AnimeNation Blog

Question:
What are the best sword & sorcery anime?

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Question:
A few years back, there were a handful of dark shoujo anime such as X, Weiss Kreuz, Yami no Matsuei, Angel Sanctuary, etc. I really enjoy this type of show, but I’ve noticed there don’t seem to any dark shoujo series around lately. So my question is, why have shoujo anime with a large male cast and dark themes become so rare?

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Question:
It seems that before you even hit play on any hentai animation in Japan right now, you already have an idea what you’re going to see: disgraced valkyries, elves and princesses; schoolgirls being trained, etc. Do you think the hentai anime industry in Japan is in a creative slump? Or is it just that this stuff sells well enough that doing the exact same thing over and over again just makes business sense?

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Question:
Why isn’t there an attempt to put moe anime on American TV? I know that Americans have the perceived notion that anime should be dark, edgy and violent, but I think that moe anime such as Lucky Star should be put on TV as well. Is it that shows like that are too cultural specific that only hardcore otaku would get the appeal of? I just feel that there isn’t enough variety when it comes to what types of anime get broadcast here.

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Question:
Since Funimation now has rights to some of Geneon USA shows, do you think Geneon will return to license some new anime like Shana 2, Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi and Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo?

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Question:
Why do anime make so much use of the “reset the world” button? In dozens of shows, from Sailor Moon to Mai-Hime, at the end of the series a method appears to magically restore everything to the way it was before. When so many of them show such excellent story and character development, why cheapen this?

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Question:
What is Viridian Collection? Define what it is and how it different from a normal collection boxset.
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Question:
What are the chances of Slayers Revolution coming to the U.S.?
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Question:
What makes Mai Hime so popular in Japan since there are so many artbooks about the series?

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Question:
I don’t understand why otaku love high school girls so much. Back when they were high school students, male otaku hated high school girls and were hated by them, right? So why it is that all dating sim and porn games revolve around high school girls. Shouldn’t otaku hate them?

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Question:
Why do non-Japanese people complain about what anime and manga is produced in Japan for domestic consumption? I mean, I could understand if the complaining focused on what got licensed for release in their native region. But one thing I never understood is why many of my fellow non-Japanese fans so venomously criticize the mere existence of certain types of properties, such as Clannad or KissxSis, that have certain themes or cater to the otaku audience when they were never intended for their eyes in the first place and the main way they might be exposed to them would be through illegal methods?

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Question:
Why do anime have next episode previews? Even anime full of stand alone episodes have them. Why do you think next episode previews are so popular in Japan?

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Question:
Why doesn’t Bandai Entertainment care about the Western fans? It seems like all of the DVDs they’re putting out are in subtitle form, and not the dubbed version which 80% of the fans like. Aren’t they aware by doing that there’s a greater chance people will just go and download fansubs instead of paying 40 dollars for the DVD? I think they don’t realize that most people would just sooner have the show, but even then, would people still want to pay (any) money for subtitle DVDs? I know they might think there isn’t a demand but if you don’t make one then of course there’s not gonna be any.

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Question:
Recently I’ve read surveys saying that adult Japanese fans think the two most interesting anime film franchises are Studio Ghibli works… and Detective Conan. Really?! I don’t mean to insult the detective series, but the massive appeal of “Conan-kun” among Japanese, especially Japanese women, is lost on me. Nor can I understand making any kind of meaningful qualitative comparison between the two franchises. Studio Ghilbi makes artistic, entertaining, and world-respected family films. Detective Conan is an amusing, episodic, and disposable children’s series about a boy detective solving the latest gruesome murder or kidnapping du jour.

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Question:
I was wondering if you have a take on the endless stream of Dragon Ball merchandising released in Japan, even to this day. If not mistaken, the series ended almost 20 years ago, yet there is a constant influx of new products each month. Originally I assumed this was a product of the (then) broadcasting of DB in North America, and thus a somewhat “renewed” interest in the series worldwide; however, years later, it would seem as if DB is as iconic as Pokemon or whatnot.

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