the thing is, most of these newer anime series are targeting single male otaku in japan who have disposable income that are willing to buy the anime DVDs, manga, and other characters goods. The sad thing is, moe makes money nowadays.

Exactly! You hit the nail on the head, otakudan. They can make a lot more money when they continue to make Ecchi based off of panty power and whatnot, because it's not pronographic, but it still appeals to the male fanbase of such things.

As for my opinions on Ecchi? I could never watch an entire anime based on Ecchi (unless you're one of the types that counted Elfen Lied as an Ecchi Anime because of nudity and sexual themes) although I don't mind the pictures. Heck, if I just open up my pictures folder right now, I'd see lots of nekomimi ecchi, because, well, that's what I like.

An entire anime, though? Nah. Romance, I can put up with, but a weak plot and nothing but fan service won't keep me interested. In fact, when I start to watch an anime and see blatant fanservice without reason, I actually feel embarrassed to be watching it. If I wanted Ecchi, I would look it up or go to my pictures folder. I wanted to see an anime, not softcore porn. Get my meaning?

I understand what your getting at an anime like Chu Bra being 14 year old girls and basically ecchi but i watched the first episode and it was weird lol,for some reason after watching it i noticed the troubles girls go through having to choose the right underwear for there bodies and stuff which would be a pain in the ass so to me its more of a mix of fan service and a weird kind of education lol, but the people who watch it probably would just want the ecchi lol would be better if it wasnt for the adult underwear shame XD

Thats the strange thing. A lot of Chu bra comes across like its an educational program on how select the right size and type of underwear for your body shape.

Which would make sense a decade ago, but with the internet having sites which contain pictures like that for free, why do otaku's feel the need to spend money on fanservice material?

I agree. Like I said, I'm not spending money on stuff I can get for free on some Ecchi fan's art blog.

Good Lord... I don't wanna sound judgmental, but what the hell is with the Japanese entertainment industry and underage girls in lingerie?! Are they trying to appeal to the pedophile fanbase?

I didn't really notice anything too off with the audio.

Japan's age of consent is as low as 13 in some provinces, so it doesn't count as pedophilia over there. Only when it gets moved to the US is there a problem, well a legal problem.

The actual answer, yes.
It's a very large fanbase, mind you.

[color=green]It's official. Blue hair is awesome again! It really looks good on you Marzgurl.
While I do share your desire for an older cast setting than many shows seem to be using, I believe it's acceptable to a degree. A balance would be nice to give a variety of series directions, instead of ones that simply give different twists on school life. I attribute it more to the actual story lines and writing, since any setting can be used for a wide spectrum of series springboards. Though, like you noted, the trend seems to be aimed at a slightly younger audience anyway, shamefully males.
The amount of animated shows in the world is pretty large though, and of the 60% produced in Japan, I'm sure there's a good few still offering the more seasoned content that marks some of our favorite anime. Animation isn't dead yet, and hopefully it never will.
Oh, and one piece of advice. When reading off titles and names in Japanese, it might be wise to actually print them on the screen so we can follow along. Y does this in his manga reviews and it really helps non-Japanese speakers to follow along. Otherwise, thanks for another nicely constructed editorial.
P.S. The audio sounds fine, but the video quality is a bit fuzzier than usual. I noticed this at the beginning, when I could barely read the disclaimer in your intro montage. It's still viewable, but yes, a bit less clear than it normally is.[/color]

Blimey, does NoahClue have to be so technical? Every video I see him comment in, there's like 5 paragraphs. It's a homemade video made for internet, not for FOX!
As for the video, oh God, middle schoolers showing off in underwire now??!! Sick....just sick. :X

Actually, when I was looking for some new animes of the year, I did come across Chu-Bara. When I watched the first few minutes, I was stunned and stopped watching the first episode altogether. I don't have anyone against watching these type of animes, but it made me feel uncomfortable. As for the trend, thank you for pointing it out. It's hard to find anime that appeal to the older audiences.

As for animes, I found one called Sora no Woto. Even though the cast consists of girls, it's actually pretty good. Also, they are not wearing any lingerie or anything, military uniforms which are not suggestive. The first episode is just out and so far, it is about a female trumpeteer. I recommend checking this anime out. It's very good.

nice video, i did watch the first episode...and i didn't want to watch anime any more....but your right the year just started, maybe something good might still come out....i did write a small rant about this anime on the blogs....hehehe.....like you i'm tired of all the high school anime......

Darker Than Black is probably the last anime i watched with an adult protagonist. It also become one of my favorites due to the fact that it reminds me so much of the late 90s/ early 2000s where everything isn't moefied and its freaking amazing.

Im kind of sad that it didnt catch on but it doesnt surprise me since this younger generation of anime fans doesnt seem interested in anything thats not a herem comedy, a high school slice of life comedy, or shonen. Not that these cant be done well we all know they can but 90% are not good.

Wow I think this is the first time iv ever shown my age.

PS: On a side note ecchi is really getting annoying since its in basically every anime now and usually is blatant fan service that detracts from the story. Hell even code geass and death note did it!

Yay for the blue hairdo! ^^ You look wonderful, MG.

And I can't agree with you more. It seems that a ton of anime/manga are focused on those teen years of awkwardness, self-discovery, and shenanigans. I also get this is the target group, but it seems like the anime that made anime itself mainstream (Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, Rurouni Kenshin) were aimed at slightly older audiences, or at least the mid-teens and up. Now, while it still appeals to mid-teens, it seems like the "and up" is slowly disappearing.

I guess they want to relate to their audience; too bad the audience can rarely afford to steadily invest in a series and will just as likely look it up on YouTube or OneManga.

P.S.- The audio and video did seem a little fuzzy, but I hadn't really noticed until you mentioned it at the very end.

P.P.S.- I'm glad I'm getting actual anime news again. :) Your past few editorials have been just as good as others and haven't suffered a lack in depth and quality. But it seemed to drift from anime and into a narrow scope, the last one being anyone who could be in a music video if they were at a certain time and place of one band who did some anime songs (wait, narrowing scope to a target audience?! 'Gasp', irony!).

I'm just glad to feel both informed and included again in these editorials. Great job as always, MG. Thanks for the hard work.

The picture with the nude girl with foxrail was hot :silly:

I agree, Xobra, and I haven't a clue what it was from either.

It's called Spice and Wolf.

I found this page again while looking through Marz' videos and decided I'd update. I did a little research after making that comment and found out it was a really nice little series titled "Spice and Wolf". It's a Romance / Slight Adventure series that features the travels of Lawrence the merchant and the Sage Wolf Horo, who decides to travel with him for reasons explained in the series.

It's really cute, actually, and has it's ups and downs, but I overall reccomend it. It's got 2 Seasons at the moment, and there may or may not be a third.

Personally I'd love to see a series aimed at the same target audience but have characters in a different scenario. For example, my personal favourite series is Love Hina. While it's still very childish, contains a lot of ecchi and often has a repetitive plot, it's still very entertaining and feels fresh because the characters are going to a UNIVERSITY. They're past high school. I love reading series about people in their twenties because it doesn't have to remind me of the hell hole I go to... ¬_¬

so, what exactly DO you want the protagonist to be, if not a teenager. I know you didn't really say you didn't want the characters to be teens, but if they're teens, then there's like a 95% chance there' gonna be in High School. unless it's like, a Princess Mononoke-like setting.


so, if not teenagers, what do you want?

Maybe a protagonist in their 20s or so? Like a story that doesn't revolve around adolescent years, drama, fan-service, whatever...

But anyway, yeah that "chu-bra" made me "lol", but I'm not too surprised of its existence if you understand otaku culture. I am waiting for the day when we get another gem like "Cowboy Bebop" (Death Note is good, but not at the same level as Bebop. And I know it's cliche to rank Bebop so high, but I gotta give credit to where it's due).

Bebop was awesome, and that's just that. It had the right combination of art, writing, production value, music, and originality. So, yes, you do have to give credit where it is due. Frankly, I prefer Bebop to Evangelion, though lots of fans would disagree.

i saw the first episode of Chu Bra, and it reaaaaaly suck, actually Ecchi sucks, rosario+vampire, to love ru, etc :angry:

Hey now, R+V really isn't that ecchi (at least compared to most series) it gets a bad reputation because of it's...quite frankly terrible anime adaptation. While the manga does have fanservicey elements in it like panty shots, unlike the anime they are rare and aren't focused on at all. It has an alright storyline, nothing amazing but it's decent and much better then it's anime counterparts non existent one.

It does seem a little...echo-ey to me. I find it funny that you have in fact been doing stuff and I thought I was waiting for you to do more videos!

I am inclined to agree with you. I mean... there have been a few anime that I have enjoyed that were FAIRLY recent, and one on going that I have been following for some time [Detective Conan]. But really, there are very few series that I actually enjoy in the recent years.

The most recent was 2 years ago, a series called Shion no Ou. [You'll find a trend of mystery driven anime in my list of absolute favorite anime series]. Basic synopsis is girl witnesses parents murder, gets adopted, plays shougi, all the while this mystery gets driven home in the final episodes.

I admit I have briefly watched some of these teen series, ecchi series, and the like, but the common problem is that they fail to keep my attention for more than a few episodes. Some give cheap laughs.

Given the main characters in Detective Conan are in HS [except for the D-Boys], but the entire premise is a wide range. You can't say a show in which someone dies, often in a brutal manner, is entirely for kids, but at the same time, a show which has kid friendly elements is intended for adults. It is one of those rare family shows that is widely popular and for good reason in my opinion.

Basically for me it comes down to this: Does the anime peak my interests? All my recent anime choices have [to at least some degree]. Either cars, mystery, or martial arts. I have even watched some horrible series because of one of those three [usually martial arts, as many ecchi seem to like using martial arts, just so they can destroy clothing articles in fight scenes]. There have been exceptions, but those exceptions usually lead to me dropping the anime or manga entirely after some time.

That is my input. Great editorial Marzgurl. Keep em coming.

wow, i couldn't even watch the entire first episode of chu-bra, it was that painful. i agree with a lot of the points you made.

You know, if they want an adult anime, they should make Uzumaki into an anime. I know that is an old manga, but damn it is so awesome, and the movie really sucked compared to the manga. Just my 2 cents :).

[color=navy]There are some GOOD anime's that take place in High School, but I see what you mean. It's starting to get a little old. [/color]

The thing is, in the United States, the legal age(consent) is MUCH higher than most places in the world. That's probably why most people *from* the U.S. don't understand the trend.

I'll catch thou mid air, I don't follow the trend myself, but I do understand why so many high school/middle school animes exist.

Personally, I haven't seen any good animes in a loooong time, here's hoping some good stuff is released this year.

MarzGirl, you're not the only one who wishes there were more animes for the older people. :lol: I really do wish that there were more animes on TV up here in Canada that were for our age range...

You'r not the only one Marzgirl. At the moment, the only animes i still enjoy are the old ones, like Hokuto no ken, Cowboy Bebop or Tenchi Muyo. There is surtain uniqueness to them. Great characters, great story, gteat excitement. Not like today, when they all looke alike.

I watch some perverted stuff... but that anime just seemed really stupid to me. So count me already not interested in that anime.

Maybe you would like Gurren Lagann? One of the main characters, Shimon, is young, but he doesn't stay that way throughout the (pretty short) series, and it's futuristic (and very epic) so no high school.

I'm likely pretty biased as I fit in the target audience fairly nicely, but the high school factor doesn't strike me as too concerning.
Just because an anime features or stars high school kids does not doom them to be the same, even if they're shounen. Often times I find not much importance is placed on the high school factor. I know that wasn't quite what you were getting at,but it did feel implied...

Although I must admit more mature anime that doesn't occur around high school life is a nice change of pace. Darker Than Black I found to be one of the best anime I've seen in quite awhile.

In a word, no you're not alone I often think that it's a bit uncanny how there's always high school and middle school students but that doesn't necessarily mean they're all bad, of course I can't think of very many recent titles that I really liked; let's see there was kamichu, and K-On, and that's it, that's all I can come up with

Now I see alot of long opinionated essays about this episode and I would want to give some very brief and quick ones while I still have time.

I'm a fan of the ecchi genre, however not a hardcore ones only a few essential ones actually motivate me to watch it.

I didn't like how you chose the upskirt pic of Kanu when you talked about the ecchi genre.

And that animes nowadays don't have to use panty shots all the time to deliver their point only some twisted writers like to draw girls

I totally agree with Archedgar. There are so many different cultures with different age of consent that some will find it disgusting while others don't. As an American brought up with our culture, we find things that are disturbing such as chu-bara while in some areas in Asia, 13 is considered "of age." Icky to me, but apparently okay for others... :0

I also agree with Marz. I would like more anime that is away from the high school setting. Of course it's understandable why they create anime in the setting of teenagers. It's for that demographic, and it's extremely easy to create the "high school" comic relief.

[quote=jz1337]I'm likely pretty biased as I fit in the target audience fairly nicely, but the high school factor doesn't strike me as too concerning.
Just because an anime features or stars high school kids does not doom them to be the same, even if they're shounen. Often times I find not much importance is placed on the high school factor. I know that wasn't quite what you were getting at,but it did feal implied...

Although I must admit more mature anime that doesn't occur around high school life is a nice change of pace. Darker Than Black I found to be one of the best anime I've seen in quite awhile.[/quote]

I agree. Also, there have always been a lot of anime about high school kids or in a school setting.

But for those who think that all recent anime is nothing but moe...have you ever checked out anything from Fuji TV's "Noitamina" timeslot?
http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Noitamina
Its purpose is to widen the audience of late-night anime beyond otaku. Some of the anime that have aired in it include Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss, and Eden of the East (all of which I recommend).

I'm not one of those "all moe is bad!!!" types though. But I don't watch anime with tons of fanservice either.

(Also, many Japanese people do think that hardcore otaku and hardcore otaku shows like Chu-Bra are creepy and gross.)

Ha "bleach" is not about highsch.... o ya ichigo is a highschool student nevermind. Wait "deathnote" has nothing at all.... Yagami Light is a highschool student too. But its only minimal but I guess that one is no good either. Kick ass show but still involves highschool.

How about Inuyasha , damit!!!

Fine I know Naruto. Naruto does not even have highschool yay!!! But most of the ninja behave like highschool students....

99.98% of all anime take place in public or highschool it seems. And sexualization of underage girl (10-14 year old) is a strong trait in japan. You say how many anime are not for adults. I think the majority of anime is geared towards adults. Adults lusting over young half-naked girls. I am fine if an anime has some of that stuff in it. Just don't base the premise around it.

My favorite anime are
Naruto
One Peice
Bleach
Deathnote.

pharmmajor - Yes they are trying to appeal to the pedophiles. Well technically liking girls ages 13+ does not count as a pedophile. But I do not see much difference , pedophile or not the person still has an attraction to children and or young teens. I am fine with a show shoving in a scene every now and then with this type of subject manner to please those that enjoy it. But basing an entire anime or manga around it is just weird.

P.S I am not trying to disrespect anyone who likes this stuff or the Japanese. Not all Japanese like the younger girls but compared to our culture its more present there then here.

[quote=TartGnome] MarzGirl, you're not the only one who wishes there were more animes for the older people. :lol: I really do wish that there were more animes on TV up here in Canada that were for our age range...[/quote]

casshern sins is a show you should check out. its really quite amazing, and it came out from 2008-2009.

[quote]I am waiting for the
day when we get another gem like "Cowboy Bebop"[/quote]
If you want a good recent Anime with adult protagonists try Black Lagoon.

Hey, this looks good, thanks for the recommendation.