But if the region restriction was put into place by the publisher who sold the rights, under the belief that only those people could get to see it, then you aren't paying for that content. You're paying for the content the service has available for your region specifically.

February 04, 2015

I see what you're saying. My last response was immediate: you pay for content, you should be able to watch it.

But if you're paying for a service that has region-locked content and you work around that, I suppose you are getting access to content you didn't pay for. I can't watch Yurikuma on Crunchyroll because they don't have the NA rights - so if I pay them for my subscription, and then use a proxy to watch it in Spanish or whatever, my money isn't being counted among those who are paying for access to that content.

So I guess it is doing harm. Never really thought about it that way - thank you for opening my eyes on that a bit. I do think we're getting into territory here where the consumer really shouldn't HAVE to care about any of this shit and should be able to pay for the content they want, region restrictions be damned - but that isn't the world we live in.

Liked by: Mel

What's your stance on using a proxy to bypass region restrictions for a streaming service you're actually paying money for?

February 04, 2015

You paid for it, you should get to use it, using whatever workaround you can manage.

What do you think of Nick Creamer?

February 04, 2015

He's a very talented writer and I'm proud to have him on our editorial team. I think he's a really bright guy with an exemplary ability to articulate nuance.

...what did you expect me to say?!

Liked by: L. Jerome Adam Martinez

What'd you rather talk about on ANNCast, Mahouka or Cross Ange?

February 04, 2015

I feel like you can at least laugh at Cross Ange, and there's a discussion to be had there about the evolution of fanservice over the years.

Mahouka would just wind up being an argument about the stupidity of objectivism. It depends on how much I think the listeners want to hear me go on and on about how dumb I think objectivism is (hint: they do not want to hear that).

Why do some American anime fans writing in English refer to anime/manga creators with "-sensei" at the end of their names? Like I remember reading some Tumblr post gushing about FMAB feminism that repeatedly referred to Hiromu Arakawa as "Arakawa-sensei." Seems weirdly fan-worship-y to me. Do Japane

February 04, 2015

The character limit got you but I think I can answer this.

Some folks do it out of respect. Sometimes they do it because they're ensconced in a cocoon of weebitude and cannot escape. Or both. I don't really take strong issue with it but I don't do it myself.

I think using honorifics in professional writing about anime in English by English-speaking writers is weird, so they aren't allowed as per my editorial policy.

Personally this only comes up for me in an interview setting. I default to western titles - Mr, Mrs, Ms, etc. If everyone in the room is referring to the interview subject as -san or -sensei, I might use that, but I've always felt it was weird and presumptuous of me, as a big white guy, to start using those terms. They know I don't speak Japanese. It's kind of a deference thing. It's never been an issue, and I've never been told I should use Japanese honorifics. "Mr" or "Ms" has always been fine. If I'm ever told differently, I'll start using 'em.

What's you're favorite news from last night's Discotek license announcements?

February 04, 2015

VHD Bloodlust on bluray. Been waiting for that forever.

how do you feel towards gamers who use walkthroughs?

February 04, 2015

fuckin casuals, they're not real gamers

No seriously, I use them all the time. Getting stuck on a puzzle kills a game for me - if I can't figure it out pretty quickly I'll use a FAQ and move on to the next thing.

Personally, I don't consider finishing a video game without any hints to be a serious accomplishment. It isn't a pride issue with me - I don't give a shit. Games are supposed to be fun. I stop having fun when I get stuck.

Liked by: CaptainRaccoonWhitly Jenny Paul Chapman Viscont Jenon PenRoth Rose Bridges

what anime character is your spirit animal

February 04, 2015

Liked by: Anime GX Deirdre Dolhun KevinLeeJames Rose Bridges

Will you get a new column to replace Astro Toy on ANN? Maybe one that covers all types anime figures too?

February 04, 2015

Right now we're still deciding what exactly to do with the toy column. Initially we were going to relaunch it with a renewed focus on all manner of toys and merchandise, kind of a biweekly rundown of what's new, but then it was decided that it might be better to just fold all of that into the interest feed. We haven't made a decision yet, but it'll happen very soon.

Regardless of how it turns out, the intention is to cover merchandise of all stripes, not just action figures. We're likely stepping away from toy reviews, as well.

why'd you make an ask.fm? do you still like it?

February 04, 2015

Just 'cuz.

I liked it until last week when the creepy threats started. Now they seem to have disappeared. So I'll get back to it.

Have you tried out the game Life is Strange yet?

February 03, 2015

Not yet! I need to buy the first chapter. Seems like my kinda thing.

Now that one of the most notorious and interesting figures in english dub anime has retired have you considered having Steven Foster on the ANNcast in the future?

February 02, 2015

I get this question a lot.

We'd love to have Steven Foster on the show. He has declined our invitation.

That was a while ago, before he retired from Sentai Filmworks, so maybe it's time to bug him again. Something tells me the answer is still "no".

Liked by: Adam Martinez

If you plan on doing a DBZ podcast, what do you all plan on talking about? The change in dubbing studios, the Faulconor soundtrack, it's DVD and BD sales? Heck come to think of it, there may be almost too much to talk about.

February 02, 2015

I don't recall saying I was considering a DBZ podcast. That sounds like something I would only have said if I had gone temporarily insane.

So, to clarify: I am not at all considering a DBZ podcast.

How can someone get into writing for a place like yours? Most of what I write is academic but I really wish I could do more 'fun' work to coincide with it and practice, but its hard to find a way 'in.'

February 02, 2015

The best advice I can give you is to maintain a blog somewhere - doesn't matter where, tumblr is a decent place to start - writing reviews. Use that for two things: one, practice, and two, a place you can point to when you're asked for writing samples.

Then you just need to wait for an opening to happen somewhere, and submit an absolutely flawless cover letter and your two or three best writing samples and cross your fingers. Openings happen, but they are kind of rare and you need to keep a close eye on every site you'd like to write for, and leap on any openings they might have right when they happen. Don't wait until the deadline, don't put it off. If there's an opening, go for it.

I cannot stress enough that your cover letter and writing samples need to be perfect. If your cover letter has typos or grammar problems, someone like me is going to toss it out immediately and disregard your application. Your writing samples need to be your best work. There is a mountain of competition for paid writing jobs and if you don't have a long list of publishing credits or a history in the business you're at a disadvantage already, so you have to impress any editor you're submitting to with polish and an ability to show off your talent. After this last round of writing hires I did, that seems like the tip most people need (believe it or not, "make sure your writing is great and highly polished when submitting for a writing job" is something people need to hear).

Good luck!

Liked by: invalidname Anime GX Cayce P. Rose Bridges

Urobuchi said he wanted Madoka to outlive himself, and that there were plans for a season 2. How would you feel if other writers were to take up the mantle if he did leave the series?

January 29, 2015

I'm in the "we don't need more Madoka" camp. The movie already felt like "oh this is a huge hit, quick, figure out how to keep the story going". It was fine - I liked the film in spite of that, but storywise it was an obvious reach. An entire new TV series with the same characters would be stretching that material past the breaking point.

Besides, we've seen what happens when Urobuchi starts something and then other people take it over and write more. It never ends well.

So yeah, I do not hope for more Dokes.

Liked by: Anime GX Ignisalge Rose Bridges

Why did you block me on Twitter? That was very rude.

January 29, 2015

I have no idea who you are or why I blocked you. So I unblocked you.

Do you think FUNI, Sentai, NISA, and others will follow the "appeal to hardcore fans only" bandwagon and raise their MSRP similar to AoA or Ponycan USA, so every new anime that ends up getting localized will just be collector's items only with no standard disc-only releases? Not that I'm complaining

January 29, 2015

Nope.

"luc besson (lucy) is garbage. old disney films (aristocats) are garbage. everything is garbage except anime" - you

January 29, 2015

Seems accurate.

Liked by: Mel Anime GX KitKatAddiction Rose Bridges Paul Chapman

Does your job pay well?

January 28, 2015

Yep! A box of turnips and all the anime I can watch.

Liked by: Carlos Ignacio González Lozano

Would you rather have Big Hero 6 or Dragons 2 win the Oscar this year, since it's obviously going to be one of the two.

January 28, 2015

I think Kaguya has a chance. Not a huge one, but a chance.

If it had to be either of those... yeesh. Dragons, I guess. It isn't a good movie but it didn't feel like a feature-length toy commerical/babysitter, so of those two turds I choose the slightly less fragrant one.

Liked by: James Lee

Who writes the native advertising articles on ANN, like the one for Kamisama Kiss? Are they supplied by advertisers, or commissioned to be written by ANN staff?

January 28, 2015

I have no idea. That's all handled by the ad department - I am specifically not part of any of that decision making.

None of them are written by anyone involved in ANN's editorial department and I have no oversight or input as to their content or even when they post. I find out about them when you do.

Favorite/Least Favorite Kubrick film?

January 28, 2015

Favorite: 2001 (a super unique choice)
Least Favorite: Lolita. No, Barry Lyndon. Eh, both of those.

What do you think is the proper way in the internet to handle those guys who are dead sure that there's a feminist conspiracy out there planning to subjugate all men?

January 28, 2015

Ignore them - don't give their arguments any breathing room or amplitude - and then hope for 2 things: one, that they grow up eventually and live in the real world with the rest of us, and two, that they are never in a position where their garbage attitude about women will have any real impact on anyone's life.

That's kinda all you can do. Most of those people are ensconced in internet echo chambers so thick with delusion you'll never convince them of anything.

Liked by: Rose Bridges Mel Ignisalge Anime GX L. Jerome Michael Fitz-Gibbon Paul Chapman

If Anita Sarkeesian agreed to do an ANNcast interview with you would you do it? If so, what exactly would you want to ask/discuss with her?

January 27, 2015

Sure. I emailed her once with an invitation to appear last summer but never got a reply. She's busy.

I wouldn't want to presume that she's spent enough time with anime to comment specifically on it; asking experts to appear on a panel discussion about something they've never claimed to be an expert on is usually a bad idea. The conversation I'd like to have with her would be about fandom in general and what sort of social space the internet has created so far. I'd like to talk frankly about what the internet has done to communication, the kinds of voices that are empowered, how that has impacted fandom and the ways fandom communicates. Where the danger is, who's being marginalized, who the internet rewards and who it punishes for having opinions, and how that falls along strict gender lines. I think discussing this as it relates to geek fandom specifically would be really interesting.

But I don't think it'll happen! I'll keep trying. Maybe someday; we'd really love to have her on the show.

Liked by: Roger Heedan Anime GX Rose Bridges L. Jerome Proxy

Left Behind (either), God's Not Dead, or Heaven is for Real: which would be the most awful to sit through again?

January 27, 2015

I haven't seen Heaven Is For Real (and I kinda want to now that the book it's based on is out as a complete hoax) but of those three, God's Not Dead is the most hateful movie I've seen in a long time. It has open contempt for anyone who is not Christian and is basically an exercise in angrily disemboweling a badly-constructed strawman.

I'm surprised you didn't include Last Ounce of Courage or The Secret of Jonathan Sperry in there. Neither of those are as bad as God's Not Dead, though.

Liked by: Rose Bridges

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