[Anime] Busou Renkin: What is it?

I came across this while watching Busou Renkin ep 25. And this interesting scene forced me into deep ponder but wondering what is it...

Mama's flavour... hmm...

Remind you, the mosaic effect is added in the anime, not by me. So even I have no clue what is it... What could it be...?

[Anime] 暁の車 (Akatsuki No Kuruma)

An introduction to my favourite song from my favourite composer, Akatsuki No Kuruma, by Fiction Junction Featuring Yuuka. This song, most noticible from the anime, Gundam Seed, is an insert from ep 27 (?) and 40. I love it the moment I hear it, thanks to understanding jap a little, I came to love the lyrics. I've been looking at versions after versions of translations of the song, and I can tell you, I kinda sick of it. But not till I watched this video. It has chinese translation to it and it's beautiful...

Enjoy, Akatsuki No Kuruma...



Japanese
Chinese(TOUGH time finding unknown words ^_^;;)
English (By me, base on the chinese lyrics)
-----------------------------
風さそう木陰に俯せて泣いてる　
見も知らぬ私を私が見ていた
逝く人の調べを奏でるギターラ　
来ぬ人の嘆きに星は落ちて

行かないで、どんなに叫んでも　
オレンジの花びら静かに揺れるだけ
やわらかな額に残された　
手のひらの記憶遥か
とこしえのさよならつま弾く

優しい手にすがる子供の心を　
燃えさかる車輪は振り払い進む
逝く人の嘆きを奏でてギターラ　
胸の糸激しく掻き鳴らして

悲しみに染まらない白さで　
オレンジの花びら揺れてた夏の影に
やわらかな額を失くしても　
赤く染めた砂遥か越えて行く
さよならのリズム

思い出を焼き尽くして進む大地に　
懐かしく芽吹いて行くものがあるの

暁の車を見送って　
オレンジの花びら揺れてる今も何処か
いつか見た安らかな夜明けを　
もう一度手にするまで
消さないで灯火　
車輪は廻るよ
-----------------------------
微风拂过的树荫之下 掩面哭泣的女子
默默望着 那个累不相识的自己
吉他为将逝之人奏响送曲
为不归之人叹息 流星陨落天际

[不要离我而去] 声嘶力竭地呼喊
也只换来橙黄花瓣静静摇曳
残留在我稚嫩的脸庞上
你掌心的余温渐渐远去
只剩指尖弹奏出的永恒离别

挥开痴缍在温柔臂腕上的稚子之心
炎热的车轮呼啸着继续前行
为将逝之人叹息 再度奏响的吉他
拨弄着心弦 久久不能平静

未被哀伤沾染哀的白洁之上
那片摇曳着橙黄花瓣的夏日之影
即使稚嫩的脸庞不再
跨越广阔炙红的沙滩而来
那是离别的旋律

燃尽一切回忆 走在大地之上
令人怀念的往昔 正绽放新芽

目送拂晓的列车
橙黄花瓣此时仍在某处摇曳
曾几何时见过的样和黎明
将它再次找到之前
请不要熄灭灯火
车轮回转 生生不息
-----------------------------
The gentle winds concealed a tearful lady in the shadow of the tree
Calmly looking at her unfamiliar self
Playing the guitar for the departing one
Heave a sigh over him, the star falls off the sky

"Do not leave me", screamed as loud as she could
Only the orange petals waver
Leaving behind on her soft face
The warmness of his palms gradually faded
Leaving behind a resonating tune plucked by his fingers

Relief the compassion like a child from the gentle hands
Burning wheels accompanied the continuous journey
The guitar tune, grieving for the departing one
Relentlessly disrupting one's string in the heart

A pure white heart, which have never been tainted by sorrow
Like orange petals waver over the shadow of summer
Like a kind, vanishing face
Overcoming the vast red desert
Listened to the rhythm of departure

Recalling everything while walking on this land
Memories matured, like plant sprouting new lives

Sending of the dawn's carriage
The orange petals still waver somewhere
A Nostalgic twilight
Before it could be found again
Please do not put out the lamp
The wheels turn, it'll always be
-----------------------------

PS: My gaming nick is named "KamiKaze" cause of this song. It actually sounds like a kamikaze's wife (daughter) leaving to die. To be frank, I hate japanese who thinks they are right for WW2, and saying things like "This is war, people dies right?" (source from CNA) Eat shit will ya! I learn japanese for peace, not for war. I respect Kamikaze for their love of their country and to die for it, not for the sake of killing others in war.

Nevertheless, this is still my favourite anime song.

[Anime] NABE Reloaded!

Lol watch it and you'll know... those who catch the joke, prepare to laugh until peng. For those who don't, also prepare to laugh until peng! LOL!

*anime removed, sad :( *

[Anime] God knows...

I remember the time when I was watching Suzumiya Haruhi's anime and until this point I got a shock when they decided to come up with a rock concert in the school. And there it is, in my Mp3 play list, "God knows". (Anime version below). You can ignore the chinese sub at the beginning... I kinda chuckled at their translation. But the song is 100% accurate...



And I happen to come by this person by the nick of Ki-dunno what fox, and his e.guitar is... omg...



A bonus, also in the anime clip, "Lost my music".

[Anime] Fiction Junction Featuring Yuuka - Kouya Ruten

Kajiura Yuki (梶浦由紀) project group, Fiction Junction is featuring Yuuka again, on this song named "Kouya Ruten" (荒野流転). The opening for the anime "Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto" (幕末機関説 いろはにほへと).

I remembered previewing this anime's opening, and once I hear the even-so-recognising kok-kokkok-kok type of music which match those old samurai, I decided to drop it without watching it further.

It was till later when I realise that the opening is from Fiction Junction that I feel that I've insulted myself. So I hold my breath and watched the opening, which sounds pretty ok. Until I watched the PV...

I confessed that I like Kajiura Yuki's song, and I appreciate Yuuka's vocal. But never once I praised the PV of Yuuka. She was doing irritating handsigns for ALL her PV, and I thought this time she might have improved... but this time, she decided to perform Taiji... (打太极) WTF?!



I even went to the extend of asking one of my friends, who learnt hand signs on what she actually trying to say. But basically, her hand signs represent NOTHING... Virtually nothing... so WTF is going on?

When I take a closer look, she's trying to illustrate what she sings... but in a very wrong way... She tries to correct it this time. But there's too many "KAZE (wind)" and "daichi (earth)" till she really majiam doing Taiji... Buey tahan...

I gave up... but I still enjoy the song nevertheless. However the anime is still giving me negative feelings :/ I hate samurai anime. Slash slash die die aw aw sian sian... drop... -_-

Btw, the lyrics of the song and the translation (Special thanks to Kouya for the translation)

-------------------------------
荒野流転

月影凍る大地を
転がり踏み分けて行く
滅びと再生の時代が始まる

自由を重く掲げて
道なき道を選んで
真昼より眩しい　日没を越えて

夢を語るように時の船は行く
その闇路の向こうに新しい夜明け

僕等はきっと暗闇の　腕から生まれてきた
かなわぬ恋をするように
光へと彷徨ってく
どこまでも果てしのないこの道を
帰る術は無い

生き抜くことに戸惑い
死に行く事に怯えて
僕等の呼吸には哀しみが宿る

叫びは孤独に失せて
涙の滴を啜り
誰もが一人きり荒野を流離う

あれは月の夢か　白く光る花
けぶる丘の彼方　煌めき手招く

胸に響く悠久の　音楽に耳を澄ませ
風に惑う砂のように
刹那へと消え失せても
どこまでも果てしのないこの道を
荒野の向こうへ

あれは月の夢か

僕等はきっと暗闇の　腕から生まれてきた
かなわぬ恋をするように
光へと誘われて
どこまでも果てしのないこの道を
帰る術は無い
彼方へ

-------------------------------
The Flux of Wilderness

I continue to walk, shakily treading across
The earth that has been frozen over with moonlight
An era of destruction and rebirth begins

I hoist up my heavy banner of freedom
I choose a weeping path, head down it
And pass by a sunset more radiant than midday

As if reciting a dream, the boat of time moves forth
Beyond that dark road it travels lies a new dawn

People like me were surely born from the hand of darkness
There isn’t any way to return home from this
Endless path that I must wander forevermore
Like a wish for love that never comes true,
I head towards a distant light

Bewildered by the thought of survival,
Yet fearful of meeting death,
Sorrow dwells in each breath of people like me

Our screams vanishing into loneliness,
Sipping our teardrops,
Everyone roams alone through a wasteland

Is that the moon’s dream—a white, shining flower?
From the other side of that hazy hill, its gleam beckons

My ears listen to the music of eternity resounding within my heart
Like puzzled sand tossed in the wind
Even if I disappear into this moment
Wandering the endless path forevermore
I’ll head beyond the wasteland

Is that the moon’s dream?

People like me were surely born from the hand of darkness
There isn’t any way to return home from this
Endless path that I must wander forevermore
Like a wish for love that never comes true,
I head towards a distant light
To the other side

-------------------------------

[Anime] Nabe! Nabe nabe!

As a fellow hokkien, I find this clip, the preview of the next episode of "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge" rather offensive...



Dun need to explain to me what it is, I know what it is... But, IS IT VERY NICE HEARING VULGARITIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN?! NABE!!! >( But well, another one that I can use to "scold" and get to be smiled all over...

That could probably a situation on my future visits to an Osaka region hotel restaurant... Kani = Crab, Nabe = Hotpot... well you guessed it... KNNB = Crab Hotpot... try it at a jap restaurant next time ^_^

--------------------------------------------------------

Waiter: Hi sir, can I help you?
Me: NABE! NABE NABE NABE!!! KANINABE!!! (Kani = Crab, Nabe = Hotpot)
Waiter: I got it, pls wait ^_^
Me: *spill food on the table* KANINA!!! (kanina = "sorry" in Osaka slang)
Waiter: It's ok ^_^ You dun have to apologize...
Me: O_o? Kanina?
Waiter: It's ok, really, you dun have to ^_^
Me: NABE! XD
Waiter: Ok, I'll get another serving for you ^_^
Me: KANINABE! *SONG!*
Lumiere: Uguu :X (uguu = just another sound, pls ignore this line XD)

--------------------------------------------------------

[Anime/Life] Seiyuus in Singapore

After ORDing, I'm still finding a job, where there was a time when I'm wondering how much a Singapore seiyuu (声優, or simply, voice actor) earn? That brings me to wonder how much a voice actor in Japan earn, till I came across this article. (Copied and pasted below)

It's very well written, so all the credits goes to the Riuva.

People Focus: Seiyuu and Animators are Slaves, not Stars

----------------------------------------------

I haven’t visited the Animesuki forums ever since it lost all its threads. Stuck here in my dad’s office helping him cover for his on-leave secretary, I’ve nothing to do except surf forums. And then I saw the "The Industry - Lifestyles and Wages" thread which is probably the most informative forum thread I’ve come across there. Please read it and it will change us Gaijin anime lovers’ viewpoint on anime forever.

It is terribly long and covers a broad range of issues, with very insightful full-length articles contributed by people like kj1980 and egglant. I cannot verify its credibility but given their track records, I’m believing every word. It’s gonna be a rude shock for those of you who worship seiyuus as stars, aspire to be animators or want to join the industry.

To anyone who has not seen the dark truth behind the anime industry, read on and find out how the genki, cheerful anime we watch is sweetened with the sweat and blood of the production crew.

I have sorted and classified the posts and summarised them. In Word form font 12, the informative posts took up 12 pages and totaled some 6,500 words. That’s some nice forum reading eh? Read the original thread if you want something fully comprehensive. The shortened version is long too.

This thread has just made me a lot more certain that doing well in school, picking up an elite degree, gaining mastery of languages and generally being capable of doing high-level corporate work is far better, at least in terms of materialism, than pursuing naive dreams. Anime has a tendency to spout lines like "If you don’t stop dreaming, you will never fail" or similar cheesy idealistic lines which sounds nice but never works in real life.

I have never thought of anime as anything more than a hobby and when I resume school in University (currently serving mandatory Military Service), it’s probably going down my list of priorities. I curently earn S$400 monthly (about 28,000 yen), which is less than the cost of 2 Macross Transformable Valkryies and it is illegal for me to do part-time jobs to supplement this meagre allowance. My targeted major is actually Food Science and Technology and I’m interested in making convenient food. Also known as food I can eat while watching anime.


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Animators are Slaves
The discussion starts with the pay and working hours of animators. Lets start with a Survey detailing the salaries earned by Japanese animators.

Working an average of 10.2 hours a day, 49.5% of them reported that they feel that their salaries are not sufficient for the work they do and 90% of them feel that the benefits and pensions are insufficient.

26.8% earn less than 1 million yen (US$8,500 approx.) annually, 19.6% earn between 1 million yen and 2 million yen (US$17,000 approx.) annually, 18.6% earn between 2 million yen and 3 million yen (US$25,700 approx.) annually. 65% of Japanese animators earn less than 3 million yen annually.

One category of animators, the storyboard animators who are responsible for drawing up outlines and sketches of how the animation will run, earns even less. They are often paid on a "per frame" basis, earning an average of 187 yen (US$1.60 approx.) per frame. 73.7% of these animators earn less than 1 million yen per year and the highest paid storyboard animators earn at most 80% of what other types of animators make.

Kj1980 has quite the facts to add.
"Animators (gengaka) here are viewed as the bottom rung of society - people who work close to 20+ hours a day, have to sleep at their office, who gets paid less than the people flipping burgers at McDonald’s, and never see a single yen from the profits from the sales.

The head honcho (they can be the chief writer, the director, the original character designer, etc.) are the ones who bring up the idea, who do all the dealings with sponsors and TV studios, who are the brainchild of the series, stories, and whatnot. Hence, they reap in all the royalties and percentage of the profits. That’s why you have people like Akahori Satoru (main writer for many successful anime and games) who owns a Centurion American Express card, who lavishes around in expensive bars ordering $5,000+ bottles of wine, driving around in exotic cars and getting all the ladies. On the other hand, you have slaving low level animators who gets paid meager amounts in which they can’t pay their electric bills and are kicked out from their apartments for not being able to pay their rent.

If you persevere you might get a chance to be responsible for the chief animation director. And if you are able to get through that, you might make connections along the way to move up to become a director or a writer. But out of a pool of thousands of low level animators, the chances are slim."

Dafool, who is in the Filipino animation industry, gives some insight into hellish working conditions.

• Do you want to sleep and bathe in the animation studio, going home (if at all) only during the weekends?


• Do you want a steady diet of coffee, coke, Ministop fried chicken, 7-Eleven hotdogs, and cigarettes?


• Do you want to work very hard on a scene, only to have to redo it because someone down the pipeline thinks it sucks? Or worse, because some idiot accidentally deleted it.


• Do you want to be assured that after the current project is over, you have no guarantee of your next work?


• Do you just love to bask in the condescending attitudes of the expats who make no effort to mask the fact that they dislike you because you are doing their job for cheap and who blame all bad quality on the outsourcing and subcontractors, and yet at the same time change their minds at the last minute to redo some scenes worse than they were to begin with?


• Do you like to work with people who did not have a good education, or who were involved in drugs at some point in their lives?

Yes, it is still possible to be richer being a freelance animator than a salaryman. If you are superman and can pump out twenty feet a day, that is.

Eggplant, who is living in Japan, notes the reasons behind the working conditions.
"This atrocious working environment is not only tolerated, it is legal. These animators are not employed by their respective studios, but instead are servicing their skills under a contractual agreement, with remuneration based on output (i.e., number of pages penciled/painted). In essence, they are not subject to labor laws, including the application of minimum wages and maximum hours of labor per week. Despite being technically immune to corporate regulations such as working hours, studios bind them to their desks until the quota is fulfilled, hinting that the slightest sign of insubordinance will lead to his/her firing, as animators are literally disposable, replaced by the next flock of unwitting wannabes.

But the majority of young animators are at the mercy of studios, to be exploited at will, and those that manage to stay on board will eventually encounter a reality check in the form of their services no longer being necessary. Then again, how can an average digital artist make ends meet at a per page rate of under 200 yen, when the maximum number of pages one can physically complete is 20 per day?

The anime industry is extremely closed and it is so for a reason. In comparison to other forms of entertainment, production costs for anime are extremely expensive, mainly to cover labor costs for the immense amount of hand drawn artwork. A thrity minute late night episode averages around US$200K, which is rather unpractical considering the resources needed to re-collect the money (primarily by DVD sales).

This was already an issue from the dawning ages of anime. Mushi Productions, the first Japanese anime studio, led by the legendary Tezuka Osamu, realized that cutting production costs was essential in the survival of future anime. All other studios followed suit, and eventually horrible working conditions became synonymous with anime production. This remained tacit knowledge for a long time, as if competetive studios were working in collusion in order to cover up the dark side of the indsutry.

Tezuka is praised for his work, as his contributions to the industry surpass any of his vices. However, he is also the center of controversy within the anime industry, and high profile people such as director Miyazaki Hayao has been known to criticize the late Tezuka of setting a precedent."




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Seiyuu are not Stars
Contrary to popular belief, the life is a seiyuu isn’t like that of a regular star. Majority of them live like normal people, or even less-well off than normal people. Without a fixed income, they have to search for as many auditions as possible, if not a part-time job may be required just to stay alive.

Kj1980 explains the harsh truth.
Seiyuus are paid around 2,000-3,000 yen per episode. That means, even if you have one line or hundred of lines, you are still paid the same amount. Almost every seiyuu that is tied to a talent agency is paid around that price. Once you are famous enough to make out on your own, you are your own boss so you can haggle your own price. A good example of how poor seiyuus are can be best exemplified from YuriC’s (Ochiai Yurika) personal blog - that she didn’t have enough money to pay the electric bill so her electricity was cut off, she almost had her mobile phone disconnected because she couldn’t pay that bill.

So in order to make a living as a seiyuu - they attend as many auditions as they can so that they can be selected to appear in almost every episode for at least two or three titles per season.

Singers are different. Their income mainly comes from revenues from CD sales. The difference between seiyuus that sings and real singers is exactly just that - seiyuus rarely ever see a single yen from royalties from their CDs, whereas real singers reap in huge royalties.

Seiyuu receives little to nothing when she sings. The deal is between the talent agency in which the seiyuu resides and the record company. Not the seiyuu him/herself.

They are just corporate workers who have a job at a talent agency. Their main job is to provide voice acting service for the company. The more they do, the more money companies make with deals.

Besides, the main royalties goes to people who writes the lyrics and makes the music - not the singer. So, if you look carefully at the credits, it reads:

• Lyrics by:


• Music by:


• Sung by:

Lyrics gets royalties because the lyrics to the song is published. If it is used in karaoke machines, then licensing costs margins goes to the person who wrote the lyrics. Same holds true for the original music. The singer just sings to the written lyrics and the music. Practically anyone can do that if they have a nice voice, so little money goes to them.

The flow:

• Talent agency calls up their seiyuu to sing.


• The lyrics and music are already made by the record company.


• The girl sings to the lyrics and the music. She is paid a stipend for doing that.


• The song is an instantaneous hit (to otakus).


• The royalties goes to: the talent agency (which provided the singer) and the record company (which provided the lyrics and the music)


• What did the seiyuu receive? The stipend only.


• So what if the seiyuu gets pissed off for not receiving more? The talent agency can just replace the seiyuu since they have a giant pool of them to choose from.
  
• The seiyuu need the agency to find them jobs.

"In the light" seiyuus that does voice acting for "in the light" games gets paid a modest amount. I’m not certain of the details as that is usually a haggling price between the game makers and the talent agency.

As for "in the dark" seiyuus who uses pseudonyms or who cannot get roles for "in the light" (sadly, majority of newly seiyuu graduates succumb to such roles) have no choice but to lend their voices for ero-games or ero-anime. They are usually paid quite low. Lately many previously "in the dark" seiyuus have come "into the light" with high popularity of the originally ero-game based-turned anime. The opposite also holds true: many "in the light" seiyuus lend their own voices (with pseudonyms) for "in the dark" ero-game industry in order to make a living.

In either case, whether you are popular or not, whether you have concerts or expos, seiyuus are not paid that well. Only a few, a very select few make money whose ranges are of several ten thousand yens per episode.

Who makes the most money? Veterans like Inoue Kikuko or Hayashibara Megumi aren’t in the top bracket. Legendary people in their late fifties, sixties, and in their seventies. The people who do (did) voices for Doraemon and Sazae-san. People who did the majority of kids’ shows back in the 70s and 80s. They are the ones in which the a large portion of the Japanese populace grew up listening to by watching "World Masterpiece Theater." Current big-name seiyuus learned their skills from these people. But even then, the top earning seiyuu legends like Kamiya Akira get paid an only a 10~50,000 yen per episode.

That is why most seiyuus need to do many auditions to get more anime series, dub voice overs for movies, voices for commercials, to make a living. If that doesn’t work, they need to find a job for secondary income (working at a restaurant, a convenience store, etc. etc.).

If you don’t have nothing to shine and impress the sponsors, sound directors, and the creators of anime, TV commercials or movies, you end up working for the dark side - voicing ero-anime and ero-games (though many seiyuus do ero-games under a pseudonym as it pays a bit better), getting quick cash by appearing in a porno.

The fans don’t care - the people that get irked are the sponsors. And the main reason is:

Let’s say a seiyuu goes to an audition and get the role for a very popular children’s show that runs on NHK (the nationally owned TV station).

A few days later, TV execs find out that the seiyuu did a role in an ero-game without covering up her name. She immediately loses her job that she acquired.

Why? Same as any other country with bitching parents and teachers associations that cry afoul "oh, think of the children! how can you be so obtuse to let such person doing a kid’s show! won’t please someone think of the children!?"

Miyamura Yuko, the seiyuu for Asuka in "Neon Genesis Evangelion" gained immense popularity when that anime became a hit. However, when a tabloid exposed that she appeared in a porno several years before (the days when she wasn’t famous and needed cash to make a living), the gossip press daunted her days after days. This continued to taunt Miyamu for several months during which she couldn’t get any job because of this.

Fans of Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton could care less of their sexcapades (rather, many are interested), so do fans of seiyuus. It’s the tabloids and the press, bitching parents, teachers and liberal activists. It’s the sponsors and talent agencies who instantly distance themselves when such "facts" are broken to the press.

If seiyuus need the money, they’d better be sure to use pseudonyms when they take voice acting roles for ero-games and ero-anime.

Few examples:
Mizuhashi Kaori = Uehara Tomomi
Itou Shizuka = Misaki Rina
Nabatame Hitomi = Tezuka Maki

Eggplant, on the process of becoming a seiyuu.
Anime is not a role model for the entertainment industry, and unlike actors, singers, or athletes who are recognized and duly compensated for their skills, from the studio’s point of view, seiyuus are merely staff despite their actor/actress moniker, and are treated that way.

How ironic it is for seiyuus to be given recent recognition not only by hardcore otakus, but by the entertainment industry as well, when their paycheck pales in comparison to that of an office worker of the same age. Seiyuus, who have established themselves are no exception.

An aspiring seiyuu will usually have to endure 2 years of basic acting training at a vocational school, then enter an agency in Tokyo as a trainee for another 2-3 years of acting lessons before he or she can do any acting work. And that is if the said person is talented enough which is a 1% chance. Even then, such roles for newcomers are sparse, and the prospective seiyuu must win through auditions.

And what is his/her paycheck for this? 12,000 yen (appoximately $110) per episode minus tax deduction and agency commissions, assuming the seiyuu is a member of the Japan Actors Guild. And don’t think that such a union is for the mutual benefit of the seiyuu, as it simply stipulates the unique classification system which is the basis for their appearance fee.

This fixed rate is applicable whether you have one line or a thousand (though there are variable factors that are taken into account), and one’s rank will not be re-evaluated until after 2-3 years, where he/she can only step up to the next level.

The ten tier rating system starting off from Junior (15,000 yen per episode prior to deductions) to Veteran (45,000 yen), plus the special Non-Rank reserved for mainly 60 year olds and above, has hardly any leeway in terms of money. Essentially, a longtime veteran will make only maximum three times that of a rookie per episode. In fact, there are many seiyuus that resist on being promoted to a higher class, as a higher fee will lead to lesser jobs.

Put that into the rookie seiyuu’s shoes. He/she can only earn 60,000 yen per month without stipend, and it is likely that that role is the seiyuu’s only one. No wonder why seiyuus have to resort to other ways to make a living, by appearing in events, doing narration work, dubbing games or commercials, and that’s if there’s such an offer. Otherwise, it’s a continuation of the part-time job he/she did during the trainee days in order to make a living. Since you can only do seiyuu work in Tokyo, and if you’re out here on your own, you must take part time jobs to keep a roof over you.

Seiyuu who are not a union members are forced into worse conditions. Some studios or advertising agencies often hire non-union seiyuus due to budget constraints or animosity towards the union, and there are people who will due whatever it takes to grab a role. There are also seiyuu agencies that are not Management Association members, who exclusively handle non union member seiyuus, although it is up to the individual seiyuu whether to join the guild or not.

Due to the efforts of senior seiyuus, the road for incentives is open, mainly income based on re-runs, but royalties stemming from DVD sales have yet to be in implemented. Simply based on the information laid down here, for example, a 5 year veteran seiyuu with a base wage of 20,000 yen per show who does 4 shows a particular season will earn 240,000 yen a month on anime seiyuu work alone, which finally brings it up to normal living standards.

The spotlight on anime will most likely continue, generating lots of revenue for the select few people in the industry. Too bad that it isn’t adequately returned to the people responsible for putting it into life. And sadly enough, the truth will never reach the starry eyed seiyuu wannabes until confronted with the harsh reality.

Kj1980 gives a reality check for Foreigners who want to be seiyuu.
For foreign seiyuu wannabes, do you really want to go through the trouble of getting a student visa for Japan, submitting dozens of paperwork to prove that you have sufficient income to get by, paying a hefty fee for a temporary residential permit for foreigners, with the restrictions of not being able to get jobs due to "student" status, just to become a seiyuu?

And even if you manage to get by, there are 10,000+ seiyuus that graduate such voice acting schools each year, in which only a handful gets hired by talent agencies. And even then, your salary is extremely low.

Eggplant continues
Erogames are not subject to the rank payment system of anime, although standard video games has its own rating system. A seiyuu can earn 3 or 4 more times as much as he/she can by doing erogames, even though the seiyuu will assume a pseudonym.

This is because erogames/ ero anime videos are a niche market, catered to a minority willing to dish out huge bucks for a product and the production company knows that they have stellar quality by hiring an anime seiyuu.

Male seiyuu are not hesitant about appearing in erogames, as their identity is concealed and they can reap in good money. However, many female seiyuu resist such paths, and in some cases, their agency refuses to have them work in such fields.

In any case, anime seiyuus have to compete against proprietary erogame/eroanime seiyuu for the role, wherein the former has better acting skills while the latter has a better connections within the market.

Male seiyuu who can live a good life do narration work for TV, radio, videos, etc., as payment is very generous. In fact, seiyuus that are homeowners and who drive around in flashy cars built their fortune by doing such work.

In a way, seiyuus are better off than idol singers, who usually have a fixed income the first few years no matter how much that person rakes in for the agency, however when that idol starts switches to a performance based contract, it is a totally different story, as even a Morning Musume member can earn 40 million yen a year.

Listen to the voice acting in Miyazaki Hayao movies. He uses top notch actors/actresses as he depises the industry and anime seiyuus in general, but the end result is mediocre acting at best. This is an indication that top notch seiyuus are best at doing voice dubbing work, a talent often taken for granted.

Of course seiyuu will never attain the celebrity status of a leading actor/actress, as anime in general is a niche market where the seiyuu’s face and name are not recognizable to the public. Actors/actresses in Japan earn most of their money by endorsing products in TV commercials.


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That’s not exactly a summary is it? But after reading through this, would you still think of Horie Yui and Noto Mamiko in the same way? It’s always better to know than to be ignorant. So next time, when you watch anime, keep in mind that this is the end product of a lot of effort and sacrifice.

Approximately 81 yen to 1 Singapore dollar. That means, an apprentice seiyuu only earns $500+ for the entire series, providing his/her voice is used every episode. On comparison for jobs in Singapore, an NS combat-support Coporal is paid $520, road sweeper (aka Bangala brothers) earning $700+ per month, any part time job outside for one month at least $800-$1000. Heck, even free lancing jobs that you can find outside would earn you $400-$600 by shaking legs at home.

Considering the fact that earning money is so hard in Japan, it makes me think twice of migrating there, uguu... :(

And those of you who have jobs, cherish it. After knowing how hard it is to earn money in other profession, I hope you do...

[Anime] Pizza Hut supports rebellion!

If you happen to watch code geass ep 5, dun be surprise if you see this...



It's gold! Pizza Hut supports the rebellion! XD

Long live the rebellion! Long live the Hawaiian Pizza!

[Anime] THIS IS GOLD!

It was kind of old... since I've the flash probably close to half a year back but it is still astonishing everytime I watch this...



Enjoy the parody of Gundam Seed, with Type-moon's Tsukihime...

Hail 春風亭工房!

And this is awesome too!

[Anime] Japanese Kaisai Lesson No.1 - Kanina ^_^;;

Alright, here comes the japanese lesson from anime. As you know, kansai dialect origins from Osaka. And their language sounds similar to our chinese dialect.

BUT!!!!

Meaning can be deceiving. If you happen to bump into an "Osaka-jin", dun be agitated by their way of apologizing. "Kanina" is their way of apologizing. What? You don't believe me? Then I have 2 evidence from here. One is from School Rumble Season 2, and another is Mai Hime.





Next time if you accidentally did something wrong to you or anyone close to you, just one "kanina" will do the job ^_^ For example, if someone kills you/you killed someone in Dota, just "kanina" him will do... It's friendly game anyway XD

[Anime] Anime Engrish 2 - I can be shot

NPNT. Pic describes all...

[Anime] Anime Engrish 1 - Quarify

Lol! I just couldn't stop laughing when I watched Detective Academy Q episode 11, when I come across this...

Q stands for quarify! LOL!

:/

[Anime] Noein - Mou Hitori no Kimi e

Just finished watching this 24 Episodes anime, Noein - Mou Hitori no Kimi e.



As I'm pretty busy nowadays, I don't have time to actually write a full, nicely constructed review of it. I'll spend more time on the upcoming anime blog by me and Lumiere. So I'll keep it short here.

It was a great anime. At first, I judged the anime by it's drawing. It totally turns me off with pencils. Then, something attracted my attention. It's about space again, thsi time it's about time space. I've been interested in how time works since I've first came across an article about black holes. Not to mention, visualising how it works is virtually impossible.

However, this fictional animation actually puts it into visual. By emphasizing some realistic theory about quantum physics, and of course with some fictional stories, it spices up my interest. An anime which keeps me in front of the monitor since Mai Hime.

Some theories are used in the anime, and it certainly deserved to be thought over. Stuff like Many World Interpretation, which is seen that the universe is branching off into a series of infinite probabilities, and Copenhagen Interpretation,which suggested that an observer/measurement is important to determine the decoherency of the probablity, are explained throughout the anime.

Watch it and develop some questions to ask yourself about your otherself. Everything down to one if you can't find any answer. You are yourself, you are here now. It doesn't matter what you are in the past or in the future, you are what you are now. At least this has always being one of my personal mottos after all ^_-

[Anime] Seiyuu in action!

Lol, as of me, I learn a great deal (though not enough) of things about Seiyuu (voice actor) for the anime. For 1, they've unique voices, for 2, they look ugly (except for some), for 3, their timing is excellant. Now, I learnt that usually (for anime, it's for sure) for dubbing, you dubbed over video. That is to say, the producer plays the video, and you dub according to what the video plays. That's ALOT of work for the timing...

For amateur seiyuus, they may need to use finger/hand to count, while others (most, in fact. Nobody will find a japanese wierd by nodding right?) using nodding to count.

But look at the crew of Bleach seiyuus... Their timing... omg...

You can identify them according to the character they play. But Rukia appears at the very end of the video scene.

Oh, and I'm not into Youtube hunting :D I just happen to come across them while searching for seiyuu. They are unique, unlike the one in my country... sigh...



Lol, listen to the disappointment of the fans when the voice actor of Renji didn't come out his zabimaru... Other than that, I find it's a typical seiyuu's interview, and in my oppinion, it's a very normal "cast interview" type of show. But come on, I gotta confess, they took it well. And for that, *thumbs up*

However, do not get affected by watching it lol... I remembered when I watched the latest Bleach episode last night, my mind was totally concentrating on how they dub (of course, the face of the voice actors), I completely forgotten to pay attention to the story. In the end, I gotta rewatch again lol... Dun let this happen to you...

[Anime] Naruto Filler... is it going to end?

Before I begin this post, I'd like to clarify that these information are not from me, but rather from those hard core anime fans, who surprises me again and again according to their studies, as if there's such thing as PhD for Anime... They do really surprises me...

As far as I know, ever since the last time I heard that "Naruto's filler gonna end!!!", I know it won't... However, it seems more promising now... why?

1) "An anime fillers wouldn't last a season!" myth has busted. Currently, naruto is surviving with 2 seasons of filler, as of current (EP 192). But what about "An anime fillers wouln't last more than 2 seasons!" myth? Currently, it seems like it's finishing season 8. Will the beginning of the 9th season be a filler? Or will it go back to the manga? We'll only know when ep 204 (aired somewhere September-October) is out.

2) "Naruto movie 3 is going to get boycott!" myth. Since the movie 3 has not aired in Japan cinema, nobody can confirm on this. However, I can say it's gonna get busted. As far as I know, other than a few sum of Japan teens who did sickened by those filler, majority of the Naruto supporters do enjoy both the manga and the anime. Of course, those unhappy boys and girls including myself, who only watch anime, and didn't bother to read the manga. However, boycotting Naruto movie 3 might bring an impact to the anime maker. They'll know that they are doing more harm than good while continuing showing us nonsense from those fillers. Little did they know they are driving fans away, slowly but surely.

3) "The filler is used to chase away the fans from other country who dled Naruto!" myth. It's kinda stupid. I wonder who indeed thought of that, other than those I saw on some forums. For Christ sake, would you like to make your product bad and sell it just for the sake of chasing away those immitations from the market? You'll lose alot of customers, doing more harm than you. This myth is confirmed busted

4) "The filler is actually doing more good than harm to the anime" myth. It's confirmed. A good example of doing harm than good if the anime exceeds the manga will be Rurouni Kenshin. It screwed up at ep 92, thanks to the anime maker. Consequences of Naruto if it continues the anime without pulling a gap from manga, then we will have nothing to watch already... So glad that the anime maker spare a thought of the anime. However, I'd appreciate if the anime maker spare a thought for us too. We've endured nonsense for 1 year already. Most of us have turned teens by then (exception for some, you know who *roll eyes*)...

5) Last but not least, "The fillers gonna end! They say so!/I heard it!/Some say so!/Whatsoever your grandpa grandma say so!" myth... Pls die, we no need your vague nonsense here. NPNT idiot!

[Anime] The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi!

Woo hoo! I've finished it and my comment is short and sweet... "Short" and "Sweet"...

In fact, the deleted review of mine, I've already "see good" on this anime already. The cuteness, fancy type voice acting (Yes! I'm refering to you Mikuru-chan~~~ <3), the "oh my god" effect that came in when you thought "omg not another boring school anime". It's just fantastic.

And not to mention the multi-dimentional type of anime where episodes order is messed up. Well, not really... It's arranged in a way where, you can choose to watch the order which it was arranged, or chronologically when it was aired in Japan. In my opinion, watch chronologically first, and enjoy, then rewatch it as the "original" episodes order. It'll spice up your experience in watching this OMFG-KAWAII, OMFG-FUSHIGI anime!

My last words for this anime is, I dun think it'll have any part 2 despite the "cliff hanging type" of ending. This anime shows enough so much, it nearly changed my religion to haruhism! LOL! It kicks!

All the best to those who'll watch it. However, for those who seeks action, pls die elsewhere ^_-

PS: For the sake of those who did not know which episode is what, or for those lazy bum who dun wish to figure out by researching... On the left, is arrange chronologically, which is the number you'll see on the name of the file. On the right is the number which indicates the actual episode.

01 -> 11
02 -> 01
03 -> 02
04 -> 07
05 -> 03
06 -> 09
07 -> 08
08 -> 10
09 -> 14
10 -> 04
11 -> 13
12 -> 12
13 -> 05
14 -> 06