This fifth installment of the ‘12 moments’ series is about True Tears, which was the best show of last winter amid some rather lackluster selections. True Tears was not always the most realistic or the most well-plotted of series, but it did have good animation and took its characters seriously enough to make them more interesting than not.

One of the best parts of the show’s conclusion was the last song Shinichiro sings as he bids Noe farewell. The breakup between the two was one of the strongest parts of the entire series, because it managed to strike a good balance between the recognition that Noe had changed his life for the better and the knowledge that he really loves someone else. The show was notable for its animal analogies–roaches, chickens, among others–and at first glance they should have been too hokey to work. That they did to an extent is a testament to the relative strength of the characters.

The 3rd moment is a memorable, cleverly written scene from episode 3 of the slice of life/action/loli dramedy Kure-nai–the three way conversation between Shinkurou, Murasaki, and Yuuno. The rapid-fire, back and forth conversation was, if anything, reminiscent of a sharply written stage play or a Woody Allen film. Witty dialogue isn’t much heard in anime and it was one of the things that made the show, whatever its flaws, one of the notable shows of the spring season.

The 4th moment is really, in some ways, a holdover from the most notorious show of 2007–it’s the final scene of the School Days: Magical Heart Kokoro Chan OVA. It is, in many ways, a fitting tribute and acknowledgment of the biggest anime meme of the previous year, though arguably the moment the creators themselves do it is the moment when it loses its cachet. This wasn’t as immediate as the Nice Boat reference in last fall’s ef-a tale of memories, but it’s an example of humorous fan-pandering.

Today’s moment is brought to you by on of more interesting shows from the summer season, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, in which all of Haruka’s friends stand up to her father in defense of her fandom.

A number of titles in recent years have either questioned, poked fun at, or even demonized certain kinds of otaku fandom. Titles like Genshiken, Welcome to the NHK!, Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Chaos;Head and even Kannagi have spoke directly about otaku to otaku. Nogizaka Haruka stands out not only for its sincere romantic elements–which, for a change, is actually mutual rather than one-sided–but for its full throated defense of fandom as contained in the scene from eps. 7 captured above. The show itself was of course one huge pander, with many of the cliche elements that go into otaku romance shows, but it’s also pretty bold in offering such a direct appeal: though one can argue it’s just preaching to the choir.

Haruka is the second major anime heroine after Lucky Star’s Konata to be a female with male otaku tastes. There’s clearly a wish fulfillment aspect involved here, though I’ve known plenty of women who were into the same shounen action shows that many other male fans are into–though that probably doesn’t really overlap much with the moe/romance/dating-sim culture that is the dominant strain in Akiba and in Asia. (In that respect, the anime blogosphere is, in my experience, not an accurate reflection of American fandom, given how much we tend to go gaga over shows like Toradora and the like.) The show could be seen as another instance of the anime culture growing more insular, though it was one of the more entertaining and well-done examples. I still enjoyed it (the parts that I saw that is…).

–oh fine. It’s really because I was lazy and I couldn’t be bothered to start until now. Anyways…

(This was inspired by a comment JPMeyer made some time ago, and my reply.)

Our first moment is the release of the first episode of the Tower of Druaga. You might remember my initial review of it. It was not only one of the funniest, most uproarious parody anime episodes in a long while, it was also the augur of a revolution in the anime industry.

It really started with Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll, the bane of both industry-supporting fans as well as many a fansubbing group lamenting loss of control, changed the landscape of anime distribution. And, in a sign of things to come, it forced what I believe was the necessary step that the Japanese studios themselves needed to take. In a bold move, Gonzo Studios decided to release The Tower of Druaga (and Blassreiter) on the same day as the Japanese broadcast, online, subtitled, streaming for free and paying to download–on multiple sites.

This wasn’t just new and not done before. It was exactly what folks like me were asking for.

This experiment, which would prove very profitable for them, was the first sign that the Japanese were at last beginning to realize what had to be done in the new age of instant internet delivery and widespread fansubbing–which is to say, they needed to make fansubbing unnecessary and legal watching convenient. It wouldn’t be long before more shows were distributed by Gonzo in the same way, and before Crunchyroll itself began attracting enormous amounts of legitimate deals and business from the likes of TV Tokyo.

Of course, there are still questions of profitability, whether other studios will agree to the plan, and the economic downturn that remain unresolved. Still, the first episode of Druaga can thus be identified as a concrete turning point, and its consequences are still playing out to this day. It sends a signal that the anime industry need not follow the way of the RIAA and MPAA, and is ready to play. A genuine moment indeed.