A part of me wanted to write this post awhile back but at the time I didn’t quite know exactly how to word it. Now in 2020; the Year of Corona, there’s a LOT to talk about in terms of anime quality, and diversity. Growing up I didn’t really have a lot of friends who watched or even liked anime as much as I did. In fact it was the opposite; I never had any friends who watched or even liked anime as much as I did. When I saw DBZ for the first time (Ocean dub before FUNimation), I thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw. Yeah at the time the quality was a little grainy, but this was the 90’s; and anime was hand-drawn.

Now we’re blessed with the technology that makes it easier for anime storyboard artists to draw, and animate many of our favorite scenes from our favorite titles. Since most of the anime that we watch is based off its manga counterpart, we’ve noticed many differences between them; and this is where the ‘quality’ part comes into play. When an anime creator comes up with a series that he/she wants to animate, they need an animation studio to do it. They can’t just walk in and say they need the studio to do ‘X’ and ‘Y’ for them; they have to book time, see how much money it’ll cost to make the series and put a budget together, and they have to put a timestamp on how long it’ll take for said project.

Deadlines are a pain in the butt, and should a studio not meet them within a timely manner, the results can and will be unfavorable. (Mostly to the fans.) Don’t get me wrong; there are some great quality anime out there for many of us to enjoy, but there are a few that kinda missed the mark a bit in terms of quality. When I say anime quality, I don’t mean just animation alone; there’s the story, the character writing, the character development, the challenges that the character(s) face, and so on. A large number of fans are so critical on these key points (and rightfully so), and if creators and animation studios don’t take those key points into consideration before the process begins, WE’LL know about it!

One thing I’ve noticed since watching an absolute gem called Afro Samurai, is diversity in anime. In fact there’s diversity among anime voice actors, ADR directors and writers. Anime fans from all over come from all walks of life; not matter your race, creed, ethnicity, or beliefs. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m happy that there are more People of Color getting voice acting roles and ADR positions in anime. I guess somewhere in the midst of it all, some people are hating on the fact that there are more African-Americans getting roles in anime; due to the fact that they were ‘handed’ to them in light of the Black Lives Matter protests all across the country. Not sure why they would hate on this, but trolls will be trolls.

I think we’re in a place now where anime stories won’t be told from just one prospective. With animation studios like D’ART Shtajio, we get to hear and see anime stories from a much more diverse prospective. To me, that’s something to be proud of. With more and more People of Color become anime fans each year, I’m excited to see what new and exciting stories will be told, and what new shows we might expect to see in the near future.

In middle and high school everyone was a part of a social group, and no matter how cliche’ it sounds today, the aspect of it was true for many of us. There are moments we’d love to forget and others we lament over for the rest of our lives, but when it comes to extracurricular hobbies, you were “branded” or “labeled” based on the type of hobby or activity that you take up. The one hobby-turned-lifestyle that I’m talking about is the Otaku. In Japan the original meaning of the word is another word for ‘Loser’, but in America it’s actually embraced as someone who is passionate about East-Asian culture – anime culture to be exact!

Back in the 90’s it was just finding its way into the popular scene, and was a niche medium at the time. Now 20+ years later its now become mainstream and is embraced by a large percentage of the population. However here’s where things get a little ‘interesting’; if you flashback to all of the times you wanted to be ‘cool’ just like the cool kids, you’d try and find a way to get into the parties that most of the cool kids were throwing. If history has taught us anything, nerds and geeks were NEVER in their wildest dreams invited to any of the cool kids parties. So what did we do? We created our own gatherings and invited other nerds to join us in our geekdom. Now it’s 20-something years later, those geekdoms have become the anime conventions that you see today!

But back to the interesting part; now those same ‘cool’ kids types that didn’t invite you to the parties that they threw, want to join to the party that you threw. Going from niche to mainstream doesn’t come without its challenges; you want to make the medium that you’re apart of inclusive, but you gotta worry about individuals who were never a part of the ‘revolution’ to begin with, jumping into your space.

“When something becomes too popular, there’s bound to be imitators.”

— Brian Griffin

Thinking back to how nerds were stereotyped and treated through media 20-something years ago, the ‘cool’ kids were actually the gatekeepers of popularity. Now that we’ve found our own party and our own gatherings, many of us are doing the exact same thing; keeping the ‘normies’ out. Gatekeeping is one of those things that you really have to be careful about; so much so, that you have to pick and choose your own battles when it comes to this topic. (Video games fall into this category as well.)

‘Cool’ kid types are attracted to popularity and trends, and since anime is now mainstream, that’s where many of em’ are going to go. I’m not saying that gatekeeping is a good or a bad thing, but with a niche medium like anime now among the mainstream ranks, there’s only so much you can do. We just have to remember that as anime fans, there are some people who may be just a little bit curious about it, and if so, we need to educate them on the Anime Fan Etiquette System (A.F.E.S)! (Patent pending, of course! XP)

No matter what fandom you’re in, you’re always gonna have those individuals who may become problematic; in several cases the problematic people may even be some of the fans of the fandom themselves. This is where toxicity among fans or the fandom itself becomes an issue, and we’re pretty sure you guys know which ones are right on the money. Being a part of the anime community myself; I’ve seen it at its best and also at its worst, but in spite of it all I love being a part of this growing community. No one has ever made me feel more welcome that this community, and from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you guys for that! 🙂

So to finish up this post; is gatekeeping in anime an issue? Honestly, it’s one of those questions that depends on who you ask. Many anime fans were bullied (by normies) because of their love for anime, so they feel that it’s necessary to protect what they love at all costs by keeping it strictly for them. On the other hand they wish more people were a part of the community, because anime is more fun with friends and other like-minded people. I believe that 75-80% of the community as a whole is pretty decent and awesome, you just have to avoid the 20-25% who are normies, elitists, cringe buckets, anipolitical weebs, and misogynists.

At the end of the day, you have the final say over what you’re passionate about. If you love anime and it has changed your life in some form or fashion, by all means defend it! Just make sure that the ones or the younger generation that’s curious about it, are educated through the love and passion that anime has brought to you.

That’s my take, stay safe out there guys! 😉

If you’re an anime fan, then you might have noticed the sudden surge in Isekai titles lately. From your Cautious Heroes to your Reincarnated Slimes it seems like every season the anime creators and studios drop some new show under this genre. Has it gotten a little excessive? Yeah, but that’s another post for another day. Even though there are a lot of isekai titles out there, there’s one that stands out from the rest; so much so, that some would argue that it’s not even a full-fledged isekai. The title that we’re talking about is Danmachi or Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon.

We discovered this awesome series a couple of years ago, and from first glance it seemed like it was an isekai at the time. For those who are wondering just what the heck an ‘isekai’ is, we’ll tell you. An isekai is an anime/manga genre where a person or a small group of people from Earth, get transported to a universe that is parallel to their own, or something completely different. We can name so many titles that fit this description, but the fact of the matter remains; is Danmachi considered an isekai?

Well guys and girls, the short answer to this question is no.

Going back to the definition of what an isekai is, Danmachi does possess a few of the elements that you’d find in your typical isekai title; a brand new fantasy world, guild members, etc. However the main reason why it’s not really considered an isekai, is that fact that the parallel world that the main character Bell is in, is not the world that he’s been transported to from his own – but the world that he’s already living in. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons why Danmachi stands out from all of the other isekai titles; because it’s NOT an isekai title in the technical sense of the definition. Sure, it’s got RPG elements like you’d find in Log Horizon or Cautious Hero, but the biggest difference between them is the fact that the world of Danmachi (or Orario), is actually the world that the cast is living in.

Final verdict; Danmachi is NOT an isekai!

Well, that will do it for this rather short anime breakdown, but even though Danmachi isn’t an isekai, it’s still an awesome series nonetheless. If you haven’t gotten the chance yet be sure to check it out on FunimationNow, Crunchyroll, or HiDive! Until next post stay safe, mask up, and love one another! 😉