Animax’s Blog

LaMB’s Executive Producer Tracy Wong looking pensive

The name Tracy Wong may not ring a bell to diehard anime fans. But this petite young woman — who would most definitely make a number of guys’ heads turn because of her beauty — is the brains behind Animax’s most ambitious project to date, namely its first full length anime production, LaMB.

In this exclusive interview, Animax’s talented Creative Director talks about past projects, the progress so far in the production of LaMB, and even gives writers tips on how to increase the chances of your scripts being made into an anime.

Could you please give us a background on your work prior to joining Animax? Have you always been a fan of anime? If so, what are your favorite titles?

Before Animax, I was with sister channel AXN which is also under Sony Pictures Entertainment Network - Asia.

I grew up in the 80’s watching American cartoons as well as animation series like Princess Sarah, M.A.S.K and Transformers which only years later did I later realized were made in Japan and they were called ‘anime’.

I only came back to watching anime a few years back with great animation works such as Hayao Miyazaki’s films. My current favorites are Satoshi Kon’s Paprika and Tekkon Kinkreet because they are just such a feast for the eyes.

What made you decide to join Animax? What were the specific challenges that you faced when you joined the team?

I started first at AXN and the company moved me over to Animax to head the creative services team. So although it wasn’t a deliberate choice, I think it’s a great decision because I love design and especially visual aspects of animation.

Animax is a youth channel so if there were any specific challenges, it was that I needed to know more than ever about youth culture. It’s important to have your finger at the pulse of everything the youth are into and there are too many exciting events and happenings that you simply cannot ignore. Luckily for me, music & fashion - which are a large part of youth lifestyle, are things I already love so they naturally become important considerations in my works.

You have been involved in the making of the ground-breaking “Set Me Apart” video. How did this project fall into your lap? What were the specific challenges that you faced in conceptualizing this animated video? What was your reaction when it won the BDA Gold Award?

Music is one of the key touch points of Animax and when we signed on one of the biggest bands in the Philippines — Pupil — as Channel Ambassador, we got them to write a channel theme song and produced a music video for it.

After I decided it would be an animated music video, I thought about how best to portray the band members. I didn’t want to just animate them performing the song. So since the song was about empowerment and individuality, I decided to involve the band members to come up with their ideal world in which they would be “free”. Each of them were enthusiastic and came back with answers and I just went ahead to give a visual to their worlds.

I was very pleased when the music video won especially since it was my first attempt. All the hard work crammed over a month of production time was worth it and kudos to Pupil and the Malaysian design team — hue visualab — for their huge efforts.

Currently, you are working on LaMB. What drew you to the project? Being executive producer, how would you envision LaMB to be from an animator’s standpoint?

LaMB is the biggest and most exciting project by Animax to date and naturally I was really keen to be part of it. Plus reading the script by Carmelo Juinio made me go “WOW” and I think everyone working on LaMB project from the animation studio Peach Blossom to director Tei Ryosuke also had the same reaction.

At the start of the project, Animax’s brief to Peach Blossom was simply “a unique visual style different from most anime”. At this stage, Animax, Peach Blossom, Imaginary Friends Studio (providing concept artwork and background designs) and director Tei are working on finding this style and this involves maximizing everyone’s strengths.

What is it like working with Ryosuke Tei and Yasufumi Soejima? What unique visions/ideas are they bringing to the project?

As the former Creative Director of Furi Furi, director Tei created works for iconic brands such as Nike & Nintendo and so he understands popular culture which is probably important in making any production a hit among the youth audiences.

Tei also gives a lot of thought to the setting of the story, which is set in the future. In one meeting recently we discussed about how this world would be like, is it really full of high-tech unfamiliar buildings, machines and gadgets? He made reference to Ghost In The Shell: Innocence which is set in the year 2032 and the city is almost unrecognizable with androids and cyborgs but in one particular scene, when main character Batou goes to Chinatown to get dog food, the setting of Chinatown is exactly the same as it looks today in Japan. In the future, humans will still be preserving a lot of history and look back to the past for inspiration to construct the new.

That vision is something we can look forward to in LaMB.

Music fans are very interested in the involvement of Simple Plan and The Click Five. Could you please narrate to us how they became involved in the project? What attracted these popular bands to the project?

We approached Warner Music first who were very excited about this project and immediately thought of Simple Plan and The Click Five. Both bands are huge among the youth audiences and Animax is excited to feature both bands in the movie.

Animax will also be producing LaMB/Simple Plan & LaMB/Click Five music videos which will premiere exclusively on the channel later this year. When Simple Plan attended the press conference in Singapore, we chatted about the project and they were really excited to be drawn as cool anime characters. They even requested for their tattoos to be drawn in too!

Animax Vice President & General Manager Gregory Ho with Simple Plan at the LaMB Press Con in Singapore last Aug. 2

Right now, could you tell us at what stage of production is LaMB in? When will it be projected to air on Animax?

We are about to start on the animation process so in the meantime, we’re seeing a lot of great character designs and background works. LaMB will air in March 2009.

As LaMB is Animax Asia’s first original animation production, we are channeling all our resources and efforts into producing and marketing LaMB which goes on mobile, online and TV platforms to ensure it is a success when all of the elements and roll out over the next 7 months. We will certainly keep you and all our media friends, as well as our fans posted on the latest for the next Animax Awards.

The next Animax Awards is just around the corner. Many fans are asking what specifically is Animax looking for in the scripts that will be submitted to the contest Can you give advice on how budding scriptwriters could improve their scripts and thus increase their chances of winning?

The story is always key to a good show, and therefore the basic concept and premise which shape the entire storyline are very important. We are always on the look out for originality and creativity, and scripts should be able to capture universal themes that can touch the hearts of one and all, anywhere and everywhere.

Do you see Animax Asia doing more original productions in the future? If there is any dream project that you would like Animax Asia to do, what would it be?

Yes, I should also be working on projects similar to LaMB that will be given life from the Pan-Asia Animax Awards when we do organize it in the near future. And like LaMB I will see that selected scripts get made into anime! I look forward to working with the multitude of undiscovered talents in Asia who are hoping for a lucky break and Animax will continue to reach out to them across all platforms to recognize their creativity and capabilities.

Tracy Wong out on the town and excited about future anime projects with Animax

Animax Youth Festival Hits Malaysia

Malaysian Animax
fans used to bombard this blogger with never-ending complaints about
why all the network’s events seemed to be concentrated in the
Philippines and Singapore.

Well, nag and
complain no more because the ANIMAX YOUTH FESTIVAL will be coming your
way starting this Friday, August 8, to August 10 at the 1Utama Shopping
Centre at 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama.

Highlights of the
Festival include the culmination of Animax’s "I Wanna Be An
Entrepreneur" contest, wherein the finalists will showcase their
business savvy by setting up booths within the event venue, featuring
products which they themselves have created and marketed extensively
during the length of the competition. Also in line with this contest,
AYF will have an Artist Alley, wherein young creative artists will be
selling their original creations, such as bags, buttons and T-shirts.

Do you have what it takes to be the next model for Seventeen Magazine? Then, mosey on over to the Seventeen booth
and have your pics taken. The staff of the popular teen magazine will
select ten finalists after AYF. These lovely, refreshing faces will
grace your TV screens and online starting Aug. 25. Malaysian viewers
will then get to vote for their favorite finalist online at http://animaxyouthfestival.thestar.com.my. Announcement of the winner will be on Oct. 2008.

Aside from these
exciting competitions, there will be anime- and game-related activities
for everyone. Want to get your itchy trigger fingers on the Sony
Playstation 3 console? Then join the gaming tournament sponsored by
popular gaming magazine, GameAxis. In line with the premiere of Animax’s August title The Big Windup (Aug.
14, 8 pm), Jolt Sports will set up softball batting cages for baseball
player wannabes. And then, Animax teams up with D-Box to present a
motion-synced showcase of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, wherein everyone could experience being right smack in the middle of the action with Cloud and company.

Finally, to those
who have been wanting to experience the thrill of cosplaying, get those
costumes ready and join the Cosplay Competition at AYF. Newbiew to
cosplaying might want to check out previous blogs on how to cosplay.

* * * * * * * * * *

Big Names in Music to be showcased in LaMB

Although currently still in production, LaMB
– Animax’s first original animation movie in high definition (HD) –
is shaping up to be a mammoth project with the collaboration of two
popular bands in the music world today.

French-Canadian
punk band Simple Plan’s hit single "I Can Wait Forever" will be the
theme song of the anime. The members of the band will also be animated
and they will perform in the film itself.

American rock band The Click Five will also figure prominently in LaMB,
with the tune "Summertime" and cover art of their album to be featured
in the show. The characters themselves will be making references to the
band and their hit single in the dialogues.

Stay tuned to your TV screens in December because Animax will release two exclusive music videos as teasers for LaMB’s
premiere in 2009. Simple Plan’s "I Can Wait Forever" will be made into
an animated music video by Animax Asia and Peach Blossom Media. The
Click Five’s "Summertime" music video will be live action, jazzed up
with action sequences from the film.

According to
Gregory Ho, Vice President and General Manager of Animax Asia, "Animax
Asia is delighted to have two very popular bands on board for LaMB.
Well supported internationally, both bands have a huge following
amongst our youth and young adult audiences across Asia. Their
involvement brings an exciting new dimension to the production as we
endeavor to produce a truly world class animation production."

Animax enters the Third Quarter of 2008 with lots of news shows and exciting events for everyone!

New Shows!

If you haven’t been paying any attention to the previews for July, the premiering title for next month will be Sergeant Keroro (aka Keroro Gunso).
It’s one of the most popular serial anime in Japan about the many
misadventures of Keron military misfits Keroro, Giroro, Kururu, Tamama
and Dororo in their futile attempts to invade Planet Pekopon (That’s
Earth, to you!). Sergeant Keroro is particularly infamous for
poking fun at Gundam fandom, especially since Keroro is such a huge fan
of Gundam models. Oh, if you’re one of those lazy sorts who don’t know
which end of the broom to use to sweep the floor, watch the show!
Keroro has cleaning tips for everyone.

For August, we’ve got one sporty title. The Big Wind Up (aka Ookiku Furikabutte)
follows the humorous trials and tribulations of a down and out baseball
team as they work their way towards competing in the prestigious High
School Baseball Tournament, Koshien.

CLAMP fans have a lot to celebrate in September when Animax premiere’s xxxHOLic,
which focuses on the adventures of a young boy who works for a
beautiful witch, who was the power to grant wishes but for a hefty
price.

Big Events!

To those of you
who live in Malaysia and are not subscribed to the Animax newsletter,
you probably don’t know that there will be an Animax Youth Festival
coming your way in August. There will be a lot of interesting and fun
activities in line with the event, so stay tuned to the website for
more details.

There are two
major competitions coming your way in the latter half of this year.
Sadly, I can’t tell you about the first one, but I’m sure you’ll be
hearing about it very soon. It’ll be of particular interest for those
who are musically inclined.

The second event
is the highly anticipated Animax Awards competition, wherein a select
contestant from Southeast Asia will compete with contestants from Japan
for the chance to see their scripts turned into anime. In line with
this event, Animax will be premiering the original production LaMB (aka Laminated Woman), which won for writer Carmelo S.J. Juinio the Special Jury Prize at last year’s competition.

Indeed, there are a lot you could look forward to on Animax in the coming months! So please stay tuned!!

~~~~~~~~~~

More Cosplay Tips

Because of space
constraints in the last blog, there was something very important that I
inadvertently forgot to mention about coming up with costumes for
cosplay.

If you have been one of those people who have gotten hooked on The Count of Monte Cristo (aka Gankutsuou)
on Animax, then you would definitely have noticed the elaborate
costumes in the anime. Unlike other anime, the particular challenge
posed by Gankutsuou for the cosplayer is finding the EXACT
textile that matches the textures used in the anime. Just take a look
at the pic of the cast below and you’ll understand what I mean.

© 2004 Mahiro Maeda GONZO/MEDIA FACTORY GDH

The obvious
option is to go out to your local textile to find the fabric that
matches the textures. Some were lucky enough to be able to find the
matching fabric or a close approximation of it, but it’s a long tedious
search in bargain bins and markets. Others who could afford it could
actually purchase the dress that fashion designer Anna Sui designed for
the anime in her boutique. But, there are some fans who are actually
ingenious and resourceful enough to do the designs on the costumes
themselves through silkscreen painting and other methods. Believe me!
If one is indeed patient and resourceful enough, the outcome would be
pretty astounding. Just take a look at this group of cosplayers below.

© 2006 By Jason/i360.com

How To Mainstream Cosplay

Probably the most
common comment that I’ve received from blog readers is that they don’t
see cosplay happening in their respective countries. Cosplay was
unheard of in the Philippines, but it has now become an almost
bimonthly affair in my country. The funny thing about Filipino
cosplayers that I’ve heard from Japanese acquaintances is that it is
probably only in my country wherein you actually see cosplayers
brazenly walking outside of the convention hall dressed in costumes.
The Japanese, you see, limit their cosplaying activities within the
event venue. They remove their costumes immediately once the event is
over. So you could say that when Filipinos cosplay, they do it with all
their guts, ingenuity and, as a result, they reap the glory as well.

Okay, I know not
everyone has iron guts, but if you want cosplay to become popular in
your country, you need to have that cocky attitude to get it going.
Just how could you make cosplay a mainstream affair in your countries?

1. Start small.
Organize small cosplay gatherings among the youth in your community. It
doesn’t even have to focus on characters in anime or manga. You could
cosplay as your favorite scifi or fantasy film character. Is there a
popular actor/actress/singer in your country? Then, you could cosplay
them.

2. Start
simple. You don’t have to start cosplaying using costumes as grand as
the CLAMP characters. You could try something simple, like the casual
wear in Honey & Clover or the school uniforms in Ouran High School Host Club or Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

3. Get
information about any conventions or events happening in your area. You
don’t need an anime convention to cosplay in. Gaming conventions allow
cosplayers of every genre to participate in them. Even if there are no
cosplaying competitions at a con, get into the festive spirit by going
to the con dressed in your favorite anime and game character.
Malaysians, you have an Animax Youth Festival coming up in your
country. Fuel the need for cosplay by attending the festival dressed as
your favorite anime character. Mark my words on this! During Animax
Fashion Ability, we actually had cosplayers dressed as Naruto, Miaka
Yuuki and the characters in Paradise Kiss mingling among the crowd.

4. Again, be
cocky, be bold. You can’t achieve ANYTHING if you just sit around and
say that "it couldn’t be done in my country" and other such negative
sentiments. Think positive, work hard, and GO FOR IT!

CARD CAPTOR SAKURA: THE FAVORITE OF CHUBBY COSPLAYERS

© CLAMP/SUNRISE•Bandai Visual

Let’s say you’re
hanging out at your favorite mall when suddenly you find yourself
surrounded by wizards, sorcerers, warriors with swords, robots and
aliens. You might even find yourself bumping into a deadringer of a
hugely popular Japanese comedian, who dresses in an outlandish all
black leather ensemble that would make full-blooded males cringe or run
away. Before you think you’ve been sucked into a wormhole and taken to
another dimension, don’t panic. Chances are there’s a cosplay
convention happening nearby.

What the heck is Cosplay?

Cosplay is a
contraction of two words — "costume" and "play." While certain fans
would dress up as their favorite characters in sci-fi conventions as
early as the 70s, it was in Japan wherein cosplays has been elevated to
an art form. Fans would go out dressed as their favorite
anime/manga/video game characters, popular J-pop and TV stars to
compete in prestigious cosplay competitions or to simply show off their
elaborate costumes to fellow fans. In recent years, cosplay has not
limited itself to Japanese pop culture. They have also included popular
characters from Western novels and movies. The Star Wars characters remain a huge favorite among fans. Don’t be surprised if you also happen to bump into students from Hogwarts.

Some of the major
conventions in Japan that feature cosplay competitions include Comiket
(which is held twice a year, usually in August and December), Tokyo
Game Show in September, and Jump Fiesta in December. There are also
numerous cosplay competitions held in every prefecture in Japan. All
you have to do is check schedules on the Internet. If you’re that
frustrated and excited enough to cosplay, then go to Harajuku and
Akihabara where cosplay gatherings are held every Sunday.

Becoming a Cosplayer

While to the
dubious onlooker, cosplay may seem like an outlandish form of
frustrated theatrics, ask any cosplayer and they’ll tell you that
cosplay is not just simple acting. To be a successful cosplayer, you
have to BECOME the character you’re playing. This is not only through
the elaborate costumes they wear; they also need to project the
character’s personality, so that even for a moment, you would think
that you are indeed looking at and speaking to the character. In fact,
during cosplay conventions, you never address a cosplayer by his or her
real name. You call her by the name of the character she is playing.
You can tell a real good cosplayer if he or she exudes the personality
of the character.

I spoke to Marvel comic artist Wilson Tortosa (who is presently hard at work on the Wolverine Manga)
and his pretty lady friend Mic at the recently concluded Toycon in the
Philippines. Both are avid cosplayers. In fact, Wilson has served as a
judge in several prestigious cosplay competitions in the country.

"While most fans
think cosplaying is all about the costumes, actually it’s just a part
of what makes a cosplayer," Wilson explained. "When I was a judge, I
was often disappointed by the way certain cosplayers would just march
on stage and model around as though they were in a fashion show. That’s
not what cosplay is about. You have to be the character you’re playing.
It’s usually the cosplayer who convincingly portrays the character who
wins the competition."

Wilson cited two good examples of Filipino cosplayers. "JM Chua who portrayed Saitoh Hajime from Samurai X
was the winner of the first AXN Anime Festival in 2001, which first
introduced cosplay competition to the Philippines. He later went on to
compete in the HK Comics Festival, where he also won First Place. A lot
of Chinese contestants complained about his win in both competitions on
the basis of the costume, because their costumes were certainly pretty
and elaborate. However, while JM’s costume may be simple in comparison,
he floored the judges with his dead on portrayal of Saitoh, complete
with the mannerisms of the character. It was like you were looking at
Saitoh himself." (BLOGGER’S
NOTE: Lamentably, despite the huge popularity of the two AXN Anime
Festivals, neither AXN or Animax were able to continue these festivals,
much to the disappointment of Filipinos anime fans and cosplayers.)

Filipino JM Chua and Singaporean Huang Zhilong as Saitoh and Shishio

© September, 2001 by Bamboo_Vine

Another cosplayer
who has captured the hearts of Filipinos is Hard Gay Philippines, who
made his debut at Ozine Fest this year. Laughs Wilson, "Hard Gay
Philippines (HGP) is undoubtedly a smash because he truly captured the
flamboyant spirit of original Hard Gay Masaki Sumitani of Japan. There
is one cosplayer whom he left in absolute shock though I overheard her
saying to her friend, ‘Oh my God! That’s my UNCLE!’" All the Obataku
could say to this is "BE PROUD OF YOUR UNCLE, KID! He’s got a lot of
guts!" XD

Hard Gay Masaki Sumitani and his Filipino counterpart, Hard Gay Philippines

© April, 2008 by Alvin and Hard Gay Philippines

To all those who
have been bombarding me with questions on where they could buy or rent
cosplay costumes, that would probably be a point AGAINST you. According
to Mic, "Japanese judges specifically look for creativity in the
cosplay costume. They can tell if the costume was simply made-to-order.
You need to show and prove to the judges that you have added your own
personal touches to your costume."

If you were to
have a dressmaker or costume maker do your costume for you, it would
cost you from between USD 200 to as much as 1,000, and this is
excluding the accessories. However, if you are that creative and
resourceful enough to make your own costume, you could slash this
estimated value by half or even more.

Pointed out
Wilson, "There are two things that cosplay judges look for in the
costumes — creativity and cosplayer resourcefulness."

To those who
couldn’t sew a full garment even if their life depended on it, Mic
suggested that you have a dressmaker sew the BASIC costume, without the
embellishments. A good example are the long coats in D-Grayman.
Have a dressmaker sew the basic black coat. You then will sew on the
elaborate laces, beads, buttons, zippers, etc. that would transform it
into the character’s costume.

Some characters
obviously have their trademark weapons, such as fancy fighting staves,
swords and big guns. As Wilson himself demonstrated at the con, a
wooden staff and sword can be made to look like a convincing metal
weapon by using the right type of paint. Bazooka-type guns that are
strapped to the arms could be made from large plastic soda bottles. Add
some embellishments using a little cardboard, styrofoam, colored paper,
glitter and a lot of glue, and voila, you have yourself a weapon.
Sentai helmets could be made from styrofoam, papier mache or by
recycling old motorcycle of bike helmets that you have at home.
However, certain helmet embellishments like the visor may need to be
manufactured by a professional. As Mic narrated, what is preventing her
and Wilson from cosplaying Jun and Jinpei from the Gatchaman anime is that the bird-like visor for the helmet alone would cost USD 150.

Characters like the monsters from Alien
and other video games and robots would require a lot of creativity and
imagination. Obviously you cannot use metal because it is not only
expensive, it can also be very heavy and hot to wear. Some players have
made robot costumes out of very stiff cardboard, but as Wilson pointed
out, it could also be very flimsy. Just one hard bump and it could
create a dent in the cardboard. He and his friend have found a perfect
solution to this. Instead of using cardboard, they used sheets of stiff
leather which they purchased from shoe manufacturing companies in in my
country.

One mustn’t
forget. Henna and cosmetics are also a cosplayers best friend for those
tattoos and fierce face paints. And don’t forget the colored wigs,
which you can purchase from your local wig shops.

Someone inquired
about purchasing special contact lenses that would make him/her have
Kakashi’s sharingan. These lenses are called theatrical lenses,
specifically "scleral lenses", because they don’t just cover the pupil
but also the white of the eyes. I have asked around and you can only
order them online. Most optometrists would not make scleral lenses
because prolonged use may cause visual disturbances and eye damage.

As Wilson himself
also put it, "While having Kakashi’s sharingan may seem impressive,
please take note that you are up on stage and the judges may not even
be able to see your special lenses that clearly. You don’t convince the
judges you’re Kakashi by the theatrical lenses you’re wearing; you have
to be Kakashi himself."

COSPLAYING TIPS

After reading the
above and you still want to be a cosplayer, here are a few tips from
yours truly and a few people who have cosplayed in the past.

1. Because
cosplaying could be expensive, select the events that you would like to
participate in. If you are going to compete, better to give a few
months to prepare your costume and accessories.

2. DO NOT
immediately choose a character you want to cosplay. Take a long hard
look at yourself in the mirror, choose a character who closely
resembles you in appearance and body build, and apply the basic tips of
fashion. If you are fat, for heaven’s sake, please don’t wear those
frilly mini-skirt ensembles from Card Captor Sakura and Paradise Kiss because
the added volume of the garment could make you look even fatter. Call
me snooty if you will but it really makes me cringe whenever I see
chubby girls dressed in billowing, frilly dresses. Let’s face it. I’m a
bit on the hefty side myself and I know what I look like when wore
voluminous dresses. Go for a dark, streamlined garments, such as
trenchcoats or basic shinigami garb to hide the flab.

3. Study closely
the character’s personality and mannerisms. By knowing every nuance of
the character, this would make you a convincing cosplayer.

4. If you are
competing in either the individual or group cosplay competitions,
REHEARSE. Yes, it could be nerve-wracking on stage. But with constant
practice and rehearsal, you will find that you will become more at ease
when you finally face the adoring crowd.

To conclude this
blog, a bunch of people were asking me where in their countries they
could buy cosplay costumes and accessories. For heaven’s sake, I live
in the Philippines. How would I know the answer to that question? If
you are that desperate to cosplay, inquire from local costume
manufacturers, use the yellow pages of your phone book, or better yet,
do what Mic had done and just have a dressmaker sew your basic costume
and you add on the embellishments yourself. If you live in the
Philippines, you can join Cosplay.ph: The Philippine Cosplay Compendium,
where you can communicate with fellow cosplayers who can give you not
only valuable tips on how to make your costumes, but can recommend
stores wherein you can buy the necessary items for your costume at a
cheap price.

BLACK JACK FANART By ClaudiaKat

Okay…I was
supposed to post the blog on cosplaying, but as it turned out, I would
need more material for me to actually write it. Since I’ll be attending
a convention over the weekend, it will be the perfect opportunity for
me to get reunited with and gather information from friends who are
avid cosplayers. Expect it very early Monday morning.

Anyway, I’m
thankful at least that some people are now posting real comments below,
although I must be honest enough to admit that I am still NOT keen on
RETAINING the "Members Speak" section. But since the "issues" and other
questions keep on getting resurrected over and over and over again,
this will be my FINAL word on the matter. To those who continue to
bother me about how they should post their profiles, put up an avatar,
etc., etc. INSTEAD of writing to the webmaster with their complaints,
I’ve posted a simple tutorial on how you could do it. I’ve also posted
a few rules on how you should conduct yourself in the blog and in the
profiles of others. PLEASE COPY/PASTE THIS TO YOUR WORD PROGRAM SO I
WOULDN’T HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN AND AGAIN. If there’s one thing I
really hate, it’s repeating myself over and over again.

ANIMAX WEBSITE TUTORIAL: HOW TO GET AROUND THE GLITCHES

As a user of this
site, from what I’ve observed, the glitches of the website DO NOT occur
because of the number of inactive users. Neither do these inactive
users and their profiles occupy a significant amount of space that
would cause the problems that are plaguing the site of late. As I
mentioned in the previous blog, the glitches occur because of the
constant wear and tear that the ACTIVE members have been pushing this
site through, especially during high "traffic" hours, usually in the
afternoons and evenings. Sadly, this is at the expense of new members
whose profiles and avatars end up being lined up in a sort of "virtual
queue", so that their information pop up days after they had joined.
Plus, there are also quite a few problems that I’ve noted.

I’ve decided to break up this tutorial for NEW MEMBERS and for ACTIVE MEMBERS.

1. Think
carefully about the nick you would want to be known by and STICK WITH
IT. I really don’t see any reason why a person should constantly change
his or her nicks.

2. There is a
section in the Profile called "About Me" wherein you put all the
information that you would want your future friends to know about you.
DO NOT TYPE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION DIRECTLY INTO THE BOX.

3. First, TYPE or
DRAFT your "About Me" information on MS Word or any other word program
that you have. "About Me" has a character limit of around 850
characters. Keep your information WITHIN that limit. If you don’t know
how to check for the word/character count, on your Word Program, Click
"Tools" > Click "Word Count". Another good reason why you should
draft your "About Me" info first is for you to be able to read
beforehand what information you would want included and delete those
that you feel are unimportant. Make sure that ALL the info is there, so
you wouldn’t have to edit it time and again. STICK WITH THE PROFILE
THAT YOU’VE POSTED.

4. I should
mention this. Include in your "About Me" Profile about the friends you
would like and do not like to have. There is one new member whom I
admire for posting, even in the blog, about people NOT adding her if
they don’t like to make friends with Vietnamese, or other nationalities
for that matter. Specify what you DO NOT LIKE in people. Some members
act as if they are way too familiar with the other person when they
don’t know them at all. This way, you can avoid rude and nasty
arguments.

4. Once you’ve made your FINAL version for "About Me", copy/paste it to the box and click "Update".

5. Have a folder for Avatars inside your computer. Select ONE avatar that you would like to use for ONE MONTH.

6. The avatar
should be EXACTLY 75 x 75 pixels in size. Even if it says the system
will automatically resize larger images, DO NOT post a 100 x 100 pixel
or larger sized avatar.

7. Some avatars
despite being at the exact size may not load immediately because it is
in high resolution. Try to lower the resolution first using Photoshop
or other imaging program.

8. If your
profiile or avatar does not load, then it is on queue. Wait for a
minimum of 24 hours to a maximum of 3 days for the profile/avatar to
appear.

9. If avatars or
profiles still don’t appear after 3 days, CONTACT THE WEBMASTER at
webmaster@animax-asia.com for SEA and webmaster@animaxindia.com for
India. DON’T BUG THE BLOGGER ABOUT TECHNICAL MATTERS.

1. DO NOT CHANGE
NICKS. Think about the nickname you want to go by and STICK WITH IT. I
don’t see why anyone should constantly change aliases. Sorry, but only
criminals do that.

1. DO NOT
CONSTANTLY UPDATE YOUR PROFILES. Same as for new members, do a COMPLETE
and FINAL version of your "About Me" information using the procedure
above. STICK WITH IT!

2. DO NOT CHANGE
AVATARS FREQUENTLY. You are preventing newbies from posting their own
icons. Limit avatar changes to ONCE A MONTH!

1. ALWAYS BE
POLITE AND COURTEOUS, not just to the blogger and moderators but to
your fellow members as well. DO NOT USE THE BLOG AS A CHATROOM.

2. WATCH WHAT YOU
TYPE! Some members tend to act as if they are already "familiar" with
or have judged their fellow member to be of a certain type of
personality. If you feel someone is being way too familiar with you,
then say so nicely. There are also certain members who have offended me
greatly with their comments about me being a "racist" and exchanging
similar offensive name-calling to their fellow members. IF YOU CAN’T
SAY ANYTHING NICE, THEN SHUT UP!

3. The "Member
Speak" section of the blog has a 3,000 character limit. To make sure
that your comments are within the character limit, PLEASE TYPE THEM OUT
FIRST ON A WORD PROGRAM.

4. Although I do not consider myself a grammar nazi, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR COMMENTS ARE COHERENT AND WOULD NOT BE MISREAD.

5. "Greetings"
and "Add me’s" will be tolerated but up to a certain point. To newbies
who are looking for new friends, INTRODUCE YOURSELF PROPERLY. Let me
give you an example: "Hi, I’m Charisa. I’m a huge fan of Animax,
and I particularly love anime like ‘Colourcloud Palace’ and ‘Honey
& Clover’. I even participate in cosplays. I am looking for friends
who share the same interests as me. However, I have to admit to not
liking rude and arrogant people. If you think you can be my friend,
then just click on my nick and visit my profile. Let’s chat a few
times. If we could be friends, then ‘Add Me’. THIS IS HOW I WOULD LIKE YOUR FRIENDSHIP SEARCHES TO BE FROM NOW ON.

6. To active
members who are looking for friends among the newbies, just simply
invite them to your profile by telling them to click on your nick.

7. LIMIT ADD ME’S AND GREETINGS TO ONLY ONE A DAY. There is no need to put a string of it up in the blog.

8. DO NOT POST
FRIENDSHIP SPAM, ANIME LYRICS OR ASCII ART IN THE BLOG OR MEMBER
PROFILES. You are cluttering up the site with useless stuff when the
space would be best used for offering/sharing information, comments and
suggestions.

9. If you have a
picture or read a news item that you feel would be worth sharing to
fellow members, POST THE LINK TO IT WHEN YOU COMMENT IN THE BLOG.

10. POST YOUR
CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE BLOG, THE ANIMAX WEBSITE
AND PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING REQUESTS FOR NEW SHOWS, IN THE MEMBER’S
SPEAK SECTION. Especially when the members are being polite about it, I
would often compile the comments and submit them as a complete report
to the Animax management. However, I must point out that not all
suggestions could be accommodated due to certain constraints. When this
happens, DO NOT GO ON A RANTING SPREE. You only make things worse for
yourself.

A FEW FINAL WORDS

Mizuha, I have to
agree with you about the Fan Ranking, although I don’t agree with you
regarding the inactive members. While Fan Ranking is meant to monitor
the activity of the members, it has been used as a gauge by a misguided
few to measure their "dubious" popularity. I’ve said it before in a
previous blog. JUST A CLICK OF "ADD ME" DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE FOUND A
GOOD FRIEND. If you want to find a friend, then get to know them first.
Don’t just add them automatically.

Regarding those
who have asked me why I have rejected their "Add Me" request: Put it
simply, you have insulted me and you have offended me. I certainly
wouldn’t like to have a friend who has judged me to be someone I’m not.
If you have gotten on my bad side, and believe me I am a very patient
and tolerant person, I would never like to have you for a friend.

Regarding those
who left: All I could say is this. They have posted certain
suggestions, which were not really feasible, given the attitudes and
behaviors that their fellow members here have. While chatrooms, etc,
would’ve made interaction easier, the members have NOT demonstrated
that they are capable of behaving properly. Ask any website moderator
how much trouble flame wars are. This is what I’ve been trying to
avoid. Unfortunately, these people have taken my comments in the
previous blog negatively and have taken the immature route by choosing
to leave. It’s one thing to give criticisms, but if you yourself can’t
handle receiving criticisms, frankly, I don’t know how you could
survive in the real world. The world does not revolve around one person
alone; there are also others to consider. I was happy to ignore all
the"Add Me’s", rude comments, etc. But when I saw members hurting other
members, that’s when I couldn’t take it anymore. I won’t deny that I’m
a very pretty straightforward person, but only when I’m forced to be.
Up to now, I DO NOT regret what I have written in the two previous
blogs. So, no, I WILL NOT make any apologies.

Finally to UNIQUE
and anyone else interested in cosplaying, better give me specific
questions so I could ask them from real live cosplayers and the
organizers of the cosplaying event this weekend.

PHOTO CREDITS: The Evil Obataku by ClaudiaKat

I’ve
been very busy this week with deadlines and numerous interviews for the
magazine I work for, and giving a little assistance for a monumental
project that Animax has planned. To amuse myself with the very little
free time I have, I’ve been monitoring the blog to see how you people
would conduct yourselves this time. I wish I could say that there’s an
improvement, but it’s not significant enough to impress me, sad to say.
In fact, I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry that a couple of
people in the SEA site has been asking questions about the Animax voice
actors when I have already posted not just one, but SEVEN interviews
with them. See what happens when you don’t even bother to read the blog
and just waste valuable "Members Speak" space with idle chatting,
requests for "Add me", annoying quarreling, and asking really stupid
questions like "What is this?"?

Since
the issues regarding the blog and the Animax website would not die
without giving you a clear picture of what exactly is going on, then
let me give you my frank comments on this matter, especially since Shin
Angel decided to put her two cents in, most of which I DON’T agree
with. I SHOULD have done this before, especially during the brouhaha
that took place in the India site over the removal of the "CSI
Section", but I respected the decision of the Webmaster to let the
Moderators take care of things. And what did the Moderators get for
doing their jobs? Just a lot of grief and verbal abuse, which they DO
NOT DESERVE. Well, I’ve kept my silence long enough, SO LISTEN UP!!

The Disappearance of the "CSI Section"

When
the CSI Section was added to the site, it was for the purpose of
allowing members to post arts, pictures and videos, which you have
created or taken with your cameras. However, MOST members only read the
first part of the rule and DID NOT read the part that the arts, pics
and videos should be something that YOU HAVE MADE. Common sense people. What’s the point of having the word "CREATE" in the name of the section if you share stuff that you did not make to begin with?

So what were the abuses that were committed that prompted the removal of the CSI section?

1.
Posting of copyrighted arts by the original manga/anime artists. Some
members even had the nerve to claim them as their own arts.

2. Posting of arts by other fan artists and blatantly claiming them for your own

3.
Posting Animated Music Videos or AMVs (This is a double violation of
copyright because you used a clip from an anime AND music from
well-known artists)

Some
people have been whining about why they shouldn’t be allowed to share
the stuff that they have stored in their computers. If you had even
bothered to check where you’ve been taking your pics, you would have
seen that ALL GALLERY AND LIVEJOURNAL SITES HAVE COPYRIGHT AND LEGAL
DISCLAIMERS. Those pics you have stolen were meant for your personal enjoyment.
Distributing them to other sites without even putting the copyright
notices is already infringement. Let me also say this point blank. The
Animax site is VERY, VERY STRICT when it comes to copyrighted images.
It is a condition that was made known to me even before I started
writing the blog because the Japanese animation companies are strongly
implementing this. In fact, as the Animax blogger, in case you haven’t
noticed, I make it a point to always get the copyright notice for every
image I put into the blog.

When
you mule-headed people started posting arts and videos that NEVER
belonged to you, you have inadvertently caused serious LEGAL issues for
the Animax website. Since you cannot be reasoned with, judging from
your fuming comments, better to get rid of the "CSI Section" altogether.

The So-Called "Glitches" in the Site

Why
is it that certain members are quick to blame technical problems in the
site to the Webmaster? Have you even bothered to think that you may be
also causing the numerous technical problems that are afflicting this
site? I may not be in charge of the technical matters here, but even a
moron could see the kind of abuse that you people have been putting the
site through.

Want some concrete examples?

1. Frequent changing of avatars

2.
Frequent changing of Profiles (Why you even bother to list down all the
anime that you’ve watched and loved defies logic? Why not say you love
all anime that Animax has aired. PERIOD.)

3. Frequent changing of nicks (Why? To hide yourselves whenever you’ve done something wrong in the blog?)

4.
Congesting the comments boxes of the blog and Profiles with ridiculous
"friendship spam" and ASCII art. Oh, to those of you who love to post
anime lyrics, even that is copyright infringement!

On
a lark, my nephew Enzo experimented with the functions of the site. All
the problems that you’ve been complaining about (profiles, avatars
wouldn’t load, etc.) DID NOT exist during the early hours of the
morning. Why? Because most of you who have been abusing these functions
are probably asleep. Also, if your profiles and avatars wouldn’t load,
DON’T PUSH THE SITE by reloading again and again and again. If it
doesn’t appear after 24-hours, that’s when you try again.

Shin
Angel, you suggested to delete the Profiles of inactive members. Just
how sure are you that they are inactive? I’ve actually spoken to a few
of these so-called "inactive" members and the reason why they aren’t
active is because 1) they were turned off by the idle chatting and 2)
they couldn’t comment at all. Just because they lurk doesn’t give any
member the right to delete their Profiles in order for you to abuse the
site even further with empty chats.

Oh,
there’s also one favorite suggestion – put a "Delete" function in the
Members Speak portion of the blog. Come on, people! You’re practically
lazy enough deleting comments in your own Profiles. How could you even
be counted on to delete hundreds of chat comments in the blog? If I
remember correctly, one avid chatter and nick changer was even
wondering why the Webmaster hasn’t cleaned up the Members Speak box.
You chat and let someone else clean up for you? That’s ridiculous! The
Webmaster has more important things to do than just clean up your
chatter.

This Thing About Netiquette

Shin
Angel took offense with my nephew’s comment about the "stupidity" of
certain members not knowing where chatting is or is not allowed. As a
moderator of not just one but THREE communities, IGNORANCE IS NOT AN
EXCUSE FOR NEWBIES. The only mistake that I could see that Animax made
is that they were too lenient enough to assume that you people would
know how you should behave in the proper forums. But it’s obvious that
you don’t. Some of you are obviously members of other forums and, yet,
you behave terribly in the Animax website in comparison to the other
groups you’re members of.

In
every forum, every community I’ve been to, the rules are the same –
conduct yourselves properly, no flaming, no spoilers, respect the
Moderators, chat in chatrooms, express your views in blogs and forums,
if you want to fight with someone then do it privately, etc. The Animax
website is no different from these communities. Besides, should each
and everyone of you need to have a set of rules for you to behave
properly and decently? In fact, there is only ONE rule that you should
remember – DO UNTO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD WANT OTHERS TO DO UNTO YOU.
That’s the core of Netiquette.

Let
me give you a heads up on this. I know a lot of you are requesting for
changes to the website. Yes, there will be changes in the offing.
HOWEVER, THESE CHANGES ARE USELESS IF YOU
MEMBERS CONTINUE TO ACT THE WAY YOU DO. A lot of you may not like it,
but I’m already preparing a set of rules and recommendations on how
affairs in any Interactive sections of this site will be conducted. I
honestly believe that conditions as they are now necessitate STRICTER
measures in the future.

I have
a strong respect for Animax and their staff. But sad to say, with many
of you acting like spoiled brats, you have given the website a very bad
impression upon those who visit it. People already think of anime fans
as rude and obnoxious. Should you even justify their opinions by acting
the same way in the Animax site?

[PHOTO CREDITS: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto/SHUEISHA Inc.]

MAJOR RANT AHEAD!
Let’s get this out of the way first. Sorry for the delay in posting
this blog. I wish I could honestly say that it’s entirely due to the
medical convention I attended this week. But suffice to say, I’m more
than annoyed to want to update the blog, because this would end up
clearing the "Comments" box for CERTAIN PEOPLE in the SEA site who have
been abusing it for their own personal chatroom. Worse, all throughout
the convention, I’ve even had some Animax fans who are close friends of
mine actually text me to complain that they could not comment at all
because the "Comments" section has been smothered with useless chatter.
One friend who is an avid blogger said that "Don’t these people know
what they’re doing violates Netiquette? Are they THAT STUPID that they
don’t know that there are proper venues where they could chat?" Even my
nephew has frowned upon this, saying that this would actually warrant
an outright ban in other forums, and he is right. I have been tolerant
of all these "Add Me" requests. Heck, I even tried to be exceptionally
tolerant of FOUR PEOPLE who have turned the blog into a chatroom. BUT,
I had to draw the line when these same people began fighting among each
other, and quite publicly IN THE BLOG. Have you no sense of decency,
for crying out loud?!

Just to have some
peace and quiet, I have OFFICIALLY reported this matter AND these
people personally to the Animax Webmaster, who is also just as
irritated as I am simply because clearing up your unnecessary chats is
added work for them. I really don’t know if Animax fans are really that
clueless about socializing on the Net and Netiquette. If you want to
chat, you DO NOT do it in blogs. I personally chat with people on MIRC.
Heck, just download the program and you could already enter a number of
empty chatrooms wherein you could chat to your hearts content. I’ve
seen that some of you even have Yahoo accounts. Form your own Yahoo
Groups. Yahoo Groups has a chatroom function. I should know because I
also have my own chatroom, but I found MIRC more convenient and faster.

Since practically
no one in SEA was able to put in questions thanks to these irritating
chatters, I’ll just be answering the questions from the India readers
instead.

This is in
reference to the article entitled "Top Japanese Anime Naruto Set to
arrive in India via Animax." Just do a search on Yahoo because the
writer deleted this post, presumably due to the large number of hate
mail he got from Indian viewers, but you could still view it in Cache.

I wish I could say that I was totally caught by surprise when Naruto’s
premiere was announced on the rival network, but I wasn’t. What DID
surprise me was the aforementioned article. Before I read this article,
the magazine I work for got a press release from the rival channel,
announcing that Naruto anime was going to be aired in the U.S.
From personal experience, I’ve noticed that anime acquired by the U.S.
channel subsequently get aired in the Asian region. I’m pretty sure
Animax India was negotiating for Naruto, but with the U.S. acquisition, you should already expect talks to bog down, as what obviously happened in this case.

I think it would
also be best to say this now. The Philippines is heavily into anime, so
you have several channels in my country alone airing anime. Sometimes,
certain distributors would sell the title for exclusive airing in the
Philippines ALONE. Since Singapore, India and the Philippines share the
same Animax feed, there is a strong likelihood that Singapore and India
may not be able to watch certain anime by virtue of an exclusive airing
license that was paid for by networks in my country. The closest
example that I could give are the Oscar Awards. One time, a free TV
network actually sued a cable channel for airing the Oscars in the
Philippines because they have exclusive rights to the broadcast. Since
then, this cable channel could only air the Oscars AFTER it has been
aired in my country. The same, it seems, applies here.

Any news on Gakuen Alice Season 2?

Bad news, I’m afraid. It seems the production company does not have the budget to make a Season 2 of Alice Academy.
But according to my nephew, they are still looking into the possibility
since it is a very popular title. When a Season 2 will be greenlighted
will, for now, remain a question. Definitely, it will not happen this
year.

Each anime, TV
show and movie has an airing license that could either be limited to 1)
a certain period of time (like 2-3 years) or 2) a certain number of
airings. Once the license has expired OR the above conditions (and
others like them) have been met, a TV network could no longer air the
show WITHOUT buying/renewing the license again. This is the reason why Wolf’s Rain and GetBackers,
which were shown when Animax was launched, are not airing anymore.
IMHO, why should I dish out good money for a rerun when I could use it
to buy a new title?

Simply put, because many Animax viewers request them.

The main
difference is that actors for film and stage have the convenience of
being able to use facial expression and body language aside from their
voice. For voice actors, they have to rely solely on using their voice
and imagination (for radio dramas) and the movements/expressions of the
characters in anime. Putting it this way, a regular actor may not have
an effective speaking voice, but could make up for it with facial
expression and body language. This is not true for voice actors. In the
case of anime, it’s the voice actor who provides the voice and the
anime character the emotions and actions. If both are not in sync,
you’d have a disastrous performance. That is why, with a few notable
exceptions, only a few actors possess the talent to become good voice
actors as well. If you want a real good example of an actor who is also
a fine voice actor, check out Hugo Weaving’s performance in V For Vendetta.

I could only
speak for the Philippines. In a previous interview I did with a voice
acting group in the 1990s, the rate then was USD 100 to 200 PER
episode. Now that voice talents are given the recognition that they
deserve, their talent fees have also gone up considerably.

No. Most of the
voice actors I know keep a day job. Competition is fierce for voice
acting jobs, which are sometimes far and few in between projects. Most
consider voice acting as a profitable hobby.

No, because Hiei
in India said it’s boring, so to those of you who are fans of the
Animax voice actors, blame him. I’m setting my sights higher by
interviewing key people from the top animation companies in Japan and,
hopefully, a few movie companies making anime-related projects. Animax
already gave me the greenlight for this, and this is what I’ll be
working on for the rest of the year.

I was thinking of
posting Part 2, which features a mock interview with the Shohoku Team
about what happened during the Inter High, later this week. But it
would largely depend upon the behavior of the peeps in the SEA site
since my posting this blog will be clearing up the "Comments" box for
them to abuse again. If I am riled up enough by their antics, the next
blog might be about Netiquette, at least to teach some of you how you
should behave in chatrooms, forums, blogs and such Net venues.

If you consider yourselves anime fans, the least you could do is to actually learn the terms being used. Kyou Kara Maou is
NOT yaoi. It is a "shoujo" title, or an anime that is aimed at girls
and young women, although some have argued that it is "shounen-ai" in
reference to Yuuri and Wolfram. Shoujo anime sometimes have hints of
"shounen-ai", or romances between boys and/or men. Anime/manga that are
really labeled as "shounen-ai" include Gravitation, Seimaden and Gorgeous Carat. One anime that also qualifies as "shounen-ai" is Koutetsu Sangokushi,
which I reviewed in a previous blog. "BL" ("Boy’s love") or what is
commonly known as "yaoi" should be limited to anime/manga that have
sexual content in them, whether they are pornographic or not. However,
some Japanese acquaintances have insisted that the brazenly
pornographic titles should be the ones labeled as "yaoi".

Oh, they do
listen. In the case of anime reruns, refer to my answer in the second
question. However, I must point out that anime fans actually have a
very bad rep for being rude, obnoxious and demanding. I personally find
it a huge turn off when some of you make rude demands instead of making
polite requests. It always pays to BE COURTEOUS AND POLITE. Always
remember that.

Technical problems? Email the Webmaster at webmaster@animax-asia.com for SEA and webmaster@animax-india.com for
India. HOWEVER, I must strongly mention that the reason why the site is
having problems to begin with is because there are a lot of you who
have been abusing the functions of the site. What is happening in the
"Comments" blog in the section is just one very good example. Be
responsible enough to delete old messages so as to not clutter your
Profiles. And I will repeat it again. DO NOT USE THE BLOG’S "COMMENTS" BOX FOR YOUR CHATROOM. As the popular line in that old TV series went — You REALLY wouldn’t like me when I’m angry, so DO NOT TRY MY PATIENCE!

FINALLY, Hiei’s question: How do you compute pi?

Pi is defined as
the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
Mathematician Archimedes originally computed pi with the formula: A =
pi r^2 (which is actually used to compute the area of a circle). With
the development of calculus, several formulas have been put forth to
compute pi with much greater accuracy, including Newton/Liebnitz
arctangent function (arctan(x) = x - x^3/3 + x^5/5 - x^7/7 + …) and
the one I was taught way back in High School, Machin’s Formula [(pi/4 =
4 arctan(1/5) - arctan(1/239)]. Since pi has an infinite number of
decimals, there is presently a race among scientists in computing the
most number of digits, with a formula developed by Indian mathematician
Ramanujan able to compute pi up to 17 million digits. Does this answer
your question, Hiei? NEXT TIME, young man! Don’t insult my
intelligence. You’re talking to a Science Major here.