Hey guys! It’s been a week since our last post, but we’ve been busy working on bringing you some more Youtube content to check out. Over the weekend we came up with another new line of content that features side topics that we didn’t really get to cover in our podcast series. This new line of content is called “D&A Studios Extras“; which features a wide variety of topics such as Japanese cuisine, retro game reviews and overviews, and so much more. Our debut episode of this new content line drops February 2nd at 9am on our D&A Studios Youtube channel. So if you wanna know what you’ve missed last week, check out our previous Nerdz of the Decade episodes below! 😉
Anime
D&A Update: VIZ Media Spotlight Coming In February!
Hey guys! I know we’re just two-and-a-half weeks into 2022, and a lot of announcements have been made in the anime world. Various series that we’ve come to know are being rebooted or renewed for a new season, and more new anime movies are coming out as well. Whenever new developments drop we try to stay on top of it as best we can so we can bring that news to you. Therefore, coming this February we’re bringing you a special segment highlighting all of the new stuff that VIZ Media is bringing out, and their announcements. This segment is our VIZ Media Spotlight. It drops every Tuesday starting on the first Tuesday in February, so be sure to check out what we’ll be highlighting, and spotlighting, on VIZ Media.
That’s the only update we’ve got today, but there’s more nerdy content to come. Until next post, look out for one another and stay nerdy my friends! 😉
D&A’s Top 10 Anime ‘Dere’ Types!
When you’ve watched enough anime as much as we have, it becomes easier to pick out things that have become the most common; overpowered protagonists, guys or girls being dumped into another world, and characters who cater to a specific type of personality. Most of the time its usually the anime girls who tend to fit the latter, but in some anime, there are guys who can fit into this category as well. What are we talking about you ask? We’re breaking down our Top 10 Anime ‘Dere’ Types that you’ll find in any anime title that you’ve seen. Of course you already know about the Big 5 ‘dere’ types, but there are five more that you might not quite be familiar with.
10. Deredere: The Fun-Loving Energetic One
We all have that one friend who’s waaaay too energetic, but she’s kind and caring towards others and quite the social butterfly. You might’ve seen her in some of your anime titles (like Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun) and though she’ll show her affection towards her loved one, she’s able to have normal friendships and conversations with others. She’s also one of the Big 5 that you’ll encounter among ‘deres’.
9. Bakadere: The Airheaded Annoying One
This one’s a new one, but right away many fans already have characters that fit this ‘dere’. There’s always that one character who’s just annoying as hell, and a total airhead! She may be energetic and optimistic but she’s clumsy, aloof, and doesn’t really think before acting most of the time. In some extreme cases, she may even be a useless goddess – like the one below.
8. Dandere: The Shy & Quiet Introverted One
Who is the most common anime character who fits this ‘dere’ type? Naruto fans know who she is – or who she used to be back in the day. These types of characters will open up once they meet up with the right group of people, and when they do, their ‘dere’ side will show up and show out! 😉
7. Nyandere: The Cat-Loving One
There are a LOT of girls out there who fit this category; both in anime and in real life. Who doesn’t love cats? (Or in this case, catgirls?) Any rom-com fantasy or isekai anime you’ll find that one character who has become one with the feline – or might be part feline herself. There are some males who like cats but not to the same degree, though I could be wrong.
6. Sadodere: The ‘They’re Like Yandere’s But Worse’ Ones
Avoid these individuals like the plague! Unlike Yandere’s who act violent and cruel towards others who ‘threaten’ their loved one in any way they deem unacceptable, Sadodere’s get a thrill out of manipulating others they care about and treat them like trash. They also take pleasure in inflicting pain and despair upon others, and basically are the reason why they caused ‘world-ending’ pandemonium. Isn’t that right, Junko Enoshima?
5. Himedere: The Spoiled Princess Bratty One
As we said before, watch enough anime and you’ll find a character who fits this model perfectly. This is that one character who’s high and mighty, and condescending towards others as if she was a princess or something. (Most of the time she is, or at least has that type of personality.) Nevertheless these characters can sometimes be the main antagonist of the story, or a side character.
4. Yandere: The ‘Touch My Man And I’ll Kill You!’ One
Another member of the Big 5! We all know this character quite well; loves and showers their loved one with love and admiration, but the minute another girl has a conversation with their man, they’re ready to snap! Sometimes they may even hurt the ones they love.
3. Kanedere: The Gold-Diggin’ One
These types of individuals only care about one thing when it comes to their loved one; their money! These types of girls want hustlers, big ballers, shot-callers, the rich ones! If you ain’t got money they don’t want nothin’ to do with you; even if you tell them that you can treat them better than the rich idiots that they’re gunnin’ for. If they find the RIGHT person though, they could learn to love them for who they are; not how much they make.
2. Kuudere: The Calm, Cool, and Collected One
Somewhere along the line, you might have had that one friend who’s like this. In the mist of total chaos this is the type of character that you may want to have by your side. Sure, they may not show much emotion or affection of any kind to their loved one, but it might be because they’re keeping their true emotions deep down inside.
1. Tsundere: The Sour-Sweet Hot & Cold One
The MOST COMMON dere there is! Action, Fantasy, Rom-Com, Isekai, it don’t matter! You’ll always find this most common dere in 90% of the anime titles you watch. Arguably, the OG Tsundere who started this trend is Asuka Langley from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Ever since that series a whole new generation of Tsundere girls have come about in various anime titles, but every anime fans knows that it all started with Asuka; the original Tsundere!
Although these are the ten that we’ve chosen for this post, there are so many others out there that fit a wide range of characters. Some of them might be enhanced versions of the ones we’ve already mentioned, while others may even be the polar opposite. Either way, these personalities are ones that you’ll find in many male and female anime characters from your favorite series. If you found some ones that we might have missed, let us know in the comment section below.
Until next post, stay safe and stay nerdy! 😉
Let’s Talk About It: The Best & Worst Of Anime Fandoms!
What does it mean to be a fan of something? If you ask anybody on the street they would tell you it means that you have admiration for a famous person, a sports team, a music genre, or an entertainment medium that you like to indulge in. These days we’re all fans of something or someone, and when those fans gather together to support or celebrate that person or medium that they love and enjoy, it becomes a fanbase. When it comes to pop culture mediums like professional wrestling, music, and even anime, its actually considered a fandom. To the average joe with no idea what that means, let’s talk about it.
When you think of the word ‘fandom’ the first thing that comes to mind is anime. Anime is one of the most popular and influential mediums out there both nationally and internationally; so much so, that other fandoms (particularly wrestling and sports) are fans of the medium as well. Video games are up there too and work in tandem with anime, but that’s another post for another day. As for what a ‘fandom’ is exactly, we’ll tell you:
A Fandom is a subculture of fans of a hobby or a medium such as sports, movies, music, and even anime and video games.
That’s basically it; if you’re an anime fan in general or are a fan of a certain genre of anime, and you happen to join up with others who like the same type of anime genre you do (or anime in general), then you are in fact a part of a fandom. Anime fandoms are more than just being in the number of fans who are passionate about certain anime titles. Take the Attack On Titan fandom for example; not only are they passionate about the series as a whole, they have tons of fanart from artists who love the show, cosplay fanclubs who do massive photoshoots at conventions, fanfiction about the characters they want to ship, and panels detailing the overall mythology of the series.
One of the best parts about being in an anime fandom is that fact that you can connect with other fans of the series that you like. The size of the fandom is usually based on how popular the series is; Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and My Hero Academia come to mind when it comes to large fandoms.
There are some anime fans who aren’t very enthusiastic about anime fandoms, or even want to be a part of them for one particular reason; toxic fans. Every fandom has them, but its usually the mainstream anime titles that have the most concentrated amount of toxic fans. Why so toxic? It could be a number of things; they didn’t agree with a situation or ending to a point in the story, a character didn’t ‘get with’ the character that they wanted, they don’t like newcomer fans (noobs) who know nothing about the series or characters, or just maybe they just wanna be mean.
It’s one of the reasons why fandoms behind some of the biggest anime titles are the worst part about being a part of one, and sometimes the toxic fans are not the main problem behind why certain anime fandoms are bad; it could even be the fandom itself. There are many pros and cons when it comes to the decision of if you should jump into your favorite anime’s fandom or not, but if you’re an anime fan on the outside looking in, it gives you an opportunity to scope out whether or not you want to become invested in the fandom of the series you like; or just watch it with your friends – assuming they like anime.
Fandoms are a subculture of fans who like a particular hobby, medium, or a sport. The anime fandom as a whole contains subfandoms who like and are passionate about certain genres of anime titles. Sure, the part that sucks about them is the off chance you’ll encounter a toxic fan or fanboy online (cuz’ that’s the main place you’ll find them), but connecting with other fans of your favorite series is such an awesome feeling. Liking anime by yourself is fine, but talking about your favorite moments and gushing over your favorite characters with other fans is something that you can only experience in an anime fandom.
Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! 😉
Would Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt Still Hold Up In 2022?
The 2010’s. For many of us who grew up during this decade it was either awesome, or awful! By the end of 2009 anime fans were wondering what the next ten years was going to be like for anime in general, and although the 2010’s brought us some amazing shows like Stein’s Gate and Madoka Magica, it also brought us a show that stood out from the rest of the pack! If you took the art style of the Powerpuff Girls and mixed it with the toilet humor of South Park, you would get a cult classic that embodies every troupe; both western and anime, along with a call back to an art style reminiscent of a Craig McCraken property. Even the name of the title itself tells you just what kind of show it is. We’re talking about the show known as Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.
If you’re unfamiliar with this show, its about two ‘angelic’ girls who were kicked out of Heaven for being too raunchy. They end up in a city between Heaven and Hell called Daten City (which is basically purgatory) where they have to kill ghosts and gather heaven coins to get back into Heaven. Seems like an easy task if these two weren’t distracted by their love for sex and sweets; with Panty being the former and Stocking taking the latter. The whole series revolves around their misadventures filled with sex jokes, monster’s of the week, a Ghostbusters fanboy, an afro-sporting priest, and bondage-loving demons.
Yeah, this series is basically Powerpuff Girls on acid.
What’s even funnier about the show is how it got created. During a vacation of some sort, the creators and producers of the show watched an American cartoon that we know as Drawn Together, and through drunk and humorous circumstances the staff spent the rest of the trip coming up with names and designs for Panty and Stocking – even naming them after women’s garments. Once everything was set in stone the creators and staff went back to Gainax (the same company behind Gurren Lagann and FLCL) and got to work. The team was basically trying out various ideas to figure out what worked and what didn’t, which might be the reason why every episode is split into two parts. (Like Sonic’s ‘Act 1’ and ‘Act 2’ formula.)
Due to it being so westernized even though its classified as an anime (especially during the transformation sequence), all of the jokes and humor are based off of American pop culture. Even the title cards of the episodes themselves is a call back to American movies and TV shows like High School Musical, Sex & The City, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and more! Not only that but this series is chalk-full of references from 90’s cartoons like Ren & Stimpy, movie franchises like Star Wars, South Park, Super Mario Bros., Phoenix Wright and Tom Cruise? Yeah, he’s referenced in this show too, although his name is spelled ‘Tom Crooise’.
With all of the jokes and references this show had to work with during the time it came out, would that same style of comedy hold up in today’s society?
The internet has changed a lot in the last ten years, and some of the crude jokes and toilet humor we’ve come to know and love has kinda worn out its welcome. Social media is more unforgiving now than it was back in the 2010’s when it was just one person shouting at the void. Personal opinions are now being shaped from public opinions, as opposed to people forming their own opinions based on their own perspectives on topics like politics, pop culture, entertainment, sports, and yes; even anime subs and dubs.
We remember a time where ‘offensive comedy’ and adult humor was funny; because it made fun of everybody and didn’t focus on a specific group of people. Shows like Family Guy and South Park did that all the time, and technically speaking it translates into that ‘it’s not considered bullying if everybody does it’ mentality. Sure; back then we laughed in the face of negative stereotypes about black people, white people, Asians, Mexicans, Indians, Russians, Canadians, Italians and Europeans. Now in 2022, in the age of Covid, the societal shift is different.
To put it simply; Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is not just a show about two white girls, a black catholic priest, a Scott Pilgrim reject, and a green dog who looks like Gir’s inbred cousin. PSG was a bunch of ideas thrown together to see what worked and what didn’t, and the final result turned out to be one of the most critically acclaimed gems of the 2010’s thanks to its dub. Hearing Monica Rial cursing like a sailor through her 10-year-old girl signature voice behind the most popular character of the series; Stocking Anarchy, is nothing short of hilariously amazing.
The show embodied all of the gross humor and sex jokes that you would find in a Comedy Central-type adult animation title. The soundtrack is bangin’, and strong enough to listen to outside of the show. It left us with one of the most debatable endings in the history of Gainax – especially if you’re a Stocking fan. Finally, it had an identity all its own; a manifestation of ideas put together that was heavily influenced by western pop culture. The show was its own thing. It knew what it wanted to be.
There’s hasn’t really been a show of this caliber like this in the last decade, and probably never will. Despite it doing so well internationally thanks to the dub, the original sub performed poorly in Japan. The guys who worked on it left Gainax and formed Studio Trigger and pumped out hits like Kill la Kill and Promare. Who knows when they’ll revisit this property, but as far as can it still hold up in today’s time, that fact that its gaining recognition from new fans of this younger generation, says a lot.
Until next post, Happy New Year! 😉
D&A Studios: New Nerdz of the Decade Episodes Coming December 4th!
Hey guys. We know it’s been awhile since our last post, as things have been kinda melancholy as of late. If you haven’t noticed by now, we haven’t been posting any new episodes of our Nerdz of the Decade podcast. That’s not to say that we’ve stopped making them, its just right now we’re working on new topics that are a little more relevant to what new developments are happening. In the meantime we’ve been trying out this little experiment called Anime Quickie; a one man short-form podcast featuring A. Goldman that pretty much talks about similar topics that you’ve might have heard us talk about on the podcast. If this experiment gets a little more traffic, then we might incorporate it as part of our D&A Studios lineup. As always we thank you guys so much for being a part of our nerdy little journey, and we plan on bringing you guys the best nerdy content that we can offer! Until next post, stay nerdy! 😉
D&A Studios Recap The Week Of November 5th!
Hey guys n’ gals! It’s time to bring you another recap of our YouTube videos that we’ve done during the week of November 5th. We’ve got a brand new Nerdz of the Decade that just dropped this past Friday, as well as another D&A Studios product review. Be sure to share these videos with your fellow otaku, and of course we thank you for all of the love and support that you continue to give us from the blog; as well as D&A Studios. Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! 😉
A Founder’s Review with D.J. Lewis: Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 5!
Okay, the time has come for me to give you another episode review from Fena: Pirate Princess. After watching this episode first hand, it appears that the secret of the glass stone has finally been revealed. Now that that revelation has come to pass, what will that mean for Fena and the crew?
So it looks like as the episode kicks off I (the viewer) discover that Yukihisa and Kei are talking about a witch’s spell placed on Yukimaru, but knowing how these types of situations go down, I (the viewer) don’t find out until the last three episodes of the series. The voyage continues with Fena and the crew as she focuses on the map given to her by the Berger mister after leaving the place that I cannot even pronounce the name to. They eventually end up going to another island full of various holes and pathways leading to some kind of underground mine, but sadly they’re not alone, for another crew of pirates (the same ones from Bar-Barel) followed close behind them.
Other than Karin getting spooked and pissed off at Enju for spooking her inside the mine, the rest of the episode gets a little more serious. As they get deep into the mine Fena starts acting a little strange; as if she’s been in the area before, causing Yukimaru to become curious and confused at the same time. The crew reaches a vast area where just in the middle of it was what looked to be the area where the glass brick fits right in. After that the crew discovers that the little scratches were actually coordinates to another location which was later revealed to be El Dorado, however by the time they figured that out, the other pirates showed up and held Fena hostage while taking the coordinates for themselves.
As a way to add insult to injury, they took several boxes of explosives and used them to blow up the only way in and out of the cavern. By the end of the episode Tsubaki was still on the ship not knowing what happened…
Looks like the fun and games are over for the moment as the plot is starting to pick up. Though we now know what the clear stone was used for, there’s still so much we don’t know about Fena; or why the other pirates kidnapped her and are on their way to El Dorado. Guess we’ll find all of that out on the next episode.
Until then, stay nerdy my friends. 😉
A Founder’s Review with D.J. Lewis: Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 4!
Hey there! It appears that I’ve been summoned to give you another episode review from Fena: Pirate Princess. If that’s the case, then I’ll go ahead and do just that for you guys. Fena and the crew continue their voyage on the path to finding out the mystery of the stone; which is the name of the title of this episode. Anyway, let’s go!
Fena and the crew are out at sea looking for the island of “Adenopenstein” as Kaede called it (even though that’s not the real name, but I can’t spell or pronounce it either so we’re just gonna call it what Kaede called it). While inside Fena had just finished treating Yukimaru’s wounds and stated that she’ll do everything she can to be more useful to the team. Yukimaru’s response to that was pretty much a “Hell no, you almost got me killed!” type of response, while she argued that no matter how opposed he was to this decision, that Fena was GOING to be useful to the crew!
Later on Shiton joined Fena on the deck of the ship as she asked if he would train her on how to use a weapon. Shiton handed her his bow and arrow, but just like before, she sucked at it. She then asked other members of the crew to train her on how to use a weapon, but they all declined in comedic fashion. Eventually the crew came around and helped train Fena on how to use a sword and gun (thanks to Shiton), although the training sessions were brutal. (Hopefully Fena will get better at combat in later episodes…hopefully.)
After a day or two the crew finally makes it to “Adenopenstein” (as Kaede called it) as Fena asks the locals if they know anything about the stone. Although it appeared as they weren’t getting the answer they were looking for, a woman named Arya appeared and introduced herself to Yukimaru and the others. She saw the stone and told them that she might know of a person in the village that can help, and that person turned out to be her father; the Berger mister of the village. While on the hike it looked as if Yukimaru was getting a little too chatty with Arya thanks to the twins reading too much into the conversation taking place, and leaving Fena to think that Arya might be hitting on Yukimaru. (And she was starting to believe it thanks to the twins.)
Arya’s father took a look at the stone and it appeared that it was made in the village, but something about it seemed strange. Although it appeared that it was carved in the village, it was commissioned by someone else; someone who was killed five years after the inscribed date of the stone. By the end of the episode Fena told Yukimaru that the person Arya’s father was referring to, she was called that name before…
So it looks like we’re given more information about the stone, and based on the plot progression of the story, this piece of info will play a big part later on in the series. Could there be a connection between Fena and the person Arya’s father mentioned while in “Adenopenstein” (as Kaede called it)? Guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it!
Anyway that’s it for my review on this episode, until next time, stay nerdy! 😉
A Founder’s Review with D.J. Lewis: Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 3!
Salutations fellow otaku! I have returned with another episode review from the original series; Fena: Pirate Princess. Now that the gang has a ship and has set sail, it’s time for the real adventure to begin! So let’s get to it!
The third episode kicks off with Fena walking through the chambers of the newly crafted ship thanks to Karin’s design; of course a little comical banter between the two occurred when Fena made a comment about the ship’s corridor being too small. (I like keeping the spoilers to a minimum so if you want the full deets you’ll have to watch the episode.) The two met with the others as they were discussing something about the free country of Bar-Barel; where pirates from all over the globe congregate and stop by – mostly from England or other surrounding areas. After the meeting was over it ended up being one of the stops on the crew’s voyage, of course there was one detail that was left out…Yukimaru had to stay on the ship with Brule (Fena’s dog) while Fena, Shiton, Karin, Tsubaki, and the others went into the town of Bar-Barel. Yeah, that sucked but it gets better at the end.
While in town various shenanigans take place; Karin’s running around like a kid in a candy store at the various shops and street vendors, the twins Kaede and Anju are being their ‘usual’ goofy selves, and Shiton was about to get his freak on with a lady on the street until Makuba intervened. Tsubaki told the others it was time to collect supplies for the voyage while they were in town, except Fena and the twins were not with them – pissing off Tsubaki in the process. Kaede and Anju took Fena to a shop where she wanted to try some new clothes, afterwards she really did look very much like a pirate (and a cute one might I add).
Sadly trouble arose when Fena’s ex-fiancée; the creep she was supposed to marry back in the first episode, returned with his own band of pirates who surrounded Fena and the twins. Back at the ship Yukimaru asked the others where Fena was, and though they said she was with the twins he knew something was up, and raced into town to find her. It didn’t take long though, as the twins were fighting off the creep’s pirates with one of the twins complimenting one of the female pirates saying that he’d like to take her out for dinner next time. (That was Anju by the way.) Yukimaru joined the fight and took out the remaining pirates in the area before grabbing Fena and hauling ass back to the ship.
Although his hand got nicked by one of the bullets from one of the pirates who shot him, Yukimaru stated to Fena that it was only a flesh wound, and that she shouldn’t be so reckless. By the end of the episode Tsubaki was so furious at Fena and the twins’ actions that he threw the three of them overboard as punishment. The fact that Fena was a girl did NOT save her from receiving the same punishment as the twins. Although Bar-Barel was their first stop, the adventure for Fena and the crew has only just begun.
Though I’m three episodes into the series, I like the balance of comedy and action in the story a little bit. I know many fans (including my friend A. Goldman) have been craving that in several of the titles that have been released so far, but as far as Fena’s concerned, I like what I’m seeing. The crew comes with various personalities; such as the twins’ annoying and silly persona though they’re skilled fighters who are very close, Karin’s creative spirit who keeps most of the guys in line, Tsubaki who makes sure the crew stays on their mission, Makuba who’s the strength of the crew, and Shiton who’s the pretty boy all the women wanna be with. That pretty much leaves Fena; the MC of the show with a lovable personality and kinda silly herself, and Yukimaru who hasn’t quite accepted his feelings towards Fena just yet. (Hopefully we’ll see that when the story progresses.)
Alright, that’ll end this review on my side of the tracks, but as always there’s more content on the blog to come! 😉
