Digital Melodies of Despair - 絶望のデジタル·メロディーズ

Blog Update #2

2013-03-27T19:34:00.002+08:00

Sorry, I wasn't able to update the blog for a very long time. Due to the fact that real life has been trying to pull me back in, I wasn't able to pay much attention to the blog. But I've got great news, I'm going to have a baby! Yehey! And a daughter at that! Yes, so it's been really difficult for me to get back to blogging recently.

Updates:

I'm going to have an official domain soon where I can migrate my content here to there. It will be up in a few days so wait for it. It will have organized downloads and a bunch of other exciting stuff - and more downloads.

Another thing is I updated the links to the downloads currently available. I kinda shortened the URL so if you see an ad, please do not exit the page, wait for 5 seconds and you will see a 'Skip Ad' button - click it - and you will be redirected to the download page. If your adblocker does block the site, well, temporarily turn it off. The reason why I did this was that I need some kind of extra income, since my waifu's giving birth and I do need a bit of money to feed my family, I hope ya'll understand why there are annoying ads.

If unclear refer to the HOW-To section of the site on how to get passed the ad.

Thank you and I love you guys, ciao!

Blog Update #1

2013-01-18T21:50:00.001+08:00

Blog Update #1

Okay, so I decided to update my blog as it is slowly becoming a download site for Doujin Games. It was never my intention to turn it into one but I guess that's the direction on which this blog is going, so expect lots of doujin music, doujin games, otaku-related softwares to be uploaded in here.

Updates:

Added a HOW-TO page for those who having a hard time accessing, installing, and/or downloading the files.
Added a DOWNLOADS page for those who are lost.
Fixed a few links.
Added mirror links in case of broken downloads.

Now, I am considering of turning this blog into a legit website, but due to financial problems I'm kinda having a hard time getting myself a domain, but it will surely come.

Here are some of the few stuff I want to add to the site:

Forums - For user interaction, of course. And for the main purpose of organizing downloads and etc.
Domain - self-explanatory, I guess.
A more organized download page.

Basically that's it for now but I will still think of some ideas that might interest you. Drop a comment if you have suggestions.

Cake of the Day #5

2013-01-18T06:18:00.001+08:00

Doujin Game - Crescent Pale Mist

2013-01-17T23:31:00.001+08:00

Crescent Pale Mist is a 2.5D hack-and-slash, platforming game by the doujin circle ClassiC Shikoukairu that's noted for its fierce hack-and-slash gameplay, high-quality visuals, and for being really hard.

It's story takes place in the country of Gasyukal, a country of where people seek knowledge of magic, but are foolish enough to stumble upon a forbidden form of magic considered widely taboo. The country's first use of this form of magic was used by ancient sages that ended up destroying an old and distant country, resulting in knowledge of its existence and destructive powers. Later a war broke out, the country of Gasyukal was at a disadvantage, and they were running out of ideas to hold off the enemy forces. Out of desperation, this is where the second time the forbidden magic was used to even the odds... until they couldn't control it and it backfires on them. This resulted in the country of Gasyukal to be pulled from a rift into an Another Dimension, thus turning the countryside into a forbidden no-man's land known as the "Taboo State". Those that try to investigate the Taboo State later ended up dead, without poisoning or trauma, as well as the doctors who examined the corpses and met with the same fate.

Yunou, our heroine of this story, is a magician who is capable of using a deadly and forbidden form of magic known as Pale Mist — the very same Pale Mist that's seeping from Gasyukal — believes there's something more that's causing these deaths. She sets out to seek the source of the Pale Mist and put an end to it, although it's a quest that's easier said than done considering the many dangerous monsters and her former comrades she will confront along the way.

Unlike most doujin action-platformers, the player is not limited to a single 2D plane as Yunou can jump from one plane to another and traverse to other areas (although there are times where you can't go back at all). Yunou can take down foes with her "blade" for close-ranged attacks, cast powerful Pale Mist magic like Rowanveld, and carrying a bottomless supply of throwing daggers for good measure. Along the way, Yunou can find items and artifacts scattered throughout Gasyukal to enhance her abilities, provide hints towards her treasure-hunting, and unlock extra difficulties and other features. To make it through the Taboo State, Yunou will have to utilize every trick she's got under her Detached Sleeves.

The game was first released in Japan for Windows PC on March 30th, 2006. Rockin' Android later obtained publishing rights to localize the game in English and it was released as a downloadable game for PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network on November 9th, 2010 with psuedo-High Definition visuals, redrawn character art, online leaderboards, PlayStation Network Trophies, and a few gameplay tweeks. As of late, there has been no announcements from Rockin' Android themselves to port the game onto other platforms, although during an interview with Neocrisis, the game's developer Shikou has stated that he wishes to see the game released through Xbox LIVE.

- via TVTropes Wiki

Download: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

How to join split files: How-to's

Cake of the Day #4

2013-01-12T05:46:00.000+08:00

Doujin Game - Recettear ~ An Item Shop's Tale ~

2013-01-12T05:41:00.003+08:00

Recettear ~ An Item Shop's Tale

Recettear is a game about an item store, the girl who lives in it, and the fairy whose job it is to make sure that the girl doesn't burn down the item store by accident.

Playing the game involves gathering items - either by playing the markets in the city of Pensee, or grabbing an adventurer and delving into the dungeons that dot the countryside - and selling them to the customers who come through your doors. Tear, the fairy, is here to collect on a loan your father took out - and she'll have to take the store, which doubles as your house, if you can't pay up!

The game is split into two main parts, then: selling items, and exploring dungeons. There isn't really much of anything quite like this combination in any other game, and the number of items you can find is massive.

Selling items and dungeon diving isn't all there is to do, however. There's quite a cast of characters to meet in Recettear, some friendly, some less so. Their fates tie into your own, though, and helping them out could lead you to riches beyond your wildest dreams!

So what're you waiting for, Recette Lemongrass? You've got a debt to pay, and only so much time to do it in.

Recettear is a great dungeon crawler with a mixed element of RPG-style shopkeeping. It engages you into a fun world where you collect loot from dungeon monsters for you to sell in your shop to earn money to pay your debt. If you guys have much time to play around whether you're bored or not, here's a game for you to play. It is simply amazing.

UPDATED LINK | How to extract Split-files.

Download Link: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Doujin Game - Gundemoniun Recollection

2013-01-12T03:22:00.001+08:00

Gundemonium Recollection is a really fun shoot'em up that I'd recommend anyone to play. It has an engaging yet simple gameplay. Download is available for all.

About Gundemonium Recollection:

The first game in the Gundemonium trilogy, and tells a story of alchemy gone wrong in an alternate 18th century. Its galvanized and finely tuned side-scrolling bullet-hell shoot-'em-up gameplay sets it well above most other games in the genre. The game is deceptively simple from the outset, but has very well-thought-out gameplay mechanics. There are multiple playable characters, expertly crafted enemies and bullet patterns, a variable-difficulty "Phase Level" system, a risk-and-reward bullet "Friction" system, a "Demonic Shift" ability that's not for the faint of heart, and much more.

Download Link: Gundemonium Recollection

Doujin Game - Touhou Classic Collection TH1-5

2013-01-12T03:06:00.002+08:00

The Touhou series is probably the most popular of the shoot'em up genre in the doujin game world. It has gained its popularity and I do believe that it deserves its popularity. Here are the first Touhou games made.

What you'll find in the RAR file:

PC98 Emulator
TH01 - Highly Responsive to Prayers
TH02 - The Story of Eastern Wonderland
TH03 - Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream
TH04 - Lotus Land Story
TH05 - Mystic Square

Instructions on how to play the games on the PC98 Emulator provided:

CLICK TO ENLARGE THE PICTURES

Open up the emulator by clicking on the anex86.exe file.

Click on HDD1's '...'

Choose the game you want and click 'Open'

Click on 'Start'

Play the game!

About Touhou:

The Touhou Project (東方Project) is a series of 2D (with 3D background) vertically-scrolling danmaku shooting games made by Team Shanghai Alice, with three fighting game spinoffs co-produced with Tasogare Frontier. They are similar to regular shooting games, but focus more on weaving through complex patterns containing anywhere from dozens to hundreds of bullets. Every game in the Touhou series is set in the fantasy land of Gensokyo, and the series is known for its huge cast of characters, well-developed storylines, and related materials such as music CDs, fan-made comics and animated videos made to the music. - Touhou Project Wiki

Download Link: Touhou Classic Collection TH01 - TH05

Doujin Game - Street Fighter X Mega Man

2013-01-12T02:27:00.000+08:00

I have been a big fan of the Mega Man series and I still can't get enough. Street Fighter X Mega Man is a great doujin game which every Mega Man and/or Street Fighter fan can enjoy!

About Megaman X Street Fighter:

Street Fighter X Mega Man, known in Japan as Street Fighter X Rockman (ストリートファイター X ロックマン Sutorīto Faitā Kurosu Rokkuman), is a crossover platform game created by Singaporean fan developer Seow Zong Hui with support from Capcom. The game was released as a free download from Capcom-Unity on December 17, 2012. The game celebrates the 25th anniversary of Capcom's Mega Man and Street Fighter franchises, mimicking the design of classic Mega Man games but with Street Fighter characters substituting as important enemies encountered in the game. - Wikipedia

Download Link: Street Fighter X Mega Man

Doujin Game - Croixleur

2013-01-12T02:06:00.001+08:00

This will be the first upload here in DigiMero of many doujin games out there (released and about to be released). This first upload is Croixleur. It is an enjoyable game where you control a red twin-tailed girl who fight monsters as you advance through floors. As far as my knowledge goes, there isn't an English patch available(?) just yet. If there is any, I will put be uploading it in here as well.

More about Croixleur:

Croixleur is a high-speed 3D action adventure with RPG elements. Fight your way through dungeon floors of enemies to reach the deepest level. Collect XP and money to level up and buy new weapons and skills! - IGN

UPDATED LINKS | How to extract Split-files
Download Link: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

MangaMeeya - Manga/Comics Reader

2013-01-12T01:52:00.000+08:00

A lot of people download manga off from the internet and have a slightly difficult time reading it. Some people extract it from a RAR file while others have a difficult time wondering on what they'd do with that RAR file. Others use various comic reader applications with very limited features (like those that can only open a certain image extension like .jpeg, .png, etc.).

MangaMeeya solves those problems.

About MangaMeeya:

MangaMeeya is an easy-to-use comic reader that puts a special emphasis on manga.

MangaMeeya also features all the tools and utilities you need to enjoy your comics on the PC. That means you'll be able to open your comics in single or double page layout, read them in full screen, explore the contents of a book in thumbnails or even use the built-in magnifying glass to take a look at the smallest details.

The program's full support for keyboard and mouse makes it really easy to use. It also has support for a wide variety of image formats, including .CBR/.CBZ files. Unfortunately, MangaMeeya doesn't seem to support certain common file formats, like .7z or .PNG, nor does MangaMeeya include any comics to start with. A final problem is that it’s lacking a file organizer, something that makes managing larger collections a whole lot easier.

MangaMeeya is a handy image viewer that makes reading manga and other comics much more comfortable - a true must-have for all comic fans!

Download Link: MangaMeeya 2.4

Cake of the Day #3

2013-01-12T00:58:00.001+08:00

Otaku Web Browser - Lolifox!

2013-01-12T00:11:00.000+08:00

Most of you are probably familiar with lolifox, but the official website has been down for quite a while which in turn made lolifox unknown to the masses. While searching the interwebs, I finally got a hold of an updated version of the browser, here it is: CLICK HERE.

Cake of the Day #2

2012-10-30T11:47:00.002+08:00

On Linux and CrunchBang

2012-10-30T00:46:00.001+08:00

I have always been a frustrated Linux newbie - and I do believe I will still remain a Linux newbie in the years to come. Is it lack of interest in the operating system? Or is it because Microsoft's user-friendliness spoiled me so much? I reckon it to be the latter. However, there are days like this where I hunger for complex stuff, so here I am back to using Linux.

installed CrunchBang Linux. It is a light-weight and sleek Linux distro. It is highly customizable, mainly because it comes with Conky (customizable system monitor), Openbox (light-weight extensible window manager), and Tint2 (light-weight taskbar). As a Linux newbie, CrunchBang is somewhat a perfect environment for me to play around with customization and stuff. I learn as I play.

I have used CrunchBang linux before. Unfortunately, due to my work, I am forced to revert back to Windows since I fear of the bugs that may affect my work when using critically important programs through Wine. Indeed, my paranoia kills me. Also, I am an avid PC gamer, it is such a shame that most of the games I try to play out of a Linux box through Wine always end up in failing. Oh, my demise.

I enjoy the Linux learning curve. It is challenging, very challenging, for people like me had been spoiled by the advantages of Windows. I will stick around with CrunchBang for a while, try to refresh my memory with all the Linux stuff I learned in the past and learn more about the power and frightening yet enjoyable world of Linux.

On Japanese Idols

2012-10-29T00:18:00.003+08:00

American Idol may have gotten North American audiences used to the idea of putting a person plucked from obscurity on a pedestal for his or her singing talent for a year or so before the idol (usually) fades back into obscurity, but the “idol” (aidoru in Japanese, but the word is taken from the English equivalent) has long been hot in Japan. Not always (but often) singers, the Japanese idol becomes a massive cross-media hit known more for her (we’ll get to that in a minute) looks and (possibly manufactured) personality than her talent.

Sometimes in the 1970s, the idol boom began in Japan, strangely not after the cross-media popularity of a native Japanese woman in Japan, but of a French musician named Sylvie Vartan. Talent agencies formed keen to produce the next “idol,” the next young woman who would be plastered across all media outlets and become the next big “cash cow.”

Japanese idols are usually women, but some young men may be considered idols (men typically become idols through initially joining the music or acting industry, though, and don’t specifically set out to be an all-encompassing “idol.”) Idols are usually teenagers (specifically 14 to 16), but may be as young as 12 or so and as “old” as in their early 20s. Very few idols remain popular beyond their 20s, but there are a few memorable ones who have preserved and have been recognized for their talents in the long-term.

Idols may sing, act, or model (or all three), but they don’t necessarily have to have a “talent” and aren’t marketed for their one talent. The goal is to have the next, hot new idol permeate everything in the entertainment industry that she can. This typically means frequent appearances on talk shows, variety shows, radio shows, and game shows, as well as sponsorship deals. A Japanese idol must be pretty or cute (as deigned by the talent agency), thin, and must demonstrate a lovable, sweet personality in her appearances. Some are even known for being “lovable airheads” and gladly milk this personality portrayal for all that it’s worth. However, it’s well known that the overly cute “personality” is often just an act and there are sometimes gossip stories about how ruthless and mean—or conversely, how intelligent and down-to-earth—the idols can be when not “on camera.”

The Japanese idol industry is a tough, competitive industry for which thousands of young women compete each year. Only a few successful idols “survive” their few years of fame to become famous in the long-term, and those are usually the ones who have real talent and genuinely act like themselves when interviewed.

- via The Japanese Tutor

Doujin. What is it?

2012-10-28T16:53:00.003+08:00

What is Doujin?

In Japan, Doujin usually refers to activities which people with same interest get together and create things like comics(Manga), novels, games and other goods. These people are not necessary professional artists or writers. Many of doujin products are created by armatures as a hobby and often published by their own expense.

Group formed by people with common Doujin theme is often called "Circle". Within Circle, creators exchange their ideas and show works to each other. Doujinshi or software is often published by Circle.

There are hundreds of Doujin Circles in Japan. Many of the Doujin products are publicized by Circle rather than by individual.

Doujin Circle and community is becoming Japan's huge art culture and manga industry's phenomenon.

History of Doujin
Definition of "Doujin" was first acknowledged when Shotaro Ishinomori gathered artist friends and established "East Japan Comic Society" to publish a corroboration magazine "Manga-Shonen". Then Doujin Circle activities gradually started to prosper through the "reader's communication page" on a magazine "COM" (Now discontinued), which was first publicized in 1967. At that time, self publication was costing a fortune, thus one bundled comics were passed from one Circle member to another, by adding their pages and circulating among the creators for viewing.

The realm of "Doujin" has grown as the number of participating creators increased. Circles started to form within educational institutions such as high schools and universities. In that case, Circles were able to receive funds from their institution, thus it made it possible for their Doujinshi to be printed. (Offset Print)

Individual Doujin activities started to increase when the animation series, "Gatcha-Man" was televised around 1972. Yet it was still not a widely spread trend and only small group of Circles were gathering and exchanging their works. Doujin community was still a closed realm.

Comic Market held in 1975 has contributed a great deal for the general acknowledgement of Doujin culture. It begun with 32 Circles, and 700 participants, forming a place to exchange and sell each other's Doujin art works. The Comic Market gradually became as a major Doujin event from year to year.

At beginning, many of the Doujinshi were featuring animation parody, but then gradually gained more erotic components which have made an erotic Doujinshi a very popular theme.

Once a certain Doujinshi gains its popularity, the number of creators who participate to its Circle increases. Therefore, they are able to afford more costly printing method such as offset. As a result that made the quality of such Doujinshi better.
Doujin Circles which did not have enough financial resource would publish their Doujinshi by copying or printing out of a printer. In the past, printing was pretty expensive, but now days it has become cheaper.

As many animation came out on TV in the 80th, more Doujinshi featured such anime themed Parody, including Yaoi and erotic Doujinshi. Some of the popular titles featured by Doujin creators then were: "Gundum" (1981), "Urusei-Yatsura - Only You" (1983), "Macross – Remember Love" (1984). In the late 80th, titles such as "Saint Seiya" (1980) and "Top o Nerae" became a huge hit which raised excitement among Doujin creators.

Around this time, Yaoi Doujinshi started to acquire a general acknowledgement because of popular anime titles such as "Saint Seiya" and "Samurail Trooper", which featured friendship between men.

Also, "Doujin Software" started to appear around this time because PC was starting to become a popular domestic tool. Similar to "Comiket", an event "Pasoket" was formed as a place to sell and exchange PC Doujin software. NEC's PC-9801 series, Fujitsu's FM-TOWNS and Sharp's X68000 were popular hardware, thus Doujin software and CG were mainly designed to run on these platforms. Among those, X68000 especially attracted many core-users because of its high machine spec which resulting in many sophisticated Doujin software titles to be born.

In the 90th, a title such as "Sailor Moon" became a huge hit among kid and even adult. "Sailor Moon" became also a popular theme among Doujin creators. Since characters from "Sailor moon" were "Bisyoujyo Character" (Pretty Girl Character), many erotic and lesbian themed Doujinshi were created out of Sailor Moon.

In the mid 90th, Game themed Doujinshi started to gain popularity. Most of them were featuring an erotic scene and Yaoi theme of in-game characters. Number of game company that featured "Bisyoujyo Game" (Pretty Girl's Game) has increased and many Doujin creators started to focus on Bisyoujyo Game because of its demand and popularity.

Around this time, lawsuits about copyright issue between commercial and Doujin publication stared to rise. Creating Doujinshi out of copyrighted characters was considered legal because it was based on the idea that these Doujinshi were created for non-commercial purpose, but for leisure. There were no licensing fee and business agreement between the copyright holder and Doujin creator. As a result, copyright holder was not able to restrict copyrighted character themed Doujinshi even though he did not like how these characters were presented on these Doujinshi. Although this has been a continuous problematic issue in the industry and it is being said that there should be some kind of law to set a rule. (Text by: Torakichi Hayama)

Category of Doujin

Original
Doujin works which all story and characters were originally created by the creator.

Ani-Paro
Anime Parody. Featuring already existed anime characters or anime theme.

Yaoi
Doujin work which features love or sex between male. Sometime it is called Boy’s love.

Yuri
Doujin work which features love or sex between female. This word was born as an opposite of "Bara" (Rose) n".

Loli-Con
Abbreviation for Lolita Complex. Doujin works featuring Child Pornography. It was said that the term was originated from a novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, a middle age man loving an underage girl. **In the United States, Loli-con that presents child obscenity and pornography is illegal by CPPA (Child Pornography Prevention Act). Please be aware to understand the law carefully if you are planning to write Loli-con themed Doujinshi. This law applies to virtual characters as well.

Shota-Con
Doujin work which features underage boy love affair. The term originated from a character named Shota Kaneda from "Taiyou no Shisya Tetsujin 28 Gou".

Neko-Mimi
Doujin work which features female characters with cat ears. Basically, most of the main Neko-Mimi characters are female. Their personality is very similar to Neko (Cat) and act like it. On Doujinshi, these characters might talk like "~meow" at the end of their words.

Kemono
Different from Neko-Mimi, but this Doujin work features human looking character with partially animal-like.

- By: Soul Concepts

Japanimation and Techno-Orientalism

2012-10-28T16:03:00.000+08:00

Japan as the Sub-Empire of Signs

The word "Japanimation" is neologism that is made by two words, Japan+animation. Now, Japanimation is seen in whole world. And people outside Japan are interested in the Japanese subculture including Manga and Japanimation, etc. If people once asked "What is ZEN?", now people ask "What is Otaku?". But I'm very skeptical about this condition. This phenomena is absolutely the effect of globalization, information capitalism. Under the Fordist economic system of the past, globalization meant nothing more than "Americanization," and media and entertainment were supplied by Disney animations.

However, we must now consider seriously the fact that the post-Fordist social environment of globalization will include Japanimation and ponder its meaning. In other words, the strategy of this cultural movement is the effect of the Sub-imperialism. According to Kuan-Hsing Chen, the sub-empire is secondary dependent empire which has hegemony much more in culture and economy than military system. And this new version of imperialism uses sub-culture in general. By analyzing a Japanimation film, I would like to illustrate and criticize Japan as the sub-empire of signs.

The "GHOST IN THE SHELL"

The film "GHOST IN THE SHELL" is set in the world of AD 2029. This near future is not so information-based that nations or ethnicities have vanished , although networks of many enterprises have covered the planet, electrons or light running through them. In this world , East Asia is a huge corporate zone dominated by multinational economic and information operations. In this world, the lives of human beings are intertwined with advanced technologies. It is a world of cybernetics and sophisticated electronic information networks , where the border between people and machines sometimes becomes blurred or invisible. For some people, reality is only virtual. Many humans in this world become cyborgs, a complex of man and machine. Except for the kernel of their brain, some people in this age already have substituted a cybernetic, prosthetic body for their own body . The main character of the film, a woman named Motoko Kusanagi, is the leader of the "Shell Squad", Section 9 of the Department of the Interior, which has been formed by the government to combat cyber crimes and political terrorism in the information society. Through the net, crimes have become more sophisticated and more violent. The story of the film is about a conflict and conspiracy among some departments and agents in the government. The events are concerned with a strange hacker who has the code name "Puppet Master". This unidentified super hacker started out as a computer virus manufactured by the Foreign Ministry. The "Puppet Master" can take over human beings to further his own purposes by using what is called "ghost hacking".

Even though a human in this world may almost have changed its own body into a machine, it still can remain human in so far as it has its own "ghost". Ghost is a sort of spirit, not mind in general. It is indeed unconsciousness itself, but is also memory, which can help found people's identities. "Puppet Master" says "memory can not be defined , but it defines mankind." As if it were the water in cup, the identity of a human needs a form or shell at the same time that it needs "ghost". We can't distinguish between shell and ghost in human beings. But the problem isn't about the traditional philosophical dichotomy between mind and body. Rather we come face with the very basic question in SF: Is cyborg the human or the machine? What is self or identity for cyborg ma(chi)n(e)? The "Shell Squad" team as an organization tries to chase and catch the "Puppet Master" while Major Motoko Kusanagi tries personally to respond to that basic question. For sometimes Motoko is skeptical about her identity and whether she has "ghost". Because her body is almost a machine, she is caught in a paranoia according to which she was made as an android and provided with a virtual self and an artificial "ghost". In fact, some people arrested by the "Shell Squad" as the "Puppet Master" have turned out to be just agents who were given fictitious personalities by cyber brain hacking.

They were "puppets without ghost" and they have only illusional image and memory and self identity. These problems are closely concerned with the micro-politics of identity including opposition and segmentation between class, gender, ethnicity and "race". It is can be said that human and cyborg belong to different tribes and "race" from each other. This context recalls the problematic of "cyborg politics" presented by Donna Haraway. Broadly speaking, the question here is is the self a mind or a spirit or does the self consist of a suit, a shell, prosthetic technologies? Does the vested shell or suit incorporate the body and become the self itself, or doesn't it? So, as audience of this film ,we share the same question with Major Motoko: the problem of the "shellfishness of selfishness" and the question of "Who am I ?"

The "Puppet Master" has appeared to the "Shell Squad" and it (or perhaps he) speaks through a cyber body without ghost. It seems that he allows himself to be caught. He affirms, "I'm not an AI. I'm a living, thinking entity who was created in the sea of information." It is easy to see here the problem of Artificial Life (AL). For natural life, DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. And then life, when organized into species, relies on genes to be its memory system. Conversely the computer and cyber technologies are the extension (explosion) of human memory.

Some programs can function independently from human will and so gain autonomy. If these processes become more complicated and sophisticated, then certain programs or algorithms are going to become more similar to life itself. Of course, it is very different from the life in nature, but at least we can see and define some information program as Artificial Life (AL). In this sense, the "Puppet Master" as AL uses "meme" and cultural genes to control many humans and systems. It has "ghost".

Informational Capitalism and Techno-Orientalism

Manuel De Landa has already remarked that interest in AL came out of reflection on the failure of the AI paradigm. He has always stressed the shift from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach for the latter depends upon emergent and autonomous processes in information science. In general, Artificial Life experiments include the design of a simple copy of an individual animal, which must have the equivalent of a set of genetic instruction that are used to create its offspring as well as being transmitted to that offspring. De Landa says....

"This transmission must also be "imperfect", so that variation can be generated. The exercise will be considered successful if novel properties, unimagined by the designer, emerge spontaneously." -- "Virtual Environments and The Emergence of Synthetic Reason"

If AL were truly more than a simple program and could become life, it would send some information to its own offspring by "imperfect transmission". The behavior and intention of the "Puppet Master" in this film is based on this logic. Thus in the end of this film, the "Puppet Master" proposes to Motoko to merge with each other. By this unification he would able to get death, as in real life, while Motoko could generate varied offspring into the net.

One probably could say that we have already known "Puppet Master" in our ordinary lives. In fact, it is possible to find invisible manipulators in the market and the financial system. The market and capital increasingly are becoming dependent on emergent processes and non-linear logic. "Emergence" here means the sudden change of some states in any system or a haphazard phenomenon relying on a radical contingency. In the paradigm of AL, this emergence and bottom-up decision making in a system are very important. This is why we can consider the work of huge capitalist corporations and the complicated virtual financial system from the point of view of Artificial Life (or Artificial Market). There is nothing like the "invisible hand of God", but there are some invisible hands of "Puppet Masters". Of course this is just an anonymous process, but at least one can say that the "Puppet Master" is an allegory of information capitalism. De Landa presents a similar point of view about the market. ("Markets and Antimarkets in the World Economy", in Techno Science and Cyber Culture, Routledge 1996) Any replicating system that produces variable copies of itself in order to get new evolving forms must need "the divergent manifestation of the antimarket". The market for capitalism has always consisted of self-organized, decentralized structures. And it has always been an "antimarket". The antimarket is an aspect of the non-linear process of the market itself.

To analyze this film further, I would go back to the issue of "Japanimation" itself. Why is this kind of animation so highly developed in Japan ? I think that one reason has to do with the gaze of Western people toward Japanese culture. And the problem is also about Orientalism. For example in '70's when the German techno-pop band "Kraftwerk" used android or machine-like gestures in their live shows, they took the gestures of Japanese business men in Europe as their model. It shouldn't be surprising that they were interested in robot-like bowing and expressionless laughter. David Morley and Kevin Rovins have argued in their influential book The Space of Identity that "Western stereotypes of the Japanese hold them to be sub-human, as if they have no feeling, no emotion, no humanity". ("Techo-Orientalism: Japan Panic", in The Space of Identity, Routledge 1995.) These impressions come from the high development of Japanese technologies. They are a phenomenon of "Techno-Orientalism". The basis of Orientalism and xenophobia is the subordination of others in various areas of the world through a sort of "mirror of cultural conceit". A host of stereotypes appeared when binary oppositions -- culture and savage, modern and pre-modern , and so on -- were projected on to the geographic positions of Western and non-Western. The Orient exists in so far as the West needs it, because it brings the project of the West into focus. Naoki Sakai says on this point,

"The Orient does not connote any internal commonalty among the names subsumed under it; it ranges from region in the Middle East to those in the Far East. One can hardly find anything religious, linguistic or cultural that is common among these varied areas. The Orient is neither a cultural , religious or linguistic unity. The principle of its identity lies outside itself: what endows it with some vague sense of unity is that Orient is that which is excluded and objectified by the West, in the service of its historical progress. From the outset the Orient is a shadow of the West."

If the Orient was invented by the West, then the Techno-Orient also was invented by the world of information capitalism. In "Techno-Orientalism", Japan not only is located geographically , but also is projected chronologically. Jean Baudrillard once called Japan a satellite in orbit. Now Japan has been located in the future of technology. Morley and Rovins say,

"If the future is technological, and if technology has become 'Japanised', then the syllogism would suggest that the future is now Japanese, too. The postmodern era will be the Pacific era. Japan is the future, and it is a future that seems to be transcending and displacing Western modernity."

Japanimation is defined by the stereotype of Japan as such an image of the future. The West is seduced and attracted by the model on the one hand, while on the other hand the model of Japan is looked down upon rather than envied by the West. Furthermore, this complex about Japan seems to contain a psycho-mechanism similar to anti-Semitism. As is well known, Japanese capitalism is highly developed and has become very powerful in many areas such as the US, the EU and Asia. Techno-Orientalism works there as a manipulator of the complex about Japan, in which Japan is the object of transference of the envy and contempt from other cultures and nations. So now, a role resembling that of the Jew is being played more and more by the Japanese. Of course it is vain to link the Jew and the Japanese actually and essentially. Rather, the Jews and the Japanese function as the effective figures of the information capitalism.

The Japanoid Automaton

I think that the stereotype of the Japanese ,which I would like to call "Japanoid" for not actually Japanese , exists neither inside nor outside Japan. This image functions as the surface or rather the interface controlling the relation between Japan and the other. Techno-Orientalism is a kind of mirror stage or an image machine whose effect influences Japanese as well as other people. This mirror in fact is a semi-transparent or two-way mirror. It is through this mirror stage and its cultural apparatus that Western or other people misunderstand and fail to recognize an always illusory Japanese culture, but it also is the mechanism through which Japanese misunderstand themselves.

Different from the Lacanian mirror stage, a complete solution for this structure of disavowal, through which a "real" Japan could be properly recognized, is impossible.

It is interesting that in the film " GHOST IN THE SHELL", the metaphor of the mirror is very used often in a particular way .In particular, the "Puppet Master" has whispered a passage from the Bible to Motoko when he has tried to approach her through cyber hacking. In the end of the film , the "Puppet Master" says to Motoko - "We resemble each other's essence, mirror images of one another's psyche." And after she merges with the "Puppet Master", Motoko cites the Bible as below--

"What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror--. Then we shall see face to face. When I was child, my speech, feelings and thinking were all those of a child. Now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways."

There are two mirror stages in this context of Techno-Orientalism. One is about the encounter between the human and the machine, the human and the net. And another is about the relation between Japan and others (Western , other Asian, etc. ). These two mirror images constitute the "Japanoid" as object of envy and hate. I have already mentioned that the Japanese have often been laughed at because of their "automatic" robot-like gesture. Of course as Freud has observed there is very close relationship between automatic action and humor and laughing. But here one should be think about why androids or robots are ridiculed and why the person laughed at becomes like an android. Rey Chow has an interesting analysis of this point.

"In Chaplin's assembly line worker, visuality works toward an automatization of an oppressed figure whose bodily movements become excessive and comical. Being "automatized" means being subjected to social exploitation whose origins are beyond one's individual grasp, but it also means becoming a spectacle whose 'aesthetic' power increases with one's increasing awkwardness and helplessness."--"Postmodern Automatons" in Writing Diaspora, Rey Chow, Indiana University Press, 1993.

To affirm the culture and the industry of the modern world is to summon the "automated other" by introducing the rhythm of technology and machine of each age into ordinary life. As far as workers, women, and the ethnic other experience a radical change in work conditions because of high technology, the image of the automated doll is imposed on them. This image also is imposed on the nation-people who overadapt to the mutation of technological conditions. Needless to say the Japanese is being seen as the "automated other". Japanimation, which organizes the image of automatization and animation (giving it a life form), constructs and presents a "Japan" as an "automaton culture" and as the "Japanoid" in "Postmodern Times".

It is worth returning to the "Puppet Master" in this film, because the "Puppet Master" reminds us of the control of the "automaton". The one controlled doesn't think he is a puppet, but in fact he behaves as a puppet controlled by a master. It is the same with the relation of an ideology in general to human beings. Motoko, as a woman cyborg, thinks of herself as an "animated automaton". In order to supplement her void (as cyborg, as woman, as minority, etc.), she agrees to the proposal to merge with the "Puppet Master". She as a minority would abandon her "ghost" to a huge system and net. In turn the "Puppet Master" as system would get death and a so-called life cycle. Rey Chow has already defined the strategy of the cyborg feminist as rejecting the binary opposition of masculine-human-subject-versus-feminised-automaton.

Chow argues that, this strategy " retains the notion of the automaton -- the mechanical doll -- but changes its fate by giving it life with another look. This is the look of the feminist critic. Does her power of animation take us back to the language of God, a superior being who bestows life upon an inferior?" Chow asks. This is the task of the cyborg as half machine, half animal and transgressive being. Conversely, when a subject takes up that tactics of transgression, it becomes like a cyborg unconsciously. So for the cyborg feminist, this strategy should be extended further than "animating the oppressed minority". Cyborg feminists have to make the automatized and animated situation of their own voices the conscious point of departure in their intervention. By abandoning and sacrificing her own identity and ghost to the "Puppet Master", Motoko takes up the strategy of cyborg feminism.

The "Japanoid Automaton" could be rejected in this way, but this rejection and resistance has always broken down in Japanese subculture. The a-national (non-national) culture of Japan and Japanese (Japanoid) are "animated and automatized" as being non Western and non Asian. In this cultural climate, a Japan imaginarily separated from both West and East is reproduced again and again in the political unconscious of Japanimation (subculture). Though Japanimation has often emphasized the landscape of Asia and Japan in the near-future, it is the operation of forgetting and conceal the real situation of Asia and Japan. In certain sense, Japanimation is an ideological apparatus at the same time that it is also (virtually?) a armament of criticism.

Why do Asian landscapes excites the cyberpunk imagination? Certainly it would be possible to reduce the problem to the influence of the film "Blade Runner". But it should be considered that Japanimation has illustrated the mutation of global capitalism itself by appropriating the illusion of Asia or Japan. By choosing Hong Kong as the setting of this film, and trying to visualize the information net and capitalism, the director of this film, Oshii Mamoru, unconsciously tried to criticize the sub-imperialism of Japan (and other Asian nations).

Japanimation is traveling through the cultural diaspora into the world, and is translated, communicated, and misunderstood. It should be cited the passage from Donna Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto : "There is no way to read the following list from a standpoint of "identification", of a unitary self. The issue is dispersion. The task is to survive in the diaspora." If the image of shell and suit in cyborg has been moving, it is not vain to discover the "automated other" in various expressions and in global information capitalism itself. It is another way to "animate" the other and the minority.

- By: Toshiya Ueno

The Politics of Otaku

2012-10-28T15:38:00.000+08:00

(aka, "There's nothing wrong with being an otaku!")

By: Lawrence Eng (09/01/01)

This is a general commentary on the usage and meanings of "otaku" in Japan and internationally.
The word "otaku" became well known to American anime fans after the release of Otaku no Video (1992). I don't know if there were many American fans calling themselves otaku prior to 1992, but certainly Japanese fans were calling each other otaku before then. Perhaps we should discuss the history of how and why...

The Word Itself

We should first note the etymology of "otaku" (courtesy of Volker Grassmuck in his seminal otaku-studies article "I'm alone, but not lonely": Japanese Otaku-Kids colonize the Realm of Information and Media, A Tale of Sex and Crime from a faraway Place). Literally and originally, it means "your house"*, and more generally it is also a very polite (distancing and non-imposing as opposed to familiar) way of saying "you". Perhaps the closest English equivalent would be my calling you "Ma'am". In Otaku no Video, Animeigo uses "thou" instead of "you" to translate "otaku", indicating the term's archaic formality. In everyday mainstream Japanese conversation, calling a person you know "otaku" would be viewed as strange or possibly sarcastic. It would be like me calling my friends "Ma'am" or "Sir".

Early Usage Amongst Fans in Japan

The history behind how anime fans became associated with the word "otaku" is a little bit unclear. Apparently, it was an early 80s phenomenon--note that Otaku no Video is "historically" situated between 1982 and 1985.

Volker Grassmuck gives us the story as far as we know:

"...in the days of old (about ten years ago in real-time) some people started to use this expression of detachement for colleagues and friends. There is no consensus as to the exact date and place of this historic event. The most recent past seems to be the most uncertain, and it is handed down to us only in the form of rumors. It would take a historian of everyday life to unearth what happened yesterday. Some informants convey that it was in the advertising world, others say it was in the circles of animation-picture collectors: "please, show me your (otaku) collection." The most trustworthy rumor has it that it first came up among people working in TV and video animation companies. From there it spread to the viewers of animes and the closely related worlds of manga (comic-books) and computer games."

The basic idea is that the word is used to explicitly indicate detachedness from who you are speaking to. For example, a dedicated and experienced collector of cels will have a vast network of connections to aid in his or her search for rare cels. Many of these contacts will only be peripheral acquaintances (as opposed to members of one's in-group). The relationships are business-like and not at all intimate. Although it's still a bit strange, it makes a little more sense for someone in this type of social setting to call his or her acquaintances "otaku". Idiosyncratically, perhaps, it also became common within the fandom community to call anyone who was a die hard fan/enthusiast/expert of something (not just anime, but anything) an otaku--not dissimilar to the popular American usage of the term.

Into the Mainstream

In 1983, the first published report appeared on the usage of "otaku" amongst fans. Akio Nakamori wrote a series of articles called "Otaku no Kenkyu" (Studies of Otaku) in Manga Burikko. He called those hard core fans who called each other "otaku" the "otaku-zoku" ("zoku" meaning tribe). His was perhaps the first article stereotyping otaku as being anti-social, unkempt, and unpopular. I've heard that the column was short-lived, and it didn't have a large impact on otaku culture (who pretty much ignored or was already used to such unfair stereotyping and discrimination).

The "otaku panic", as described by Sharon Kinsella, didn't really occur until after the infamous Tsutomu Miyazaki incident in 1989. Miyazaki (who was 26, and in no way to be confused with legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki) kidnapped and murdered 4 little girls. When he was arrested, the police found a huge collection of various anime and manga, some of it pornographic, in his apartment.

The media picked up on this and repeatedly referred to Miyazaki as an otaku, thereby exposing the term to the public at large. As such, "otaku" became associated with sociopaths like Miyazaki, and in the panic, many in the media tried to blame Miyazaki's deviant behavior on anime and manga (which is not dissimilar to the American media blaming violent video games and movies for the tragedy at Columbine).

Not unlike American adult society, but perhaps taken to greater extremes, the Japanese adult society has long had anxieties about its youth culture becoming more individualistic and isolated and less interested in fulfilling mainstream social duty. The Miyazaki incident was both a cause for further anxiety and an outlet for the media to deal with preexisting anxiety via a scapegoat, perhaps, in the form of anime and manga subculture.

Otaku Defined and Redefined

Since the Miyazaki incident, the mainstream usage of "otaku" has been mostly derogatory with a strong hint of fear and loathing. I've always thought that this was unfair and something that needed fixing. Otaku-ism is not about being a slob with no friends any more than it's about being a serial killer. Although some otaku might be slobs or even serial killers, that's no justification for stereotyping all otaku as being like that. Very simply, they are not all like that. There are a lot of positive features that make up and define the otaku lifestyle, and those should be emphasized.
"What defines an otaku?" is a complicated question that resists quick and easy answers. Media sensationalism aside, "otaku" has gone from simply being what hardcore fans used to call each other to being a general concept of how individuals use information for their own ends. William Gibson calls otaku "passionate obsessive(s)". Volker Grassmuck describes them as "information fetishists". Personally, I prefer my own definition: "self-defined cyborgs". In the most basic sense, an otaku is someone who is highly dedicated to something and uses information from anywhere and everywhere to further his or her understanding of that thing for fun and maybe even profit. In a world where deep intellectual curiosity is considered strange and usually unprofitable, the otaku lifestyle has a lot to offer that is different. To promote negative stereotypes of otaku (or any group) amounts to a subtle form of bigotry--so subtle, it might even be unintentional.

Considering how badly the term "otaku" has been co-opted by the media and the mainstream as a term of discrimination, one might think fans of anime and other media should give up the term altogether and use something else. It's not so simple, unfortunately, since that won't stop further stereotyping and discrimination against fans of anime and manga in the name of stopping those "scary otaku".

Imagine how awful it would be to be a 25 year old fan of anime in Japan (which is not entirely considered normal) and being called "otaku" disdainfully and with the implication that you must be a sociopathtic freak just because you like anime. As long as the word "otaku" is negatively associated with anime fans, anime fans will be stigmatized by the public, so we have to show that "otaku" are not as bad as people have been lead to believe.

[Imagine if someone who was a "goth" committed a horrible crime. Wouldn't it be silly to consider all goths criminally inclined? An actual example of a term misused by the American media and made to have negative connotations when it didn't have any originally: hacker]

Towards the Planet of the Otaku!

Luckily, otaku culture does have its champions, and not just in the United States (where fans are supposedly ignorant of what "otaku" means in Japan). One of the biggest proponents of otaku culture in Japan is Toshio Okada, affectionately known as the Otaking, who was the founder of Gainax. He left Gainax in the 90s to write books about otaku culture as well as lecture on the subject at Tokyo University (Japan's number one school), thereby educating the next generation of Japan's leaders on otaku-ism.

Gainax's Otaku no Video, which came out several years after the Miyazaki incident, portrayed otaku (and therefore themselves) in a humourous and self-mocking way, but with a healthy dose of pride as well. Although the otaku portrayed might have been shown to be a little eccentric at times, they were also harmless--a far cry from the frightening image of the child-killing sociopath the Japanese media had presented just a few years before. Interestingly enough, Otaku no Video also apparently made it a point to show the diversity of those called "otaku", demonstrating that otaku can't be so easily stereotyped.

Due to such efforts to educate (and entertain) the public, the otaku lifestyle has achieved international fame, and perhaps more importantly, a little more acceptance domestically. I've heard reports from Japan that the term has become more neutral in its connotations. One article that makes me optimistic about the acceptance of otaku culture is one I recently saw on CNN Asia (Tokyo, Japan):

Otaku: Japan's gadget geeks dictate tech future (http://asia.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/07/12/tokyo.otaku/)

Otaku-ism may not be for everyone, but I think it has a lot of good to offer, and it certainly doesn't deserve the bad reputation so commonly associated with it. Even if the word "otaku" is lost forever to those who would use it to denigrate others, the otaku spirit--a spirit of exploration, innovation, curiosity, dedication, and individualism--will live on.

- via - Lawmune's Netspace

Vocaloid-ism | Megurine Luka | Planetary Suicide

2012-10-28T07:07:00.001+08:00

Cake of the Day #1

2012-10-28T05:48:00.000+08:00

Back Into the Subculture

2012-10-28T04:45:00.001+08:00

I have always been a die-hard fan of the Japanese visual pop-culture. I would kill a man for me to be able to get my hands on some goods that would satiate my hunger for this batshit crazy of a subculture. Unforunately, a few months ago, I had a burnout. Maybe, back then, I realized that it's getting old for me. Something inside me was telling me to just move on, forget about this, and get a life. I followed the feeling I had, got a job, got a girlfriend - you know, all the normal stuff.

But lately, I had been craving for something. I had been craving for something I know I've tasted before. A few days ago, a friend of mine sent me a link. Just a link.

I clicked on the link.

I was redirected to an anime streaming site and there was the video that reignited the flames of my fandom - Sword Art Online.

I was intrigued by the title so I decided to let it buffer to watch. To my surprise, I enjoyed it. Searched for the next episode and watched. After the second episode, I was hooked. Closed my browser, logged onto IRC, and started leeching episodes madly.

Now I'm back sitting down on my favorite chair and once again living the life of a 'once was and once again' otaku. Damn.

Obligatory First Post Conundrum

2012-10-28T03:43:00.003+08:00

Shocking! I finally have a new blog!