Hey, Answerman!

Das Bootleg

Greetings, friends! Welcome to Hey, Answerman!

Boy, I should really start writing these intros to these columns a little earlier in the day. When I'm not an amorphous exhausted jellyfish. Maybe I'd have a little more interesting topics to wax and whine about instead of, y'know, "I'M TIRED :( "

But, y'know, whaddya gonna do. This is just the pre-game. The shot of cheap bourbon before hitting the bar. The first bump of cocaine before passing out on Jethro Tull's Party Yacht. So let's begin!

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Hey Answerman:

I've collected anime figures for a few years. 95% of the stuff I order is from legitimate sites like amiami, Hobbylinkjapan, The Anime Corner Store, Rightstuff, etc. Once in a blue moon I will order something off of ebay, but when I do so, I worry about getting a bootleg. I follow the usual precautions (watch out for super cheap items, beware of things from Hong Kong, etc.), but at the end of the day, I know there are some REALLY good bootlegs out there. So good that I will never know the item is not legit.

Here's my question... how are people able to make such good bootlegs? I know there are a ton of crappy counterfeits out there, but with some figures it's impossible to tell if the item is real or not. It seems like a lot of work to make something so realistic on such a small scale and sell it so cheaply. How do the bootleggers do it? Do they steal "master plans" from the figure's manufacturing company (sounds a bit extreme)? Do they simply steal things off a truck? Or, with the technology we have nowadays, is it actually pretty easy to replicate a figure and have it look good? Just wondering....

This seems like a good a time as any to ask for the professional toy-collecting advice of ANN's own David Cabrera! You know, writer of Astro Toy and such. Take it away, David!

David: I don't know a ton about figure production on the base level, but from the bootlegs I've seen, I imagine that once you have the original figure in your hands it isn't too tough to make a decent copy out of it. Statues can always be recast-- that is, you get a copy of the original, make a new mold over it, and sell the lower-quality copy-- and I imagine the individual parts of most action figures can be as well, to some degree: a Nendoroid comes apart so neatly, yes? And you see a lot of bootleg Nendoroids out there.

Though you probably know this stuff yourself, I'd like to drop some of the usual tips on spotting a bootleg for the sake of the readers. Avoid Ebay unless desperately necessary: the five or six bucks you might save is not worth the risk. Unless you are in the sale aisle in a shop in Japan like I was a while back, too-good-to-be-true prices usually are. Look for hologram stickers: companies use these because they're harder to copy and bootleggers tend not to bother. Due to the company's sold-once, gone-forever policy, Good Smile stuff-- Nendoroid (and sometimes Figma?)-- are the most bootlegged figures. At con tables, if a place is selling Nendoroid Miku and Death Note, they are always bootlegs.

That's sort of the seedy underbelly of the niche anime figure collecting market, and one of the reasons I haven't dipped my toes into that murky water. I drool over action figures and Figmas as much as the next guy, but I'm too diligent about getting the legit product that I'd essentially wipe out my entire savings account (which isn't very hard to do).

Ah, well. Hatsune Miku? More like, um, Hatsune BOOTLEG-ku.

Gimme some time, I'll think of something better. I'll get back to you guys next week.

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Lately there seems to be a new trend of extreme fanservice manga getting a limited edition OVA release bundled with a manga volume. Titles that come to mind are Asa Made Jugyou Chu, Kagaku na Yatsura and Nozoki Ana.

Are these OVAs being made to help boost manga sales, or is it a clever way to release almost borderline hentai content without censorship to a crowd that craves this genre and will buy it? What are the chances of these OVAs getting licensed since most fanservice anime sell very well in the North American market?

Well, I'm going to get the obvious comment out of the way first: of course they're being made to boost manga sales. Packing a DVD in with a manga volume is a great way to extort exorbitant fees for a simple manga volume from the otaku faithful. Japanese otaku are used to being fleeced to the core by every avenue of their chosen hobby, so of course they'd jump at the chance to spend 6,000 yen to have an animated half-hour version of their favorite manga fanservice-fest instead of the usual 1,000 yen or less.

In other words, I am familiar with those titles - if something has animated breasts in it, chances are I'm at least aware of it in a tertiary sense - but I don't think any of those titles will ever make their way stateside. The simple fact is: these are one-shot 25-minute OAV things. What, exactly, would the business model be? Fanservice sells, sure, but these one-shots are made not as a series, but literally as "fan service" to the folks who are familiar with the ins and outs of the manga. And aside from that, how could anyone justify charging full retail price for a 25-minute long DVD or Blu Ray?

I suppose they could release them online as a digital download, but - where? Streaming isn't possible, at least for the usual streaming anime channels. These aren't straight-up hentai titles, but they're pretty close. Especially considering that they're not concerned with a "plot" or "characters," since these are one-off adaptations. Essentially, how could it possibly justify whatever licensing fee if there's no real way to distribute it?

Yes, fanservice anime tends to sell well. I'm not disputing that, and anyone who does is a fool. But even then, there are limits. Queen's Blade, at the very least, pretends to have a story. It's also 12 or so episodes long; those can be distributed on a streaming service and then sold as a set of DVDs down the line, at a price that is negotiable for the Western market. Even Eiken, one of the most detestable things on the planet, had more than one episode, and could be sold on DVD at something approaching feature-length.

Meanwhile, no anime company in their right mind has been allowed to sell 25 minutes of a one-off OAV for anything approaching full price since the late 90's, without being labelled as ripoff artists. People always love their fanservice, but not that much.

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This is a suspicion that I've had for quite some time that I would like answered. I will present a few case studies. The first is Pokemon. Its first season was animated beautifully, with dynamic battles and interstitial sequences that were a joy to watch. As time went on, and the property became more and more popular, the animation declined severely. Where once you would see every Thundershock, Flamethrower, or Hydro Pump animated in a different way, in recent years OLM seems to make one or two attack sequences per Pokemon really pretty and show it ten thousand times. Also, if the story isn't focusing on an important league battle, you can count on an abundance of freeze frame, lazy CGI, and off-model work.

The next is Digimon. How can the same studio be responsible for the gorgeous first four Digimon movies (which, incidentally, made me fall hopelessly in love with animation) as the TV show it's based on? Again, the evolution scenes are nice, and some of the attacks are passable, but here again is a show that obviously has its good weeks and its bad weeks; abusing freeze frame and repeated sequences. Now, one of the most incredibly animated episodes I've ever seen is episode 21, "Home Away from Home", but no other episode since has measure up in any season ever.

Repeat with Sonic X, Beyblade, Transformers Armada (still the most poorly animated thing ever), etc. Why is their animation so poor? Why do these shows rely heavily on CG, repeated sequences, and freeze-frame where their contemporaries do not? My theory is that animation studios believe that because all of these properties are aimed at children, they will be too stupid to notice the many shortcuts taken in the animation or too unintelligent to discern between a well-animated episode and a poorly-animated episode. Am I right about this, or is there something about animation that I don't know?

You're making quite a few suppositions here - namely, that the people behind these productions just assume that their audience is too young and too gullible to notice shoddy work. For one thing, I'm not sure that's true - I was a kid and I hated all the Filmation cartoons. I was never in to He-Man or anything as a kid, because it looked - and was - crappy looking. Not that that stopped it from being successful. People always operate under this assumption that the people in charge of these productions think of children as mindless, gullible idiots, willing to choke down whatever lazy garbage they throw at them. I genuinely think that's an artifact of a bygone era. Sure, that explains things like Paddy Pelican, and it certainly explains the rash of awful 70's dubs like Battle of the Planets, but I think if there's any problem with the animation, it all comes down to the two most likely culprits, same as anything else:

Time, and money.

Pokemon is one of those shows that runs every single week, with no breaks, continuously throughout the year. To say nothing of the yearly movies they dump into Japanese movie theaters. That show is wildly successful and makes a ton of money, but it's being produced on a brutal timeframe. Mistakes, often, will happen. Gotta get those episodes in the can and on TV in four months or less.

Digimon, and every other show you mentioned, are not as successful. Everyone just assumes that every kids show on the planet must have tons of money at its disposal, but allow me to say how very not true that is. All of the titles you're mentioning are bankrolled by the toy companies that own the properties themselves - Nintendo, Bandai, Hasbro, Sega. Chances are, they're not going to spend a lot of their lucrative cash reserves to create opulent pieces of animation for what are, essentially, toy commercials.

Plus, if your supposition is true - then how does that explain all the awful-looking animated shows that are targeted towards adults? Or teenagers? All of my friends love the show Archer, but I just can't get over how shitty it looks. But they don't care, and neither should I - the show is beloved for its writing and voice acting, and the animation is ancillary. I know we're all in love with KyoAni, but even they are guilty of cutting a few corners here and there.

I don't think there's any ulterior motive behind creating lackluster animation, be it for a children's show or otherwise, other than simple lack of time and money. That's all it ever is, and all it ever will be. People work at animation studios because they love to, and they're happy to draw whatever they can, as much as they can. And it doesn't matter if it's a brooding anti-hero for adults, or a chirping mascot for children.

With the notable exception of Lost Universe, of course. See if you can track down the original broadcast version of Episode 4, not the cleaned-up home video release. It is legendarily awful to look at.

Well, lookit that! Cartoon-me has decided it's time to pack up the Question Bag and open up the Answers Bag! Last week, I wanted to pick your brains surrounding 2013's crop of new titles:

Let's start with Scott, and his MOE OVERLOAD:

I have found myself watching more anime recently than I ever have before. I wanted to share my thoughts with you because I think these shows are excellent!

My favorite right now is technically a fall 2012 anime but it concludes in a couple weeks: The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. Despite the awkward name and the even more awkward premise, the show is heartfelt and the characters feel genuine. Even at its worst, I still laughed out loud at least once each episode. I wish the show hadn't gotten negative feedback in Japan over that ridiculous Korean hot pot controversy. It deserves far better.

Maoyu feels like Spice and Wolf right away. And with good reason. It's made by a lot of the same crew and seiyuus. While I still think Spice and Wolf has sharper writing, the action scenes and dialogue here are excellent. And the tapestry aesthetic looks nice, too.

Kotoura-san is an emotional roller coaster. While at its core it's a typical romantic comedy, the added elements of Haruka's mind reading ability and tragic past add poignancy to the show. The tender moments feel more deserved and the darker moments feel more tragic when compared to the lighter escapades of the club. When it wants to be funny, it's hilarious. When it wants to be dramatic, it is. THE UNLIMITED is X-Men with more psychic powers. Nuff said.

As for shows I stopped watching:

I started Tamako Market because of KyoAni's pedigree. I stopped watching because I didn't find it engaging at all. Haganai NEXT and Love Live were like moe overload. I couldn't watch anymore after a few minutes.

Yotaru Vegeta is nonplussed:

What am I still watching from the previous season? The first thing that came to mind was Ishida and Asakura. Whether you like that show or not, it's pretty sad that this crass, stupid, simple show is top of mind. The only other show I actually make a point to watch is Maoyu. I've only watched half of this Winter's shows, but I'm not expecting any of them to impress me. I hear Kotura-san's funny; my fingers are crossed. If anyone asked me if this season was worth checking out, I'd probably say no.

Branko is the first in no doubt many comments about the Swimming Anime I'll be hearing from here until my dying days:

Brian,

I dropped "Amnesia" pretty quick, not feeling like anything worthwhile was really going on. As much as I liked the idea, there just wasn't a lot happening for me to care about.

I stuck with "Love Live" despite the only other pop idol anime I ever liked being "Perfect Blue". The number in the first episode where the characters sing and dance, forgetting they're in public like a conventional musical drew me in. Much like "Nyarko-san" reversing the gender roles on the pervert trope, I could not believe it took anime this long to get a bonafide musical number into a show. I wasn't expecting it to become the "Smash" or "Glee" of anime, but I want it to move in that direction.

"Kotoura-san" surprised me even though I didn't expect much from it. I thought it was pretty funny how Manabe kept getting under her skin (not literally, thank God). He sets her off either into embarrassment or tears. It got to me how often this worked given my disdain for pervert jokes, but the fact he has no shame just makes it fun to watch Kotoura squirm. Embrace who you are!

My second most favorite current show has to be "Chihayafuru 2". It falls just behind "Space Brothers" as the reigning champion because I found the quibbling romance more irritating the longer I watched. I don't expect anything from it just like the one in "Space Brothers", but the difference is, in "Brothers" it's not annoying. It doesn't feel like a detriment to the drama, and in fact is cause for some fairly funny moments throughout the show. In "Chihayafuru" it detracts from the emotional core of playing Karuta rather than complimenting it. Overall, they're both top notch series, and I look forward to them continuing for the foreseeable future apart from that minor disagreement with Bamboo about rank.

As far as the most exciting thing I've seen this season, the honor has to go to "Swimming Anime". Yes, it's technically not a series. Yet. However, no other show this season has as much support, popularity and impact as this one. And for good reason. We don't see enough of its type, if any, right now. I can't read into a crystal ball what will happen. (Fandom does not necessarily equal DVD sales.) Regardless, I think in this particular case, the truth is: "If you build it, they will come." They will come in droves.

"Stupid and Short." - Backhanded box quote, courtesy of Matt:

Hey Answerman,

At first I felt overwhelmed by all the shows I had decided to follow this Winter season, especially with the carry-overs I stuck with. Looking at my current watch-list though, I'm happy to say I think I have a nice cross section of shows I'm enjoying. My favorite of the season, Tamako Market, is one of the best slice-of-life shows I've seen. It's beautifully animated, the fat bird Dera is a riot, and it's fun with substance (something Vividread Operation could desperately use). The fact that it often involves food (although I wasn't familiar with mochi before it), makes it even better. This one I'd buy on Blu-ray without a doubt.

My second favorite of the season is definitely Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. The ‘Spice and Wolf’ take on a high fantasy tale is great fun, and relying on smarts instead of muscle is obviously rare in today's anime/manga world (lookin' at you, Shonen Jump). Kotoura-san caught me completely off guard with how great it started. The first half of the first episode made me want to punch anyone over the age of 30, but the balance it found by the end of that episode kept me hooked. The series wasn't able to maintain that high storytelling quality for very long, but I'm still sticking with it to the end due to that stellar beginning.

Yama no Susume makes me want to say “This should be a half hour” every time I'm watching it, but after it's over I'm usually satisfied enough. Cute girls doing cute things has been done before, but Yama no Susume has the mountains in the distance instead of on their chest. Ai-Mai-Mi is stupid fun. And short.

Cuticle Detective Inaba is stupid fun as well, and when it hits I laugh harder than any other anime on right now, but recently it's been wearing on me. I feel I'll stick it out, though, since it's almost over. Oreshura walks a dangerous line between me liking it and wanting to drop it, but I've been hoping for a good payoff with the story eventually. The likable characters carry this one for me. And I'm still reluctantly watching Sasami@Ganbaranai. It's easily the prettiest anime on right now, but holy cheese I have no clue what's going on most of the time.

Now the one show that I've completely and utterly dropped without remorse: Vividread Operation. Seriously, I could tolerate the inane science, the dumb-as-bricks girls, and I really liked the setting, but for Jenova's sake happy-go-lucky is a character trait, not a plot device. And get some pants on those underage girls.

Lastly, even though it only extended into the Winter season, how friggin' great is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure?

Bamboo's Chihayafuru love is infectious, if Fox In The Stars is to be believed:

For winter anime I'm still watching, the easy one is Chihayafuru 2. The first season was amazing, and now that it's back it consistently delights me, maintaining its track record of characters who don't impress at first but go on to win my heart the more I get to know them. It seems every episode there's some wonderful or touching moment --- Chihaya handing Taichi a towel just made me want to scream with joy; Chihaya telling Arata how great her team was and realizing that he didn't get it was touching in its subtle but real sense of alienation and made seeing Arata get a crash course in the very next episode that much more wonderful. Trusting a show is a perilous thing, but this one has earned my trust.

Maoyu is also safely in to the end. With the scale of the story it's telling, sometimes I feel like I'm just watching an outline, but on another level, the texture of the characters' lives is there and draws me in. I also love that these people have so many bigger fish to fry that there's no need for cheap, petty conflict to "liven things up" beyond some slyly self-aware laughs --- even the love triangle between Hero, Demon King, and Lady Knight lends humor but never descends into destructive squabbling.

My dark horse for the season is The Unlimited; I was going to skip it since I haven't seen Zettai Karen Children, then after some early reviews I went in expecting flashy fluff, but it's turned out to be very involving; watching Hinomiya caught in the middle facing a genuine conflict of loyalties has especially kept me on the edge of my seat.

Then there's Amnesia. I have no illusions that it's any good --- seriously, does turning your main character into a blank for self-insertion even really work, or just make for a frustratingly weak character?? --- but for some reason I just keep watching it and will probably see it through. It's like a gentle, overly-decorated trainwreck; I know it's terrible, but it's never so violently bad as to make me want to turn away, and it's kind of interesting and fun to look at.

The one I've finally given up on --- and it broke my heart --- is Shin Sekai Yori. Back in the fall, I found the first four episodes incredibly promising, so much so that I've been willing to forgive a lot since (particularly episodes 5 and 6 with the Monster Rat fights were nearly unwatchable). It has had its moments since then; I still think its deconstruction of super-powered human tropes is brilliant, and even when my favorite character died I was willing to acknowledge it as well-done, but at the same time it was shedding layer after layer of its fascinating mystique and involving love for the characters. When the second timeskip came along, bringing another rupture in my relationship with the remaining cast and the promise of more Monster Rat fights, it broke me. Sadly, this was a very promising show that took every opportunity to squander its gold and hoard its dross, and it was finally time to cut my losses and just remember it for the flashes of what could have made it great.

I'm with Albanian on this one - ten minutes is about all I could take of Vividred Operation:

Dear Brian,

I'm assuming that you don't mean continuing series, because Uchuu Kyoudai and Shirokuma Cafe continue to stand at the head of my 'must see' list. However, they share that spot with Chihayafuru - even if that is, in a sense, a continuing series as well.. Nevertheless, I am constantly amazed that a game that is, in effect, an intellectual version of Snap or Happy Families should provide such an intense and gripping drama.

The plot-lines may be predictable, but are handled well; the animation is very good; the action is paced well; and there is just enough exposition to keep you interested without feeling you are being lectured - after all, as the show itself admits, this not a widely popular sport (as opposed to occasional family entertainment) even in Japan. But where Chihayafuru wins out above all is in the presentation of its characters. These are people you quickly come to care deeply about, and their enthusiasm, their despair, their commitment, and their naivety are thoroughly captivating. It's a well-assembled and well-handled ensemble, and the second season's additions to the central cast have blended in without disrupting the general flow of the story too much.

I'm not expecting karuta to suddenly take off in the west! But if you want a genuine and accessible introduction to a rather arcane sport, here it is. Oh, and if it also gets you in touch with the original Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, then that might be a huge cultural bonus.

As for the rest, I will admit to finding Tamako Market a pleasant diversion. It's far from the best thing Kyoto Animation have ever done, and its storyline(s) still hasn't decided where it's going (if anywhere!), but it has been produced well, looks good, and doesn't tax the brain too much.

Which just leaves Kotoura-san as the other show I have stuck with, and will see through to a finish. Again it has had some problems deciding where it is going, or even what sort of an animal it wants to be - is it a comedy? is it a romance? is it a drama? (or even a psycho-tragedy?) - but once more, some reasonably engaging characters just about carry the show.

My 'guilty pleasure' for the season (there always has to be one!) has been Love Live! School Idol Project - if only for the sheer infectious energy and chutzpah of Honoka, the central character, and the few nods in the direction of the reality of the task ahead - it isn't just 'Hey! Let's do a show', though it does come close at times. (On the other hand, I can't say I'm exactly hanging on for each week's episode!)

And on the downside. I gave up on Amnesia after less than fifteen minutes, and Vividred Operation lasted about ten minutes longer than that! And you are welcome to the rest of what I think is, otherwise, a pretty patchy season.

I admire your dedication Kory, so we will close this week's Answerfans with the findings from your quest:

Oh boy, rants about the winter season NOT on reddit!

Let's see. I did a little experiment (read: tortured myself) and started EVERY SHOW ON LEGAL STREAMING. Let me tell you that the beginning of the season was a nightmare.

I dropped 14 shows out of the winter season and I'm not going to dwell on them. But I'll surely list them. Senran Kagura, Ai Mai Mi, Amnesia, Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman, Cuticle Detective Inaba, GJ-bu, Hakkenden, Ishida and Asakura, Oreshura, Problem children, Senyu, Straight Title Robot Anime, and The Unlimited. Thankfully, those were awful and I feel no personal obligation to dwell on them or get in the way of other people liking them. I'm kind like that.

Anyway, the good stuff. From the winter season, that only leaves seven shows that I kept with, one of which (Tamako Market) I only watched one episode of since that's all there was without paying even more money to stream anime to my devices.

First, the obvious standout, and from The Stream I can tell Bamboo is trepidatious on this show (get it? because she loves it), is Chihayafuru 2. I was so excited when I heard this was coming back because I so loved the first season. In fact, I spent my Martin Luther King Jr. day off watching the entire first season again in its entirety. I'm sure Black History Month proponents would be proud of me for watching Chihayafuru on Dr. King's birthday. But man do the characters feel so real in this show and the writing just makes you want to root for them. It makes me want to buy the stupid cards just to own them, because I'm that kind of fan. But I can't really think of anything new to add that Bamboo hasn't said in the Stream...I really love this show to death.

Next is Maoyu. The first half of the first episode was pretty meh. But it's only gotten better since then. Episode 9's "I am human" speech was one of the best inspiring speeches I've heard in anything. And the focus on economics is something that I haven't seen since Spice and Wolf, and I really enjoy that aspect of anime. I mean, in what other medium are you going to find them talking about crop rotations and the value of corn? Things like this make anime special. Mao's fanservice-y boobs aside, this is the second greatest show out there now, thanks to Chihayafuru. Could it be a sign of more Spice and Wolf? That's a big jump, but I sure hope so.

The other two shows I stuck with were Love Live! and Kotoura. Love Live! is nothing special, I'll admit that. But I'm a real sucker for musicals in general, so I felt like I would like Love Live! by default. Despite this, I haven't seen Sound of Music (and the one day I visit the video rental store, it wasn't there!). But I digress. Love Live! is one of those feel-good high school slice of life shows where the power of cut-away to next scene gives the main characters all the power and talent they need to do the impossible. And I love it. It's the same with the "Oh, the crowd is coming to save the main character, I totally did not expect that to happen!" things in shonen that I love. Maybe it's my relative adolescence (I don't know; is 22 adolescent?), but those moments are powerful in a sometimes cheap way. But it works in Love Live! for me. But moving on. Kotoura kind of dragged for the last two or three episodes, but quickly landed back on its feet for episode nine. This is a little bit of a spoiler, but the little moments between Kotoura and her mom in episode nine when she pushes Manabe away reminded me of what the first few episodes of this series were like. Kind of drama-porn-y, especially in the first episode. But the dynamics between these main characters is mostly great. Except Kotoura grandpa. That old horn-bag can stay in his mansion unless he's got something tender to say.

I also stuck with two shorts, Mangirl! and Encouragement of Climb. Mangirl! is a fun little exploration into making a manga magazine and the difficulties thereof, and being the nerd I am, I like any little insight into that process as I can get (despite that, I haven't read/watched Bakuman.). I dropped Ai Mai Mi because it was basically the same story as Mangirl!, but Mangirl! was doing it better, despite its own hilarious title. Encouragement of Climb, on the other hand, shows me that shorts like these can be good. Because I haven't seen any anime shorts until Popopoyo and Recorder and Randsell back when those premiered. Poyopoyo was a fun three minutes each week, but it was nothing spectacular. Encouragement of Climb is a really cute, really fun little show that is actually showing character growth in the characters. Which has previously been absent in the shorts I've seen; it's just been gag after gag after gag.

But yeah. Man, that is a lot of stuff. I'm definitely sticking it out in all these shows I talked about at length. I see no reason not to, now that I'm this far in. We'll see how they play out.

And on that note, let's see how things play out... with next week's question!

Now you've got this week's question, and it's time to get answerin'.

For those of you new to Hey, Answerfans!, I'll explain the concept.

Believe it or not, I'm genuinely curious what you think.

That's right; as much as I love the sound of my own voice, I do love to listen to what other people have to say on a subject. I'm finding that over the last few years, the attitudes, reasoning and logic that today's anime fans use eludes, confuses or astounds me; I have so many questions for you, and I'm dying to hear what you have to say in response.

Welcome to Hey, Answerfans!

Basically, we're turning the tables. Each week I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to email me your answer. Be as honest as you can. I'm looking for good answers; not answers I agree with or approve of, but good, thoughtful answers. People feel passionately about these subjects and I'd like to see that in the responses I get. I'll post the best answers I get, and maybe some of the crappy ones. Sometimes there may only be one or two good ones; sometimes five or more. It all depends on what I get in my inbox! Got it? Pretty simple, right? Start writing those answers and email them to answerman [at] animenewsnetwork dot com.

We do have a few simple ground rules to start with.

Things To Do:

* Be coherent.
* Be thoughtful.
* Be passionate.
* Write as much or as little as you feel you need to to get your point across in the best possible way.

Things Not To Do:

* Respond when the question doesn't apply to you. For instance, if your email response starts with "Well, I don't do whatever you're asking about in the question... " then I'm going to stop reading right there and hit delete.

* Be unnecessarily rude or use a lot of foul language.
* Go off-topic.

That's all I've got, people! Until next week, don't forget to send me all your questions and Answers and trail mix suggestions to answerman(at)animenewsnetwork.com! So long, hombres!