Shameful Otaku Secret!

What would that sound like, anyway?

I was contacted through my handy-dandy contact form the other day by a representative from MTV, those exploiters of youth the American music-and-youth-focused cable TV network. A few fun facts about MTV:

1. They used to show music videos. True story.
2. Back in the day, I listened to my Dead Kennedys Frankenchrist tape a lot, and my favorite song on it was “MTV Get off the Air.” (Song | Lyrics)
3. MTV pretty much invented reality television as we know it, thanks to Real World. That means, for better or worse, they know reality TV. Which brings me to our point.

They are recruiting for an episode of their reality series True Life, this one focusing on fanboys. So here’s the text of the recruitment flier that I thought I’d pass along, because the thought of an aniblogger on the boob tube is too awesome to miss:

Are you a young person who is obsessed with a certain book, comic, or video game? MTV’s True Life is looking for young people who are die-hard fans of certain brands, characters, or fantasy series.

Are you obsessed with comic books, anime, fantasy, or manga? Do you like to dress up as your favorite character and attend conventions with other fans? Have you ever waited in line overnight for a book, movie, or videogame release? Do you have tattoos depicting your favorite brand or characters? Have you ever missed work, school, or other important events to engage in role-playing or cosplay? Are you misunderstood by your family or significant other because of it? Do you aspire to author your own graphic novel or comic series despite your parents’ disapproval?

If you appear to be between the ages of 16 and 28, and want to share the story of your fantasy obsession, email us at fanboy@mtvn.com with all of the details. Be sure to include your name, location, phone number and a photo, if possible.

Tell MTV why you need to be seen and heard. This is your chance to let others see what your life is all about!

I think it’s more accurate to say that this is your chance to look like an ass in front of everyone, but there you have it. Unfortunately I am a bit older than 28 and I appear to be 12, so I can’t apply myself.

If you make it, you’ll be in such diverse company as deafness, schiziphrenia, high school graduation, cheating partners, and anorexia. I’m really not certain if this is open only to US residents or not, although I would tend to think so. Here is the flier in PDF form, in case you want to download it or whatevs. If anyone does go out for this, please let me know so I can set the Tivo.

Pretend you care!

Well, that was a hell of a hiatus. I can’t accurately call it a break. I packed a 22 foot truck, hooked my car on the back, drove it 1400 miles (about 2200km) at 50mph (80km/h) — which, if you do the math, I shit you not comes to seven billion hours on the road — to finally end up at my new place and unpack approximately 1 ½ boxes before I had to jaunt off to Florida for work. Somewhere along the line, I got sick, and I would assume that somewhere in there I also slept. What I did not do very much of is watch anime, but I managed to get caught up somewhere in there. Here’s what happened in my absence:

Macross F got good. Like really good. Instead of nostalgia-porn for old-school fans, it’s now its own series that’s starting to get balls out. But the upcoming “Vajra Babies” spinoff, while cute, is a blatant cash-in and should not be considered canon.

Geass did its thing. No hardcore plot twists, but Shirley’s killer was quite the surprise to me. Unfortunately, now that LeDouche is trying to off Rolo, the little brother-faker has become the Scrappy Doo of the series. Just die, already.

Twenty Faces had an off week. Chiko as Encyclopedia Brown seems fun on the surface, and a beach episode never fails, uh… right? But the story was silly, didn’t focus on Chiko, and had horrendous animation.

Kaiba became confusing. If you’ve ever wondered why you should consider saving episodes at least for a little while after they’re over, try watching Kaiba with a lot of space between. A lot has been made about this series’ connotations, but in essence the plot is fairly simple. Until you forget what happened in the last three weeks.

Real Drive remain’s Masumune Shirow’s most pointless creation. But I still like it.

Toshokan Sensou finished. And… I really didn’t care. Put it next to Kure-nai on the “hey-ho wrap it up boys! Don’t forget the nice bow!” shitty endings shelf. After typing that and hearing it in my head, I realized it sounded sort of like “nice boat,” now that’s a real ending.

Golgo 13 killed some people. I didn’t even watch it! But I know!

Itazura na Kiss changed directions. It better still be good, or I will use my Ranma powers to change into a fangirl and flip out.

Pretty sure I remained the only person watching Kyouran Kazoku Nikki. Which means I am the only person who is experiencing a weekly psychedelic overload of insanity. Call me crazy, this show is dumb (by its own description, it’s “idiotic late-night anime”) but continues to entertain me.

I started Birdy The Mighty Decode. It’s the only thing that really seemed interesting for the summer, especially since most of my spring shows are continuing into this season.

Strike Witches answered a timeless question: When is something such a pile of shit that you can feel ripped off for spending two bucks? When I told my friend, frequent commenter Jason, to watch only the first 30 seconds, he got progressively more angry with me as the IM conversation went on.

9:54:44 PM jason: that looks a little bit retarded.
9:54:44 PM jason: they have plane propellers on their legs??
9:54:51 PM jason: wtf!

He didn’t even make it to the part where NO ONE WEARS PANTS. But that’s another post. No, really, it is. I cannot let these injustices go unreported.

Long stretch for a bad title, I know.

Seeing as how there are no actual “blogosphere stars” involved, even if such a thing did exist.

Anyway, after much deliberation, I’ve decided to take my podcast idea to an open call for help over at Yukan Blog. Everyone knows a solo podcast is about as entertaining as 51-card solitaire, so head over there even if you’re not a Yukan person to volunteer.

I promise to blow sunshine up your ass about how you have a “voice for radio,” and not make any jokes about your “face for radio.”