Category: Ask John

Question: Are there any anime characters with ridiculously overlarge guns? There have been characters like Cloud, Gatts, and Sagara Sanosuke who wield swords that are bigger than they

Question: Two queries inspired by MAYOI NEKO OVERRUN’s resident “cat-girl,” Kiriya Nozomi – does John know how the cat’s “me-ow” became pronounced as “nyaa,” and how have “cat-girls”

Question: Seeing that the term “tsundere” can apply equally to either a male or female character (at least, according to Wikipedia), can John ever recall encountering an example

Question: WTF is wrong with Katanagatari??? Great art, good story but with no real fights!!! Why??? It is an anime about 12 swords, without real sword fighting. Also,

Question: I hear that the anime industry in America is in bad financial shape. I personally buy an anime DVD or manga whenever I can, but what else

Question: Who is John’s favorite Anime Director and why? I personally think Kazuhiro Furuhashi is the best of his generation. From Rurouni Kenshin (TV and OVA), Hunter x

Question: Have shojo and shojo archetypes been co-opted by Hollywood? While high school/adolescent angst shows and movies are nothing new in either the U.S. or Japan, I’ve noticed

Question: In a recent viewing journal entry, you said, “So far, this series [Angel Beats!] strikes me as the epitome of ‘giving fans what they want.’ As long

Question: “4th Avenue Cafe” by L’Arc-en-Ciel is a great song and was used as an ending theme in the Ruroni Kenshin anime. However, drummer Yasunori Sakurazawa got in

Question: Why hasn’t Crayon Shin Chan caught on in the U.S.? It’s got the same low-brow humour of a Ken Akamatsu series – albeit with more a sophisticated

Question: In Fullmetal Alchemist, do you think Ed binding Al’s body to a piece of armor, was that anime’s sort of way of having a semi robot in

Question: Why don’t the Japanese hentai anime production companies conclude the plots of the anime they release? For example, Sex Ward ends on a cliffhanger. Why don’t the

Question: What is Kenichi Sonoda doing now, if anything? It’s been a couple of years since he finished Gunsmith Cats Burst.

Question: Is there any U.S. anime company currently interested in re-releasing the Revolutionary Girl Utena series?

Question: Tenchi Muyo was one of my first anime series to watch (and one of my favorites) so i am curios about the new series Isekai no Seikishi