Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, both with similar quirks, fight each other in an evenly powered match! Image courtesy of Giphy
To lovers of all things Japanese, it is the age old question: Is subtitled anime better than its English dubbed counterpart? Or vice versa? In the past, many audiences had little choice but to watch whatever form was available to them, but as the internet improved and streaming services have begun to offer a veritable buffet of media choices, we are essentially able to pick whatever form of media consumption we choose. Each form has its pros and cons, and it is only fair to explore them both.
Subtitles Offer a More Authentic Experience
Subs, or subtitled anime with the original Japanese voice acting, would definitely be the best choice if you are looking for a pure anime experience. Even when the story is set in fantasy or non-Japanese contexts, anime is rife with Japanese social norms, body language, and cultural references. Watching the anime in the original Japanese helps to connect some of these small yet significant nuances, which allows for a well-rounded cultural experience.
Often, when watching the dub (where English or another language is superimposed on the animation instead of the Japanese), it becomes clear that there are just some things that don’t translate well out of Japanese to other languages. For example, the use of honorifics. Anime gets much of its charm from emotional connections between characters, which can be initially gleaned from the honorifics used between them. Terms such as san, chan, and sama all signal different relationships and levels of familiarity, or lack thereof.
Japan has always been associated with manga (漫画). Manga are graphic novels that invaded not just Japan but the entire world as well. This immensely popular art medium has been adapted into Anime, movies, live-action TV series, and plays.
Though the industry is dominated by men, women have also had their share of success. Their works are not just confined in Shoujo manga (targeted at women), but they are also excelling in Shounen (targeted at men) as well. In this list, you will find the 10 best manga created by women!
A Place Further than the Universe is not your typical “cute-girls-doing-cute-things” anime, and thank goodness! Sure, the four protagonists are cute teen girls, but that is where the similarities with the genre end. Instead, A Place Further than the Universe is a coming-of-age story in which Mari Tamaki, Shirase Kobuchizawa, Hinata Miyake, and Yuzuki Shiraishi learn about themselves (and of course, friendship) during an expedition to Antarctica.
While Mari, Hinata, and Yuzuki all have great character development, Shirase’s narrative stuck with me. The writers made her a character full of contradictions: stoic looks, but full of emotions. She’s super stubborn, but only until she catches a glimpse of penguins. I love her character because she’s an ordinary, realistic girl who will stop at nothing to achieve the extraordinary.
For our July Hey Staffer post, we’re talking to Marina Martinez, about anime, what it’s like to play quidditch in real life and what those things have in common!
Who are you and what do you do at GeekGirlCon?
I am the Marina Martinez and I am the Panel Program Manager with GeekGirlCon!
What do you do for your day job/when you’re not being awesome as a GGC staffer?
In my everyday life I am a Project Manager at Artech, which is a fine art services company. We pack, transport, install, and provide collection management services to institutions and individuals throughout the Pacific Northwest.
In the late 1990s, I rushed over to my best friend Haley’s house so we could watch Sailor Moon every morning before school. Her favorite Sailor Scout was Sailor Venus, and I swore that I was the reincarnation of Sailor Neptune as we both swam and played the violin (I even dyed the tips of my hair turquoise as an homage to Michiru years later, which was pretty edgy when I was fifteen). We were also obsessed with Pokemon, slightly less obsessed with Digimon, and weirdly addicted to a short-lived anime about hamsters called Hamtaro. We walked around with Luna and Artemis plushies and acted out some pretty “vivid” scenes from our favorite episodes. We were fearless, and it didn’t hurt that just about every other little girl we knew was in love with all of the same things.
I moved a few times after that, since my dad was in the military, but my love of anime only grew with age. By the time I was fourteen and just about to enter high school, I had a massive collection of manga, a pretty impressive knowledge of the “hit” anime series of the time (regardless of whether or not they were being shown in the states), and a budding interest in Japanese literature. At that point, I was living near Seattle, and Japanese popular culture seemed to be far more common than any other state I’d lived to date.
Written by former GeekGirlCon Manager of Editorial Services Adrienne Roehrich
I spent the 4th of July weekend at my first Anime Expo (AX) in LA. It was my first convention outside of the Seattle area, where I live. AX is the largest anime convention in the U.S.A., after its 2014 record attendance of over 80,000 people. I went with my daughter, who turns 16 in less than 3 weeks.
When we bought our passes less than a month before the convention, tickets were $80 for the 4 days. Tickets on sale now for 2016 are $50 for the 4 days. Will we go again?
Written by GeekGirlCon Manager of Editorial Services Winter Downs.
One thing I love about volunteering for GeekGirlCon is the sense of community we foster among our attendees–and even among people who haven’t yet made it to the Con!
Each year we have a booth at Sakura-Con, the biggest anime convention in the region, and this weekend I got to help out.
Sakura-Con has a celebratory atmosphere, and the cosplay is among the best and most varied I’ve ever seen. (Excepting GeekGirlCon, of course–but then, I may be biased!)
Wally the Dog is too busy this October with so many nerd events!
Hi folks! Is it fall yet? Here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s hard to tell right now! Let’s celebrate this sun a little longer with some nerdy fun!
Tuesday, October 2nd: Tuesday Night Games at Raygun Lounge with Queer Geek! From the website: “This weekly meetup replaces the Monday meetup group that used to meet at Six Arms (and Chao Bistro before that). It will be held at the Raygun Lounge, Gamma Ray Games’ new game bar. Come and play board games and take part in other geeky pursuits and mingle with your fellow geeks” (Note: This is a weekly event so if you can’t catch Queer Geek! this time around, come through every Tuesday night for some gaming!)
Wednesday, October 3rd:Nerdy Board Game Night Location TBA, please see event invite for details.
Thursday, October 4th:Dominion Tournament Please see invite for details. If you would like to participate in the tournament, you must register!
Friday, October 5th – Sunday, October 7th:BrickCon From the website: BrickCon is a convention for adult fans, collectors, and builders of LEGO®.
Friday, October 5th – Sunday, October 7th:Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival From the website: The Pacific Northwest’s premier weekend long event devoted towards independent and international genre filmmaking. The event was created to offer exposure to films that traditionally are overlooked by the festival circuit from genres including action, animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. The festival will feature an amazing selection of fantastic films from around the earth – with the possibility of artists presenting the works themselves. U.S. and world premieres will play alongside global festival favorites and select retrospective titles.
Tuesday, October 9thInformation Architechture Panel from Amazon From the event invite: What is the role of an Information Architect at Amazon.com? You’re probably burning with curiosity, wondering what an IA does at the world’s largest online retailer. You probably wouldn’t guess that there are only 4 known Information Architects in the entire company! While Amazon has employed browse taxonomists for years, IAs are relatively new to the mix – mostly as a result of the tremendous growth of the company, and the information challenges that come with it. At this IA Meetup, you’ll have the opportunity to meet a panel consisting of three of them: Nick Sweers, Carolyn Tweedy, and Nick Berry. These IAs will inspire you with their pioneer spirit, as they show you how they are defining the practice within a culture dominated by developers.
Friday, October 12th:Seattle Art Museum Community Night Out From the SAM Website: Celebrate the creativity and ingenuity of women artists with an evening full of free live music, art making, My Favorite Things tours, performances and workshops inspired by Elles: Pompidou and Elles: SAM. Bring your family, friends, students, kids, parents, and fellow artists—there will be something for everyone! (From the SAM website) Join GeekGirlCon for “Ten Things I Know About You,” a game about famous female geeks and geekery. Spin the wheel for a topic and then name everything you can think of about it in the next 30 seconds. Surprise yourself with how much you know and maybe even win a prize!
Saturday, October 13th – Sunday, October 14th: InfoCamp 2012 From the event page: Join us at InfoCamp Seattle 2012 for an exciting weekend of talking & learning about everything information! As always, it will be you, the participants presenting sessions, talking amongst yourselves, and driving the content of InfoCamp!
…Rates are $60 for professionals, $20 for students for the 2 day event including lunch and snacks…This year will return to Mary Gates Hall at the UW. As well as the unconference format, we are featuring two speakers in 2012: Seattle City Librarian, Marcellus Turner, will start things off on Saturday before we move to the participant-led sessions and discussion. On Sunday, we will feature Information Architect and educator, Dan Klyn, to get us jazzed for another day of enthralling discussion between the participants. For more information, see the Seattle InfoCamp Blog.
Sunday, October, 14th: Dominoes and Such From the event page: “What are we doing? Dominoes (or other games depending on the mood), chatting about anything sci-fi related, drinking (caffeinated or unleaded), and general silliness. We start around 10:30 a.m. or so and play until whenever (usually 2:00 p.m.), feel free to come early or late; punctuality isn’t important.”
Friday, October 19th:DMG 5: Billy the Fridge, Art Vandelay, Death*Star, MC 117 Every third Friday at Pink Gorilla U-District, the DMG series features a line-up of live performing chiptune or nerdcore artists, complete with a visual display, and free-play gaming.
Friday, October 19th:Geeklesque: Unites! From the website:In times of crisis, those with great powers often come together. Leagues are formed; things get avenged; clothes… are taken off?! Critical Hit Burlesque (Portland, OR) and Jo Jo Stiletto Events (Seattle, WA) are teaming up this fall to bring you Geeklesque Unites! Geeklesque Unites will feature some of the best geek-themed burlesque from around the Pacific Northwest, for one night only on Friday, October 19, 2012.
Friday, October 26th – Sunday, October 28th, 2012: AkiCon Three-day anime, manga, and Japanese culture convention.
Friday, October 26th – Sunday, October 28thSteamCon Three-day steampunk convention during Halloween weekend
Sunday, October, 28th: Dominoes and Such From the event page: What are we doing? Dominoes (or other games depending on the mood), chatting about anything sci-fi related, drinking (caffeinated or unleaded), and general silliness. We start around 10:30 a.m. or so and play until whenever (usually 2:00 p.m.), feel free to come early or late; punctuality isn’t important.
Monday, October 29th – Tuesday, October 30th:Seattle Interactive Conference From the website: SIC 2012 provides a unique stage for entrepreneurs, technologists, advertisers, designers, entertainers, online business professionals and thinkers to converge: Visionary speakers on technology, creativity, and emergent trends will leave you inspired, and networking events promise to better connect you.
Got some geektastic events you want to add on to Geek About Town? Email Shubz at prcontent@geekgirlcon.com!
