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| "Ippon" Again! Muraoka Yuu / Akita Shoten |
"Ippon" Again! Anime Announcement
So with the recent announcement that "Ippon" Again! will be getting animated, now it is time for me to explore the possibilities that can result from this anime. One interesting tidbit from the author's twitter was that the negotiations for the anime had begun just a little under 2 years ago which means probably when it had around 30 or 40 chapters. What is interesting is that he also mentions that it eventually materialised meaning it was not cancelled thanks to the continued support of the readers. Fear of cancellation was a thing for it because it had been at the bottom of the table of content for a long while but the author also said he had been told the surveys have been good. Its sales however showed no real growth and it has kind of stagnated since its earlier volumes but hopefully an anime changes that.
The series is not a top seller in Shonen Champion which immediately leads me to think it is a NHK project since it has the financial muscle and ability to select tiles that could be of public interest to be made into anime even if financially not necessarily promising. In this case Judo is a sport that has not had many anime, the last one was Yawara almost 30 years ago, there is also the fact it is a national martial arts and something Japan excels at. There is public interest in making promotional and educational material for young audiences and more casual audiences for Judo and the likes, and 'Ippon' Again fits quite well in this case because I feel like it really exudes the love of Judo that the author has. It shows off the various facets of practicing Judo and what it can represent to differing people and the way each can learn and adapt at different paces. The main character is not a genius but someone with mediocre talent and its not about becoming the best but about growing stronger which makes it less heavy competition and more light hearted which fits it, and in general makes it a more family friendly series but it could pivot to more hardcore audiences as well such as otaku with more moe like character designs. There are various possibilities. Hopefully more news on the anime comes soon.
Itagaki Paru's New Series - SANDA.
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| Sanda - Itagaki Paru / Akita Shoten |
Itagaki Paru is already back with another title starting next week. The setting is a world in the near future with a heavily declined fertility rate and it vaguely describes itself as a story between adults and youths. Declining fertility rates is a particular worry in Japan because it has continued to sustain population decline as a result of it. This issue is something that has grown in the Japanese imagination with many references to it popular culture such as manga and anime that are a result of the popular debate over the issue. It is not an exclusive Japanese issue but a worldwide one.
Population decline as a result of low fertility rate is a new phenomenon in our world and it's still hard to gauge the results. At the moment it seems to be seen with doom and gloom especially as the adult and middle class population in many countries that came from baby booms post world war 2 and the expansion of the world economy that massively boosted the population. These people will see when they get old a much smaller workforce to support the welfare benefits of the previous generation, which will pressure governments and states to find alternatives or cut these benefits. However, if work productivity increases with technological development, robotisation and the likes, population decline could become an asset if workers become more valued and assured more rights... I am a bit cynical but it is not known exactly how things will look like since there is no real previous example to draw from.
So I wonder if Sanda might draw out all of that and base itself from our world and make educated assumptions over the consequences of prolonged fertility rates in the fictional world Sanda is set in. Of course, I wonder if it might also address alternatives to addressing population decline and low fertility rates such as immigration.
There is a lot she could draw out if she has done her research, there are many examples from around the world of governments debating, making proposals some more reasonable than others and enacting laws to promote marriage and child rearing through benefits, one off cash payments, tax breaks, etc. Aside from the government's view there is also media perception and rhetoric over the issue which in one way or another shapes the public opinion and in Japan and South Korea this can sometimes be expressed through a sharper rhetoric against LGBT groups and single men and women that decide not to marry for various reasons.
I have my doubts if it will be well researched but I will give it a go.
