, as the title of this post suggests. In a short period of time I watched (or read) Shuffle!, DearS, Love Hina, Suzuka, and part of Girl Bravo; and at this point I can’t stand to watch another crowd of pretty girls throw themselves at a lovable loser (unless that lovable loser is me, haha). I must admit that I have been digging on the very awesome School Rumble, but that’s more of a slap-stick high-school comedy with romantic elements. I’m working through the OVA as we speak, so expect a (very positive) review sometime soon.

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Lastly, Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons and Dragons died earlier this week. So much geek culture – anime and manga as much as any other element – has been influenced by his seminal fantasy Role Playing Game that I felt I would be remiss in not mentioning his passing; Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and countless other Japanese RPGs bear his imprint.

2 REVIEWS: Densha Otoko: The Story of the Train Man Who Fell in Love With A Girl, Vol 1 + TRAIN_MAN:Densha Otaku, Vol 1

Today's victims are:

Densha Otoko: The Story of the Train Man Who Fell in Love With A Girl, Vol 1

-Hitorio Nakano and Wataru Watanabe

and:

Train_Man: Densha Ototko, Vol 1

- Hidenori Hoti

Those “in the know” (or those “without a life”) are probably familiar with the “train man” story that’s been popular in Japan for the last few years. For those of you who are not, the (apparently true) story is thus: while riding a Tokyo train, an introverted comic book fanboy finds the courage to stand up to a rowdy drunk that’s been bothering the female passengers – one very pretty young woman in particular, who sends him a pair of teacups as a token of thanks. Thinking that this is the end of their connection, he mentions this to some dudes on a chatboard for lonely single guys – but when they find out the teacups are actually high-end Hermes china, it’s clear that she’s romantically interested in him! Totally confused and social inept, “Train Man” must turn to his online buddies for advice on how to woo “Hermes-san” without letting his awkwardness scare her away.

This story has apparently struck a chord with the Japanese, who’ve turned it into a movie, TV show, and several different mangas – thus the comparison between the two titles. Nakano and Wantanabe’s version is a little more cartoonish and “slap-sticky” than Hoti, who favored a more mature and laid back approach, which I even found reflected in their art – Nakano and Wantanabe rely on the crisp, youthful modern style, whereas Hoti’s art has a more classic manga feel (think of Love Hina versus Maison Ikkoku) Likewise, Nakano and Wantanabe spend a lot of time focusing on the reactions and thoughts of Train_Man’s online peers/fans; Hori streamlines the narrative somewhat by not emphasizing Train-Man’s online conversations as much.

I could easily say that N + W’s work is meant for teens, and H’s for more casual/adult readers, but I’m just gonna say that the obvious choice is to read them both – not just to see what style works for you, but as an exercise in comparing art and narrative styles in Manga.

For those of you interested in learning more about the "real" story behind these works, I've included the link to a Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Densha_Otoko