Anime Relief Offices

Second Spin, Shojo Beat, and Otomen

Recently I visited the Second Spin in Ontario for one of its anime days, complete with an anime trivia contest. I won first place despite some fierce competition from some anime- and manga-savy young ladies. There were questions about Cartoon Network shows like Bleach, Death Note, and Naruto. There were also some questions about older anime, like Maison Ikkoku.  But, what really caught my attention was the lack of shojo questions. With 90% of the contestants being female, I expected at least one question about Sailor Moon, Fushigi Yugi, Nana, The Story of Saiunkoku, Vampire Knight, Saiyuki, or any of the hundreds of shojo titles out there. But, no. Not that it made a difference, considering the ladies took all the top spots.

But, this got me thinking about something that first came to me when Viz cancelled its Shojo Beat magazine. For those who don’t know, for a few years, Viz offered its version of the very famous Japanese Shonen Jump magazine and its own sister title, Shojo Beat. Last year, Viz cancelled Shojo Beat and finished Shojo Beat subscriptions with issues of Shonen Jump. I was bummed. Sure, I like a lot of the Shonen Jump titles, but I loved Shojo Beat and looked forward to it every month.

At ComicCon 2009, I had a great opportunity to ask a Viz rep. why Shojo Beat was cancelled. Basically, the economy was bad, Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat had some of the same advertisers, and those advertisers just weren’t willing or able to purchase space in both magazines. So, why cancel Shojo Beat? Did Shonen Jump just have more subscribers? The answer is more and less complicated than that.

Shonen Jump’s subscriber’s were predominantly male and Shojo Beat’s predominately female. No real surprise there. But, there were also a number of female Shojo Beat subscribers who were also Shonen Jump subscribers, but not so much the reverse. So, Viz decided to cancel Shojo Beat, not only because it had fewer subscribers but because Viz had good reason to believe many former Shojo Beat subscribers would be happy to have Shonen Jump subscriptions as a substitute. Basically, if Viz dropped Shonen Jump, they would just lose most of those subscribers because the guys wouldn’t want Shojo Beat. But, by dropping Shojo Beat, Viz figured they could still keep most of those customers by just shifting them to Shonen Jump.

The interesting thing is that this trend isn’t exclusive to Viz or manga. Think about it. Most TV shows, especially cartoons or teen-oriented shows, are geared toward a male audience. Even Disney, which once relied on all things princess to drive its shows and products, recently purchased Marvel to capture that boy audience. Why? Girls and women generally buy more clothes and accessories than boys and men. So, if you’re looking to sell clothes, jewelry, shoes, purses, hair ornaments, makeup, etc. wouldn’t you want to advertise during Cinderella or Sailor Moon? Well, the answer is much like the Shojo Beat vs. Shonen Jump issue. You won’t catch many guys watching, or at least admitting to watching, Cinderella or Sailor Moon, but there are plenty of ladies who watch Wolverine and the X-Men, Inuyasha, and Naruto.

So, are women just more open-minded than men? Are we able to enjoy very female-oriented titles and male-oriented titles because we are more understanding and empathetic? Or, are there are plenty of otomen (guys who like girly things) out there, but society has made them embarrassed to admit it?

I don’t know the answer.

New, semi-regular newsletter column and blog

I thought about calling this Presidential Ramblings, but I was afraid it would bring to mind State of the Union addresses instead of contemplations on all things Japanese and not Japanese.

Actually, First-Class, Unlimited Musings is a direct homage to the classic manga and anime series Oh My Goddess! that also inspired our club’s name. The title reflects my hope that my musings will be, if not first class, at least not totally lame. And, of course, there is the unlimited number of topics I can, and probably will, cover. From basic anime reviews and club news to academic discussions of manga archetypes and Japanese culture, except anything and everything from me.

First-Class, Unlimited Musings is mainly a feature for the club website (what you’re looking at right now). Expect me to blog at least once a month or more often if I have a lot to say. Select musings may appear in the club newsletter from time to time, but don’t expect to see every blog post there. If you want to read them all, you’ll have to visit this website regularly. And, yes, that was a blatant plug.

I hope First-Class, Unlimited Musings will get not just Anime Relief Offices club members to think, react, and comment. I also hope it will attract people from across the Inland Empire and the world to get involved and make our club’s virtual community a more interactive and exciting place to be.

Feel free to suggest some future topics. I don’t promise to listen, but if you inspire me, I just might take up the challenge. And, remember, these are First-Class, Unlimited Musings, so I promise no lies and, though I can’t grant your hearts desire, I will generally keep things clean and polite.

If you have no idea what that last paragraph means, you need to read Oh My Goddess!