The Anime Blog Poll: Do You Love Or Hate Lolicon and Shotacon?

There are things in anime and manga that don’t sit well with me. Some are minor annoyances (angsty, know-it-all day glo 15 year olds) while others disturb me (crazy glomp happy yaoi fan girls) and still others really make me run for a barf bag (sexually charged Yu-gi- oh fan art). Nothing makes me sicker though than when there’s even a hint of sexual innuendo involving anyone under the age of 15-16 with someone at least 10 years their senior (even a five year age difference isgrodie).

I know most anime involves 15 and 16 year olds, but for the most part (believe me I know it’s not always the case) they get it on with other 15 or 16 year olds. Whenever there’s some hint of an older man or woman taking a “keen” interest in a much younger (think 10 or 12 years old) person, I get a lil’ ill. I know that there are instances where a younger character develops a crush on an older character and that’s normal. That sorta thing happens in real life and is a part of a growing child’s search for identity. It’s when an older character acts on said child’s crush that I get that tell-tale “that ain’t right” eye twitch.

I must be naive, though, since I just recently learned the real definition of lolicon. I always thought that lolicon was when some guy has a fetish for Gothic Lolita girls (age appropriate, of course). But noooo, I was wrooongggg and I hate being the only one who doesn’t know what’s what and what the hell is going on.

lolicon faye valentine

Lolicon is when a guy likes,in a sexual manner, sweet young girls. Typically these girls are 10 or 12. The male counterpart to this is shotacon, named after the 10 year old hero, Shotaro, of the anime series Tetsujin 28. Watching Tetsujin 28 with a friend was what set this discovery off.

I visited some forums after finding out the real definition of lolicon and shotacon and was sickened. Some people think it’s OK to like little girls and boys just because they’re drawn in an anime style. There was an argument on a forum trying to justify a person’s interest in lolicon by arguing that tentacle rape in hentai was just as amoral as lolicon since rape is bad, m’kay.

Duh; rape=bad. But in hentai it always seems that the girl enjoys it after a while and it’s more of a domination thing rather than all out rape. Don’t quote me on that since I haven’t seen a fraction of all the hentai that’s out there. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with S&M if done in a respectful manner between two (or more) consenting adults. But lil’ kids, no matter how annoying, are lil’ kids and should NEVER be anyone’s sexual fantasy.

I’m super aware that here in America (and probably other countries) school girl fantasies are on most guys’ top 10 list of things “to do”. The age group for that’s more like 16-18 year old girls rather than small children. And yes, Gothic Lolitas do dress to look like young girls and don’t dress “sexy” (‘cept of course Erololi) , but they’re still more mature looking and carry themselves in an innocent but ADULT manner rather than small prepubescent girls.

So yes, there are instances when innocence and naivety is a turn on, but for chissakes, it’s usually some clueless chick with a giant rack dressed in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. How could anyone ever say, “Gee, look at that young child with that dirty man”, with a straight face.

Does lolicon turn you on are you seriously offended by real school girl fantasies. Do you like little boys or is Shotaro just the spunky kid in a mecha anime?

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Fant-Asia Events for December!

FANT-ASIA I-FRAG

According to Brian Lan, founder of Fant-Asia St. Louis, Fant-Asia’s FINAL event for the I-Frag branch will be Saturday, December 2, 2006 at the I-Frag Gaming Center, 3555 Ritz Center from 5:00pm to midnight. “This time I really mean it.” Brian says.

the bride with white hairThe I-Frag Gaming Center will be closing on December 30, 2006. Brian would like to give a special thanks to I-Frag owner Kent Bergeland for being a great host location. Starting in January 2007, Fant-Asia St. Louis will be moving to the new AnImagination South County (their second location).

FANT-ASIA ANIMAGINATION

Fant-Asia at AnImagination in the St. Louis Mills will be on Friday, December 1, 2006 from 6:00pm to 9:30pm.

AnImagination will be providing free sushi on December 1, 2006.

FANT-ASIA ST. CHARLES

The next event in St. Charles will be Saturday, December 16, 2006 at The Fantasy Shop St. Charles, 2426 West Clay from 5:00-10:00p.m.

This will be Fant-Asia’s Annual Viewer’s Choice Night. If anyone has any requests, please let Brian know. He’s already received requests for The Bride With White Hair and Crying Freeman live-action movie.

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The Anime Blog Has a New Lolita Fashion Writer!

The Anime Blog is proud to introduce a new member to our writing staff; Codi! Codi will be covering Gothic Lolita Fashion and will be happy to fill us all in on the clothing and the lifestyle.

I had a chat with Codi concerning her lolita fashion background and here’s what she had to say:

Rachel: What got you interested in the Loli lifestyle?
Codi: I am a big fan of Plastic Tree, a j-rock band. I was at my very first convention and saw a book with him on it…so without thinking I bought it. It ended up being volume 1 of the Gothic & Lolita Bible. :)

gothic loli bible volume 1Rachel: How long have you been doing this?
Codi: I have been a lolita since 2002, so over 4 years now!

Rachel: Do you really go out in public dressed like a loli on a regular basis?
Codi: More like whenever I am capable of doing so. I am mostly tied to my sewing machine, so I am not permitted to go outside much.

Rachel: What’s your fave part about being a lolita?
Codi: Feeling like a princess! I feel absolutely gorgeous in lolita clothes, something I don’t receive when I wear my ‘civilian’ clothes as I call them.

Rachel: Do you like other aspects of Japanese culture besides this street fashion? If you do can you tell us what they are?
Codi: I am fond of the geisha world! I am also a fan of Japanese history, more specifically anything related to the Shinsengumi and the Meiji restoration.

Rachel: If you dig anime, what’s your fave anime?
Codi: Rurouni Kenshin, playing up to the love of Shinsengumi and Meiji era!
Was also one of my very firsts.

Rachel: Ditto for manga.
Codi: D. Gray-man! Very gothic and addictive.

Rachel: What’s your favorite brand of lolita clothing?
Codi: Although I don’t own much from them, my favourite is Innocent World. They never disappoint. I mostly patron to Metamorphose temps de fille, however.

Rachel: Do you sew and if you do, do you prefer your designs over some of the brands?
Codi: Oh goodness no *laughs* I’ve been sewing for 4 years now as well, but my designs cannot compare to the brands (even if they repeat them every year).

Codi - The Anime Blog's Lolita Fashion ExpertRachel: What do you say to people who question your fashion sense?
Codi: I don’t question your hobby, so don’t question mine!

Rachel: Ever get heckled for being a loli in public places and what do you do if you do?
Codi: I have been heckled quite a lot in my time, but I don’t let it bother me at all. I’ve always thought that laughing at others shows the insecurities of one’s self.

Rachel: What’s your family think of the loli lifestyle?
Codi: My mother is absolutely fond of it, however the rest of my family…not so much. I tend not to care what they think of me.

Rachel: Can you tell us how you feel people can make this style individualized?
Codi: I think not living so cookie-cutter to the Bibles. Many brands actually offer more outrageous and individualized coordinates! I think experimentation with mixing brands, colours, and accessories is a good way to start.

Rachel: What advice can you offer lolis first starting out?
Codi: Don’t feel like you have to go out and try to learn to sew overnight or think that all lolitas are rich or have rich parents. Start small, and work your way up. My closet may have a bit, but I’ve also worked for 4 years on it. Don’t feel like you have to own everything at once! Build up!

Rachel: What’s your view of the controversial group of elitist lolis the “Lolita Fucks”?
Codi: I wouldn’t really call them elitist, just out to prove a point. Most of the time though, people cannot take to criticism, regardless of its degree of harshness. Kind of like, “What Not to Wear” but with much more edge.

Along with living la vive Lolita for four years, Codi is a moderator at Metamorphique, a Live Journal Gothic Lolita site and is a mod for louisville_loli, also a Lolita Live Journal site, but one that caters to lolis in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Along with moderating two forums, Codi is also a fashion editor/fashion podcaster for a j-scene project called gomorning. She’s organized an Otakon-official event for lolis in 2004 to boot. That’s one busy lolita!

Codi will be helping us out here at The Anime Blog by keeping us up to date on the latest hits and misses in the loli fashion world, what’s coming up and who’s going out, and even giving us a lil’ DYI loli-style. She’ll also be answering your questions in our new column “Ask a Lolita” where all readers are encouraged to ask Codi questions concerning the loli lifestyle, the fashion, or anything in general! So please submit your questions here or by e-mailing them to me personally.

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Getting the Point Across with Japanese Emoticons

The other day we went to my folks house for Thanksgiving \(^^)/. I didn’t have turkey but I still over ate a bit (T_T). I made four pies for my mom and family and even though my sis is “sensitive” to nuts she still ate the pecan pie, which is my fave (^o^), along with rest of the fam (>_< ). Traffic on the way home from Southern Illinois was bad and there was an a-hole driver that kept cutting us off at the exit (>< #)t.

It’s hard sometimes to convey your happiness, disappointment, anger and other emotions on the internet or other written sources without the use of excessive wordage. If you’re short on time and hate bogging down e-mails, like me, you start looking for shortcuts to get the message across as succinctly as possible.

Also, on the internet, it’s hard to get the proper tone across. Sometimes we mean one thing but the words themselves say another. For example: “I really need the info on that game Robin. When will you get that thing done? It’s been a while and I really need that article!” Whoa! Sounds harsh, yes? What if we both understand a code, though, that attaches tone to the words? Let’s try this: “I really need the info on that game Robin (^^). When will you get that thing done? < ^_^; It’s been a while and I really need that article! m(._.)m” Hmm, let’s say that (^^)=happy, < ^^;=scratching the head in an embarrassed, or this case, worried manner, and m(._.)m= polite thanks, in advance in this instance. Sounds sooo much better than the harsh reprimand without the squiggly lines.

The squiggly lines are actually Japanese emoticons, aka, Japanese smilies, aka, kao moji. Most people on the net these days use smiley faces routinely to take the edge off a statement that might be taken askance. A friendly correction might come across as a curt one without a smiley. We have an established mode of smiley usage in the US and so do the Japanese.

Although smilies were first started in the West, the Japanese seized on the idea and made it their own. Whereas in America we use this sideways smiley : ) to symbolize happy, the Japanese use a right sided method to convey the same thing, namely, this (^^). Anyone familiar with anime and manga will see the similarities between the “happy eyes” of the anime characters and the happy eyes in the emoticon. In fact, kao moji are very anime/manga influenced. Many fans can see that certain symbols used in anime/manga are also used in kao moji.

The Japanese use two bytes on a keyboard enabling them to use more characters than we can in America. Their smilies, therefore, are much more diverse and complicated. It can be difficult to understand kao moji at first, especially if you’re viewing original Japanese emoticons, but here’s a primer for some that Americans can use on their keyboards.

Basics or the Spare Bits of Kao Moji

  1. ( )= A face. It frames most emotions.
  2. )))), or ((((= Depicts motion or movement.
  3. d or b= Thumbs up; used on either or both sides of a face.
  4. t= The finger, aka, the bird. Also used on the side.
  5. m= Hands laid flat on a surface. Same as above
  6. o= Can be cute chibi style hands. Used like arms
  7. / or \= Arms in the air; used for happy or cheering. Ditto.
  8. < , >, f = Can be arms scratching the head.
  9. ), or ( = the “Oh my goodness” hands on the face gesture.
  10. _, o, O, v = Mouths.
  11. O, o, ^,< , >, ‘ -, `= Eyes; go crazy with these.
  12. * or #= Blushing or flushed; rosy cheeks.
  13. +, *, @= Kuh-ray-zee eyes.
  14. ~= Sleepy eyes or closed eyes.
  15. = =Whiskers
  16. # = The veins that pop out when you’re ticked off or annoyed.
  17. ; or T= Tears streaming down a face.
  18. ;= Nervous sweat. Used like the sweat drop in anime.

Some Established and Often Used Kao Moji

  1. Happy= (^^), (^O^), (^_^), (*^^*), (^.^) (this one’s used to depict a Japanese woman smiling. It’s considered impolite to show bone (teeth) when you smile or any other time.)
  2. Happy dance= ((o(^o^)o))
  3. “Hi”, “Whas up?” (happy)= (^^)/, (^^/
  4. “Hi” (indifferent)= (- -)/
  5. Yawn (”You bore me”, “I’m tired”)= (~o~)
  6. Sleeping= (-_-)Zzzzz, (~ ~) ZZzzzz
  7. “I’m so sorry!”, “Thanks so much!” (bowing politely)= m(_ _)m, m(_ _;)m
  8. WTF= (+_< )
  9. Embarrassed, apologetic, worried= (^^;), (^^::, (^o^;) (^_^;)
  10. Scratching the head (WTF)= < (-_- , f(- _-)
  11. Scratching the head (embarrassed)= < ^^;
  12. Crying= (T_T), (;o:), (ToT), (/_;)
  13. Ouch!= (#>< )
  14. Ouch, you jerk-wad!= (#>< )t
  15. “D’oh!”, upset, mischievous= (>< ), (>O< ), (>_< )
  16. Glancing sideways= (> >), (< <)
  17. “Uhhhh…”, or “Ummm…” or that pause that happens when something was said that just wasn’t quite right= (+ +), (o_O)
  18. Disbelief= (@_@)
  19. “I can’t believe you just said that.” or angry resignation= (-_-#)
  20. “Way to go!”, “Good job!”= (^ ^)//, (- ^)b, d(^_^)b
  21. Goodbye (waving)= (^_^)/~~~
  22. “Oh my goodness!!” (happy)= )^O^(
  23. “Oh my goodness!” (not so happy)= )-_-(
  24. “Go to hell!”= t(>< )t, (- -)t

One thing to remember when using kao moji is to put them in context. To use these guys effectively you need to be aware of the tone you’re trying to convey.

You can make up your own emoticons using the basic parts of kao moji. There’s a slew of Japanese emoticons out there that I didn’t include since I didn’t feel they applied much to the average things Americans communicate about (I could be wrong).

More Japanese smilies can be found at this site and here that are much more complex than what I’ve listed. There are also some kao moji in the list that I made up on the fly using the spare parts. Once you have the basics down anything goes!

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Tekkon Kinkreet Anime Movie in December

PingMag has a fantastic article on Tekkon Kinkreet anime movie, premiering in Japan in December. Produced by Studio4°C, Tekkon Kinkreet is based off the works of manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto.

This is a very in-depth article that has detailed sketches, interviews, history of the project and more!

Tekkon Kinkreet movie
Also, check out the Tekkon Kinkreet movie website.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Happy Turkey Day from all of us at The Anime Blog!!

Thanksgiving Ham-chan

Ham-chan says: “Forget Chocobos for racing; nothing runs faster than a turkey on Thanksgiving!!!”

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Anime AICN this week

Scott Green's Anime AICNAin’t It Cool News has the latest Anime AICN article. This week, Scott covers items such as the anime Bake the Grappler Vol 10, Drifting Classroom, the art book Mangaka America: Manga by America’s Hottest Artists, new licenses and more!

As if that’s not enough, this week’s Anime AICN covers trailers such as Nana 2 (the live action movie), One Piece: Episode of Alabaster – Sabaku on Ojou to Kaizoku Tachi, Byousoku 5CM. Also look for news on a possible new series from the creator of Death Note and a whole lot more!

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