Hey, Answerman!

Good evening! Or morning. Or whenever it is you guys read this thing.

Once again, shockingly enough, I have nothing pertinent or entertaining to say about whatever it is I am about to undergo, insofar as answering the throng of questions that lay before me. So without further ado, here they are.

Hey answerman, I've recently been thinking of what kind of job I want to do within the future. I've considered all the normal jobs within society and some not so normal and I came to the conclusion; None of them interest me in the slightest. I would rather have a job doing something I love or something related to what I love. So what do I love? I love anime and manga of course! Which brought me to, what do I have to offer to this industry? And the more I thought on this the more I began to wonder, WHAT could I do. I thought of maybe looking into a professional writing course and become a critic of some sort for some anime magazine, but with me staying in the UK the only anime magazine I know of is NEO. Which brought me to websites such as ANN but yet again, it's a tough business to get into is it not? So as I pondered more on this I thought, how DO you become an anime critic?

So that brings me to this question; How do you become an anime critic for magazines or websites? Is it as simple as applying for the job and/or writing in stating what you want to do? Or is it not as simple as that?

How do you get to be an "anime critic"? Good question. I have no idea.

But, again, you can't necessarily rely on being just an "anime critic" your whole life. I do a lot of other stuff, personally; some of which for my own sense of artistic satisfaction, such as writing and performing plays and drawing cartoons, none of which offer me much financial gain. I have a day job at a bookstore, and I've submitted more resumes and cover letters for freelance work than I can imagine, most of which have turned me down. That's just the way it is. You've gotta work at it, and it's hard. So, essentially, stay in school, do what you need to survive, and in the meantime, write as much and as best as you can about anime. If you're really up to the task, and even if you aren't automatically it will always come in time, people will discover you.

Last weeks question about sound effects in openings got me thinking about another question: How come when a company dubs a show they don't always dub the songs as well? Sure, they do it sometimes, but it's only a small amount of shows available (Ouran, Fruits Basket and Desert Punk off the top of my head). Perhaps because I don't find everything Japanese superior I find dubbed songs very enjoyable and always like hearing one and don't understand why it's not common practice. I find a lack of singers unbelievable because so many actors take some kind of singing lessons in their life and I also don't see why a Japanese licensor wouldn't want it done. It just seems so strange that companies take time to dub a show, but don't take 10 minutes to record the opening and ending themes for the dub.

Oh God no, it's *never* been about a lack of "singers." Actors *love* to pretend that they're musicians. Keanu Reeves proves this.

Nonetheless, dubbing songs is expensive and time-consuming when it is possible, and it usually isn't. They're usually not allowed to even dream of touching the opening and closing music. I mean, kudos to those companies that still try - except of course in certain circumstances.

Two things:

One, what are the correct plurals of anime and manga? Is it like fish or sheep, where the spelling and pronunciation remain the same? Or do you stick an s on the end?

Second, in forums I often see anime spelled "animu". Is this some sort of absurdly common mistyping, the way it's spelled in another language, or simply an alternate spelling that isn't widely used?

One: Yeah, "anime" and "manga" are their own plural. Just like sheep. "I have many manga." "I enjoy all anime."

Is that it? We done here? Terrific.

This is one of those emails that I had to read and re-read several times, thinking perhaps there was something I missed.

Is there really someone called Yusei Fudo? If so, is Yusei a guys name?

what the hell does that mean, i don't even

...Oh! It's about Yu-Gi-Oh.

...

Nevermind.

Holy mother of all that is Holy, it's time for Hey, Answerfans! Here's what I asked of you last week:

Tim, the Tim-ster, begins this week's auspicious responses:

Ah, the anime industry. I remember I used to watch things on VHS back in the early 00's when I was getting into anime. Of course, my viewing habits have changed a lot since then.

DVD's have become my personal choice for anime viewing these days. Thanks to Netflix, I've been able to catch up / see many series I could only have dreamed of years ago. Back then, if I couldn't buy it in a store, I would never see it. That was that. But now DVD's are so accessible, affordable, and obtainable that there are very few big-name series you can't watch through DVD. Back in 2002 I'll admit I didn't like how many anime were going exclusively to DVD, but now I find it hard to believe there was a time I watched series on any other format. Weird, I know.

Stream sites have become a big thing for me as well. I was watching series on crunchyroll before they transformed into current state, and now I watch a lot of the recent anime releases exclusively on there. Hanamaru Kindergarten, Sasameki Koto, and Shugo Chara! are just three of the the series that I've seen courtesy of that site. I'm both surprised and impressed that they are able to keep so quickly with the Japanese releases.

I loathe bittorrent and use it as a last resort when I'm completely and utterly out of options, or an anime is so old and hard to find that there's no other way to see it.

I'm not even on your lawn, Ben, jeez:

Get off my lawn!

Yeah, I may sound like an old-timer for saying that, but I'm going to have to go with the (possibly future) minority and say I prefer watching anime on DVD over streaming video. Here's why:

For one thing, nothing beats seeing a well-animated movie or series on a big high-definition TV. Watching it on a computer monitor (whether it's on DVD or the web) doesn't quite present the same fluid movement. Also, being able to relax on a sofa or a recliner in front of said TV is way more comfortable than having to sit in a chair (folding, rotating or otherwise) while squinting at a video screen the size of a calculator. (Kids these days should be so lucky they have such a wide viewing screen. Back in my day, the only legitimate streaming anime video site we had was Sputnik 7, which contained a video screen the size of an Oreo cookie and quality that stuttered more times than Porky Pig on a bender.) Then, of course, there are the various other pluses to watching on DVD, such as special features on most discs, being able to swap languages on the fly, no Internet connection to worry about, and top-notch audio and video.

Streaming video, on the other hand, is something I have difficulty sitting through. Whereas I can breeze through as many as five episodes on a DVD in a single sitting, with streaming sites like Hulu and YouTube, I have to sit through ads, buffering stoppage for certain videos, and (sometimes) fickle video quality, thereby making it hard for me to dash through a number of series. (Oddly enough, I can sit though a few episodes of "Press Your Luck", yet when it comes to something like "Inuyasha: The Final Act", I just can't work up the motivation to keep up every single week, especially with the sheer excess of stuff of varying degrees of quality flooding the pipelines of Crunchyroll.)

Alas, I fear that I will be in the minority in the near-future. With fewer titles coming out on DVD and more series being heaped onto Crunchyroll (among other streaming sites), I may be forced to make a giant leap of faith to a format I was never too fond of to begin with. I know it's hard to get people to pay for stuff they're used to getting for free, but as a paying customer and long-time anime fan, I deserve some respect, too (instead of being confined to the "dying breed" category).

Now get off my lawn, Brian, before I call the cops.

Ian has his staple:

What comprises the majority of my anime viewing right now? It really depends what's available to me at any given time. I am a DVD collector for sure, however given my current location and the economic status of the US, I have been forced to shift to virtual mediums. Usually, I will sample an anime I am curious about using online streaming. The quality is low so I try to stay away from it when at all possible, but it works for what I use it for. The majority of what I watch is actually direct downloads from various closed circles (mainly my schools sharing network). It has unrestricted bandwidth and is usually up to date, so I get my majority there. The selection is good assuming you are only looking for popular titles unfortunately, this leaves me with torrents for the rest.

Don't get me wrong I love to support the industry but with my lack of money, no way to get to any local stores, and an address most places don't like (a dorm), I use what's available. I usually watch almost nothing but DVD during the summer (when I am home and employed) any only download stuff I cant find or hasn't been released state-side. But this time of year, direct downloads and torrents are my staple.

Johanna, tell me your habits:

I've just watched a large discussion on the question of where you watch anime in a forum, which made me quite thoughtful about the theme. To answer the question in short, my main source for anime are bittorrents. There are several reasons for this. Compared to DVD, what I value is the aspect of watching a show right when it is aired in Japan instead of waiting for it to be released in my country. Of course, money also plays a role, but there are some series that I will absoultely buy on DVD if they are ever published in my country. It's just that not enough of the series I adore are published here and ordering DVDs from japan surpasses my budget by far.

Actually, I think you shouldn't just buy the DVD of an anime because you heard it's the best thing ever or you read some good reviews - they can help you sort out, but only if you have already watched a show you can really judge if it's worth buying. This is usual for TV shows and movies, I think: You watch it first, then you decide you liked it and buy it on DVD. So watching anime on bittorrents is a way of finding out which animes - if they are ever published outside Japan - are worth buying. The reason I don't watch streaming is mainly a bad internet connection. I hate to need to wait until the video has loaded far enough so you can start watching the episode. If you have a bittorrent download, you wait until it's down and then you have got it and can watch it again anytime you want.

Recently I have been watching an intense quarrel in a forum. Some of the people argued that it's egoistic to just watch Anime online. I think I can agree with that to some extent: If your absolute favourite anime is being released in your country and you don't support it by buying the DVDs because you already have all the episodes as super-high quality fansubs on your hard drive, well, then you can't tell anyone you really love the series. Buying the DVDs will show the publisher it is a good show, maybe they will offer things like DVD-boxes and this will bring more people to like it. And honestly, if I truly love a series, my feeling is that just everyone should know about it and at least have a chance to see how special it is, not only the nerds who watch 20 different animes each season.

YouKai Shinigami, reprah'zen'in those in foreign lands:

I have to say I only use bittorrent (or some similar methods) as my source for almost all the anime I watch.

Why is that? Because here, in my country, there isn't licensed title to buy.The DVDs on sale are piracy as well and I don't feel like paying for a fake with poor quality; that's like selling fansub to make profit. That's definitely NOT supporting the authors; and I do support them. I even buy originals if I feel like it. But not piracy to make self profit.

And, also, the anime broadcasting on TV is decreasing both in quantity as in quality. The dubs are far wrong (sometimes they even change the names as the episodes passes), not to mention the censure and even the misleading dialogs. There is the "no continuation" karma too. Animax is not ANImax anymore.

So, I prefer having a fan subbed DVD copy, which are TV rips with decent subtitles, just like view anime on TV (but in original language at all). That way I can also borrow it and spread unknown anime titles among my friends who can't access to the internet to watch some new or really old anime like me.

Calvin is correct, there ARE no VCRs for streaming sites:

While what I'd like to say is that every week I tune in on a TV channel and watch the latest shows... that's not really happening. I don't even have cable or satellite (or a landline phone, for that matter). I do have a TV, but it's connected to my computer and game consoles.

Streaming holds promise to fill in some of the missing gap. Crunchyroll has a few ongoing shows like Gintama that are easy to jump into, and are close behind the Japanese release. But a lot of their content is reruns, and the technology's not quite there yet – I like to fullscreen shows on my TV and watch from the couch, and Flash does weird things with black bars, blank screens, and glitchy playback. Something people don't realize is that streaming an episode uses as much bandwidth as downloading, but you don't get to keep it. If you watch an episode again, that's twice the usage charge. There are no VCRs for streaming sites yet!

The big thing that online streaming is good at is live events; It's great for watching sporting events, where you always want to see things as they happen, and don't really want a permanent copy.

So, the first time I see a show, it is usually still through fansubs. It's pretty easy to find fast direct downloads of many new fansubs within days of the shows being released in Japan. This makes it so I always have something interesting and new to watch. (Although this season's been a bit dry...)

I keep an archive of almost everything I've seen, gradually replacing it with DVD (and soon, blu-ray) discs when they're finally released. The main reason for this is that many of my friends missed some of the classic older anime. It's easy to lend out a DVD or burn a disc.

But once or twice a week, I'll get together with some of my friends. We'll sit down on the couch, grab some snacks and turn on the TV as I pull out a couple fresh fansubs of anime, and then finish with an episode or two from my DVDs of Lain or Outlaw Star or Clannad or ...

Laurel watches the so-called "boob tube":

I would have to say… none of those! Most of my anime viewing is done through the magic of Time Warner Cable's Anime Network On Demand service and whatever the hell they decide to play on Adult Swim (starting this Saturday, I get Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood! It'll sort of make up for taking away my Bleach). I only own two complete series: Papuwa, which I purchased gradually over several months, and Yami No Matsuei, which was given to me as a gift. I also own one DVD of Panda Z: The Robonimation, a gag gift bought for the Panda Z action figure (and just-so-happened to come with a DVD).

I've only watched free anime online once (for a research project). I haven't done it since. Not only do I feel awful whenever I consider watching a series online or downloading it for free (especially with the downturn the industry's been taking), but I hate. Abhor, even! Sitting at my computer and watching T.V. I can sit at my television set and watch T.V., and my shoulders don't cramp up as bad.

Good luck, Vashfanatic:

Let's begin by talking about my pathetic situation: I am poor. Like far too many recent college graduates, I found myself without a job after leaving school and had to move back in with my parents. Right now I've found a minimum-wage part-time job, and even the nicer job I'll be interviewing for soon (knock on wood) would mostly be a gold star on my résumé and wouldn't pay enough for me to move out.

What this means is that I haven't bought much new anime recently. I saved up for the box set of Baccano!, but most of my nerd income is invested in the long term project of buying 20th Century Boys. Also, since I'm using my parents' internet connection, I've become far more conscientious about my downloading of anime. Most of my viewing over the last six months has come from other sources. Let's go through them one by one, shall we?

Since I'm at home, I have full access to my DVD collection, which I'd only had part of at my old apartment in grad school. It's far too common that you buy anime thinking you'll watch it again and again but then never get back to it because something new has come along. I've had the fun of re-watching shows that I hadn't seen in years, like X and RahXephon, as well as more recent acquisitions like Ergo Proxy. This has been a lot of fun, and I have plenty more series to go through if I run out of options in other areas.

I've also taken advantage of the anime at my local library to get shows like Last Exile and Moribito that I watched in relatively low-res fansubs. Seeing them in DVD format has been really nice.

The giant surge in legal streaming has meant I've been watching shows that way. I started and then dropped several shows on Funimation's website. I watched Natsume Yuujinchou, and part of Galaxy Express 999 on Crunchyroll. I'm working on Captain Harlock there and plan to check out the original Gundam series so that I can actually say I've seen something in that mega franchise. I even bought a three month membership so I could watch Durarara!! in high-definition the day it comes out; it's the only current show that I'm watching.

Otherwise, the main things I've been actually downloading are really old unlicensed (and often unlicensable) material. I've really been inspired by the Buried Treasure column to try to expand my limited exposure to pre-1990 anime. Some of this is movies or OVAs like the 1987 Hi no Tori and Macross: Do You Remember Love?, but The Big One is Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Good God do I love that series. Right now I'm sort of stalled a few episodes from the finale of the second season because I'm scared to death of how it's going to end. It's one of those series where you like way too many of the characters on both sides of a conflict, and if either side wins, a whole bunch of people I like are going to die. I may take a break in between season to focus on something else and just give myself an emotional breather.

I know this sounds like a lot of anime, but remember that this has been over six months of viewing. And that I am unemployed. In a terrible economy for finding work. This had left me with WAY too much spare time on my hands. I'd love to get a nice job to keep me busy and limit the time I have to watch shows – as well as give me some more money to buy the long list of shows I'd love to purchase. Wish me luck, folks, 'cause I need it!

How was my question at all "loaded?" Bah, anyway, here's Brenden:

Dear anime fans - are you criminals? Y/N

Nothing like a loaded question. Anyway:

To begin with - as for Streaming, I have something of an aversion to putting myself at the mercies of the internet WHILE watching a show. There are a handful of titles out there I might spin through in that fashion - mostly larger shows that I'm on the fence about or feel I should see out of a sense of obligation in addition to actual interest (e.g.: Fairy Musketeers; Pretty Cure) - but in general it's not something I can see myself doing as often as either of my other options. To continue, with the major media node in my current bachelor pad being a computer tower run into a flatscreen television, I gain from the nearby couch the more traditional benefit of a relaxed viewing posture in addition to the point-and-click advantages of digital media. All other things being equal, therefore, it's just more convenient for me to locate and play one of my digital files than it is to make treks to my DVD shelf (all of six feet away), spin up the discs, and navigate the menus.

Because of the above, even though I've bought most of my favorite shows on DVD in addition to retaining the digital copies that I either acquired from the shadier members of my college anime club after we watched the shows (e.g.: Escaflowne; Kamichu!; Princess Tutu) or, more recently, torrented on my own out of curiosity (e.g.: Rocket Girls; Seven of Nana; Gakuen Alice), I'll usually take a quick trip to my anime drive if I want to revisit them. The key implication there is that, while I do torrent shows that I feel unsure of, I also do cash out for the ones that end up striking my fancy. Admittedly, not all shows I've torrented have gotten my money (e.g.: - - REDACTED - -), though sometimes it's not for lack of motivation on my part (e.g.: YKK; Manabi Straight; Sketchbook* - Hint, Hint, companies).

(* I see you over there, Crunchyroll - and a part of me respects your move to bring the show to the masses. However, the part of me that already has 720p fansubs (which still have better QC than your streams, by the way - I've checked (which I guess means you ~have~ gotten a tiny, tiny amount of my money)), would really still like to own it on DVD. If you fixed your subtitles, got the Picture Drama DVD specials, threw everything on four discs, and stuffed them in a single-wide case, I would buy that box in a heartbeat.

I am, in addition, getting gradually more adventurous with shows whose DVDs I buy "blind" - and it is these shows that comprise the majority of what I actually do watch on DVD, for obvious reasons (much of the remainder being enjoying the extra content on the other discs - Hint, Hint, again, companies). These "gamble" shows vary from ones bought due to their reputation (Elfen Lied; Twelve Kingdoms) to recommendations from friends (Soul Hunter; Ushio & Tora) to anything I see in a catalog or on a shelf that looks like a good deal for something I think I'll like (World of Narue; Assemble Insert - best five bucks I ever spent, by the way). And there you have one anime fan's viewing habits.

Lisa ain't techy:

The way I find and watch most anime these days is by DVD. The practicality of DVDs is that they are safer then the possibility of a virus getting loaded on your computer, they are generally better quality then what you can find online, you are not controlled by how fast the computer/internet connection you are using is, you get a good 3+ episodes in a row you can watch with out having to click a button to get the next part, and last but not least... I can watch it on my nice big HD tv with out getting too techy. I love the internet, and heaven knows I am on it a good amount of the time, but anime was made for tv so I try to keep it there.

Getting your hands on a DVD though can be a pain, which is why I like Netflix. They have a big enough collection I can watch (or at east eventually watch) almost any anime I want to (unless it has not been released in America and in most cases then I haven't heard of it yet). Because of Netflix I watch random shows that I would normally never even try (example is I can not stand chick flicks in any form - movie, book, anime - but I gave Fruits Basket a shot and it is now one of my favorites)

Netflix however is limited, and most of my friends who watch anime can't afford to buy that many DVDs so when all else fails, I will go to the internet to stream the shows. If I can, I try to watch it on the websites of the companies that license it such as Funimation.

Yotaru's will is strong:

My anime viewing is divided amongst the occasional DVD marathoning of anime series via Netflix and watching anime on Hulu/Funimation.com/Crunchyroll.

I have been watching less Crunchyroll because they have become smart/cruel by putting their more high profile titles (Fairy Tail, Durarara) behind the firewall called paid membership; maybe I'll give in someday, but not today!

Having so many titles available online has allowed me to give up my wicked ways (Bitttorent, unofficial streams) for the most part. Still, I have to resort to these gray areas if I want to watch the supertrashy "excuse to show boobs" shows like Ladies Versus Butlers or Seikon no Qwaser, because those are examples of shows that are either not legally streamed, will probably never make it to domestic DVD, or have been self-censored.

Cherie, your super-relaxed response is last:

I watch anime on DVDs I have bought (and some VHS from my early days of collecting), but being able to watch streaming anime is also important in helping me determine what anime I will be buying. For me, watching anime online is a way to preview works I haven't seen, and often leads to me falling in love with a show and then buying it as soon as I am able to. Before I was able to sample anime online, I would generally purchase about 2 series and a movie yearly. Now that I can watch some anime online, I am buying 2-3 times as many shows and movies every year. In the end, though, I like to veg-out on a couch and watch anime on DVD. Super relaxing.

So then! What's next week's assignment? Glad you asked!

Now you've got this week's question, and it's time to get answerin'.

For those of you new to Hey, Answerfans!, I'll explain the concept.

Believe it or not, I'm genuinely curious what you think.

That's right; as much as I love the sound of my own voice, I do love to listen to what other people have to say on a subject. I'm finding that over the last few years, the attitudes, reasoning and logic that today's anime fans use eludes, confuses or astounds me; I have so many questions for you, and I'm dying to hear what you have to say in response.

Welcome to Hey, Answerfans!

Basically, we're turning the tables. Each week I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to email me your answer. Be as honest as you can. I'm looking for good answers; not answers I agree with or approve of, but good, thoughtful answers. People feel passionately about these subjects and I'd like to see that in the responses I get. I'll post the best answers I get, and maybe some of the crappy ones. Sometimes there may only be one or two good ones; sometimes five or more. It all depends on what I get in my inbox! Got it? Pretty simple, right? Start writing those answers and email them to answerman [at] animenewsnetwork dot com.

We do have a few simple ground rules to start with.

Things To Do:

* Be coherent.
* Be thoughtful.
* Be passionate.
* Write as much or as little as you feel you need to to get your point across in the best possible way.

Things Not To Do:

* Respond when the question doesn't apply to you. For instance, if your email response starts with "Well, I don't do whatever you're asking about in the question... " then I'm going to stop reading right there and hit delete.

* Be unnecessarily rude or use a lot of foul language.
* Go off-topic.

And with that, I'm off until next time! Remember to send in those questions and answers and cake recipes to answerman (at) animenewsnetwork.com! G'night!