Token Asian’s Anime Blog

Back from Otakon 2007. It’s the second-largest anime convention in the United States with an attendance of at least 22,000 with attendees ranging in age from newborn to elderly. If memory serves me correct I think we bring about a $125 million revenue to the city of Baltimore, vendors, etc. during the four-day weekend.

There will be major updates on my primary and secondary blogs as soon as I can find a USB cable for my camera. It’ll have to wait as I’m heading out to western Pennsylvania with the Minority Interns.

In the meantime, I can recommend two anime films with historical themes:

-Millenium Actress — A contender during the 2003 Academy Awards, this movie deals with the fictional story of a Japanese actress that lives through the turmoil of the Second World War and the sins of the era and their effects on her career.
-Grave of the Fireflies — From Studio Ghibli, comparable to movies like Black Rain and Schindler’s List, it follows the tragic story of what happens to civilians in war, but goes further to discuss what happens to children who must survive in a society where the need to survive has turned their fellow citizens into callous and uncaring survivors. Possibly the most powerful anti-war movie I have seen to date.

Just for the sake of keeping score, here’s a list of the stuff I bought this weekend:

-framed Belldandy watercolor print
-Studio Ghibli character watercolor
-Belldandy fanart print
-Valkyrie Profile fanart print
-two trading figures from Macross of Minmay
-two Macross mecha trading figs
-Catbus keychain
-Belldandy pencil board
-Totoro pencil board
-Totoro stickers
-Belldandy makeup kit/pencil box (it’s PINK)
-Robotech: Shadow Chronicles (autographed)
-Robotech: Southern Cross novel (autographed)
-Alpha Shade webcomic vol. 2 (autographed)
-Rurouni Kenshin novel
-MBT vehicle trading figs (2)
-Totoro keychain

Otakon 2008 August 8-10 CONFIRM/DENY?!! I think I’ll have to go reserve hotel rooms… oh within the next 24 hours?

Alright, I lied, it’s not all anime stuff. I need to get rid of a lot of my entertainment items. I’m really poor after all the stuff I had to get this month (for once, not a ridiculous anime binge) and I need to start saving up for my Christmas shopping. So I guess it’s time to have an anime blogger garage sale!

Items of note are the Gundam SEED Destiny figurines for $6 each, Genshiken box set for $70, complete Scrapped Princess manga collection for $20, Rurouni Kenshin wallscroll for $10, Kingdom Hearts 2 for $40, Halo graphic novel for $15, Final Fantasy strategy guide for $5, and some kooky Japanese language t-shirts from J-List!

I ship anywhere in the continental United States. If you want me to ship overseas, we’ll have to talk. My preferred form of payment are checks and money orders, but if you want to use Paypal, there will be a small fee and I have to pre-approve you for it. Cash is always accepted, but I don’t trust the USPS to get it to me. Oh, and if I’m a constant reader of YOUR anime blog, I might be inclined to offer discounts to you.

There are more pictures of my stuff, please contact me at my email :

tokenasian.anime[at]gmail[dot]com

ALL PRICES ARE NEGOTIABLE.

FEEL FREE TO OFFER ANY REASONABLE PRICE.

Anyway, onwards to the list of available items! As of now, nothing has been sold. If you don’t see anything you like, don’t forget to shop at TRSI and support Animeblogger.net!

Anime:

Genshiken box set - $70 (really near mint, opened only once)
Appleseed (widescreen, 2004 version) - $15 (new, sealed in box)
Robotech vol. 1 - $1 (opened, near mint)
Robotech vol. 6 - $1 (opened, near mint)
Samurai Champloo UMD vol. 4 - $10 (opened, near mint)

Manga:

Scrapped Princess (complete three volumes) - $8 each, $20 for complete set (near mint, like new)
Fruits Basket vol. 1 - $8 (near mint, like new)
Oh My Goddess: Love Potion No. 9 - $5 (very good condition)
Gunsmith Cats: Bonnie and Clyde - $5 (very good condition)
Full Metal Panic Overload vol. 1 - $8 (near mint, like new)
Onegai Teacher novel - $5 (near mint, like new)
Comic Party: Party Time! -$2 (used, good condition)
Happy Lesson vol. 1 - $2 (near mint, like new)
Kare Kano vol. 2 - $2 (used, good condition)
Kare Kano vol. 3 - $2 (used, good condition)

Anime Collectibles:

Gundam SEED Destiny Heroines figurines - $6 each (2 opened but still sealed in wrap, 2 new, please ask for more specific details if you are a collector looking for specific figures)
Rurouni Kenshin wallscroll - $10 (good condition, needs a new string for wall mounting)
“Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend” XL shirt - $12 (washed once, like new)
“Respect the Emperor, Expel the Foreign Barbarians” XL shirt (Sonno Joi) - $12 (washed once, like new)
Ah! My Goddess mousepad - $5 (new)
Ah! My Goddess pins - $5 (new)
Martian Successor Nadesico XL shirt - $5 (new, never worn)
NERV (Evangelion) shirt - $5 XL (washed once, like new)

PS2 Games:

Kingdom Hearts II - $40 (opened, played for about ten minutes)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - $10 (opened, near mint)
Final Fantasy X-2 - $10 (opened, near mint)
Soul Calibur II - $8 (new, sealed in box)
Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (Greatest Hits) - $5 (new, sealed in box)
Conflict: Desert Storm (Greatest Hits) - $5 (opened, near mint)
XIII - $5 (new, sealed in box)
Rainbow Six: Lockdown - $5 (opened, near mint)
Rainbow Six 3 - $10 (opened, near mint)
James Bond 007: From Russia With Love - $10 (opened, near mint)
Xenosaga I - $10 (opened, near mint)

PC Games:

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds - $10 (opened, original box and manuals included)

DVDs:

Daredevil (Widescreen edition of director’s cut) - $10 (new)
Mission Impossible 2 (Widescreen Collection) - $1 (opened, pretty new)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2-disc Collector’s Edition) - $10 (new, sealed in box)

Books:

Halo Graphic Novel - $15 (near mint, like new)
Final Fantasy X strategy guide - $5 (near mint, like new)
Star Wars: Vector Prime (New Jedi Order) - $5 (near mint, like new)

In America, the corporal punishment of children is legal with many vocal supporters. The foremost practitioners of this ancient ritual in the United States are the Asians. While many European immigrants came to this country with less of a cultural basis for beating one’s children, many Asian parents had no such discouragement. In fact, it was considered culturally necessary to give a good beating in order not to lose face. It’s not a case by case thing, it’s an entire society that supports the parent in using corporal punishment. While the practice is declining among Asians, most consider it acceptable except in cases of permanent harm or beatings from people not in the immediate family.

Anyway, on to the list of things used on the backsides of my generation. Oh, the memories of being Asian…

-Rice Paddle

This is what we scoop rice with. It often has “ribs” on one side to grip the rice easier. Unfortunately, this also causes red marks that don’t go away easily if your mom pulls your pants down for a spanking.

-Rolling Pin

Of course, the Chinese version of a rolling pin is about a quarter of the diameter of an American rolling pin. Still hurts like hell. It’s only about three centimeters in diameter, but holy goddess almighty is it intimidating.

-Metal Ruler

Crap, this hurts like nothing else on earth. The thing is that most parents used it sparingly because it tends to hurt the hand holding it if you smack the kid hard enough. Some moms thought that the more their hand hurt, the more justice they were dealing out.

-Wooden Ruler

This doesn’t hurt as much as a metal ruler, but it’s easier on the parents’ hands.

-Cleaver

Yeah, this is one of those butcher knives that every Chinese house has. I don’t think anyone was actually hit with one of these, it was just a constant threat. Didn’t help that sometimes there was fresh blood on it from the evening meal prep.

-FedEx Tube

It was just handy around the house. Chinese people never throw packaging away. Don’t tell my dad that USPS tubes are cheaper and even thicker.

-Chopsticks

They may look small but it’s essentially a very thin stick so it concentrates more force on one area of your hand or butt. And it leaves welts.

-Sandals

There’s no negative connotation with whacking someone with a sandal in China (compared to the Middle East). They’re also fairly clean objects since all Asians have separate outdoor shoes and indoor sandals (therefore, easily accessible). I think most Asian kids have kept the secret that it doesn’t hurt as much if you have your pants on. Shhhhhh!

-Phone

If you were smart enough to discard your sandals, you probably got thwacked with this on the head.

-Back Scratcher

Every elderly Asian grandmother has one of these to get those hard to reach places. It’s essentially a long bamboo stick with a CLAW on the end.

-Bamboo Cane

I was never beaten with one of these, although it’s a traditional beating implement. American health insurance helps provide grandparents with METAL canes and crutches now.

-Rolled-Up Newspaper/Magazine

Chinese magazines are typically a lot longer (length-wise) so this is really effective. That and the fact that nobody throws these things away so you could be beaten with some news magazine from the late 1970s. Now you know what the family dog feels.

-Double-Fisted

Instead of being beaten with only one hand, the parent switches hands when the other one turns red from multiple thwackings.

-Car Keys

Handiest thing in dad’s hand when he comes home after a hard day’s work and sees that you’ve been misbehaving.

-”Bush Stick”

Another traditional tool. The parent goes outside and pulls a branch off a tree or shrub. However, this can rapidly deplete the foliage in the yard.

-Broken Chair Leg

What can I say? Chinese people are really resourceful. That and the fact that you were the one that broke the chair in the first place…

-Extension Cable

You roll it up and it makes something vaguely like a short whip. I think many of my friends have repressed this from their childhood memories.

-Flyswatter

Besides being left with dead insect residue on your posterior, this thing SNAPS as it hits you.

-Broken Support from Flower Rack

Probably only my mother used this one. I guess she considered it wasteful to throw away a broken garden display. Might as well use it to beat her son.

In conclusion, I am sure that the practice of angry Chinese-American parents giving their children a severe spanking will continue onwards through the 21st century. I can also say with certainty that it will continue into the 22nd century with little intervention unless there is a significant shift in immigration patterns and the amount of Asians raised on American soil outnumber the “old guard” from the Far East.

Anime on My Mind’s March Madness Championship

Chidori (Full Metal Panic) versus BELLDANDY.

Vote now! Remember, a vote against the goddess is a vote for the terrorists.

BELLDANDY FOR CYLON TEMPLATE!*

“There are many copies…”

Nooooooo! Adama flashlight justice directed against Belldandy! KOWAI!

*yes, I am referencing AMM’s previous Mai vs. Bell entry

I leave telling the story of last night’s fun up to her…

“Lured by the promise of free Taco Bell, I went with Token Asian last night to his weekly source of entertainment–Halo 2 LAN party. It was quite an experience watching such a fabulous display of testosterone… or was it estrogen? I sat on a sofa and watched several males of various ethnicities flounder around in Team Slayer (Turkish guy: 45 kills, Token Asian: 16 kills), get banned from Xbox Live, enact standup comedy, and insult each other’s manhood. And personally get subjected to a range of sex jokes. (”So, did you enjoy watching me plow your boyfriend more than you do?”) Token Asian warned me in advance about the porn and random drug paraphanalia that one often finds lying around the house they play at, but, thankfully, I was spared the surprise. The couch I sat on all evening, however, is purportedly going to get me pregnant.

Want to make Token Asian scream like a little girl? DON’T USE TURN SIGNALS.”

Anyway, I’m on a blogging marathon right now. I’ve written up my opinions on THREE episodes of AMG TV in the last two hours. History majors type real guud… lik dis.

Love a Riddle, you are one lucky guy. I finally got to the “Letters to the Enchantress” section of DH’s vol. 22. There you are, at the very end, for the entire world to see. You are one of the lucky few to have your letter printed in a volume of AMG manga.

Your name is now part of AMG history.

And as Carl Horn said, “don’t forget to cough up some of that fan art.”

If you want to see LAR’s “Letter to the Enchantress,” you can order Oh My Goddess! Vol. 22 through our affiliate links on the Animeblogger.net main page.

I don’t get spam via snail mail often… but when I do, it’s definitely worth… um, not reading?

To all AMG fans out there, BEWARE of people who try to scam you with fake AMG merchandise! This is a scourge that we must eliminate!

********

To: MR TOKEN ASIAN
Re: GODDESS ACTION

MR E R WILLIAMS, HOLDER

********

Nigerian goddess scammers?

(yes, I really did get this in my mailbox… a prank?)

Animeblogger.net’s Wiki for the 2006 Spring Anime Season

Of note:

-Ah! My Goddess Second Season
-HACK//GU
-Makai Senki Disgaea
-Prince of Tennis: National Championship Chapter
-XXXHOLiC

We’ve got a bit of a while to go… happy waiting!

Lee Tung-Hui was always sort of an oddball considering that he was a Taiwanese politician who openly proclaimed his pro-Japan opinions. With all the various atrocities and war crimes committed by Japan during the Second World War, this type of opinion is the exception, if not almost completely unheard of. Myself, I find myself in the pro-Japan camp as well, but I’m an American history major, and we prefer to forgive past mistakes and learn from them…

But I never knew that a retired Taiwanese president (from the Kuomintang “blue” party, no less) could be so pro-Japan that he’d engage in the most time-honored activity of anime nerds:

COSPLAY.

I know that “Heihachi Edajima” is from a Shonen Jump serial (I’ve yet to pick up an issue of that magazine) but any other details are unknown to me.

Edit: I looked it up on Wikipedia. The serial was “Sakigake Otokojuku” or something of that sort. Seems a bit like “Tenjho Tenge” where the students train in various types of martial arts… but in this series, they are actually encouraged to do so by the previously mentioned Principal Heihachi Edajima. Sounds like standard shounen fare.

Now, if we can get President Bush to cosplay, I’m sure our Pacific allies would react with utter… amusement? He’d get the American otaku vote, though.

Mwahaha, let’s put him in an Edward Elric costume!

“Remove that Play-Doh!” ordered Jordan. Apparently, my good Latino friend has the laziest brother of all time. This little brother constantly irritates our entire weekend nerd/Halo afficionado group. You might say to me “Token Asian, don’t you like kids?” And I would reply “No, I don’t like kids at all. In fact, I’d rather be an 80 year-old virgin rather than have kids.”

Of course, I can’t leave my weekly ranting without one good Halo story. Okay, the scenario is CTF in Zanzibar. The defending team is inside the large power station. Now, you know that gaming nerds are always “OMG THERE’S A GIRL ON MY TEAM, CAN I GET YOUR NUMBER?” Well, I’m pretty sure dear “Kristen” on XBC was a guy… In any case, you know that little corner near the flag post with the Needler? Some nerd, obviously infatuated with the idea of a girl on his team, somehow convinces her to start “filming a porno” Halo-style (translation: mashing the “crouch” button… AKA “humping”).

This continues to escalate over the course of several rounds of back-and-forth battles over the flag. More and more players stop defending our territory and get in on the “action.” By now, Jordan and I are pretty darn sick of the hentai going on down in the flag room. He whispers to me “Watch this!” and sticks a plasma grenade to the offending male. Not to be outdone, I launch my last rocket at the six people bunched up.

Needless to say, they all mashed down the “boot” button and bounced us out of the game.

Ironically, my Xbox Connect username is “Adm Hentai.”

Don’t ask.

EDIT: Dear goddess, I left my Xbox headset comm puck at Jordan’s place. I hope his brother won’t steal it and sell it for drugs… Or his brother’s dog might eat it, thinking that it was an Oreo…

Or the kids… those kids… will steal it…