Musings of a Daydreaming Wanderer

Read in the HWZ forums that a Singnet user has recieved a “love letter” from the local law firm, Rajah & Tann, representing ShowGate Inc from Japan. Well, looks like the shit has hit the ceiling fan, quite literally. If this goes to the courts, and a landmark case is set, it spells doom on all anime lovers in Singapore.

EDIT: More news - Apparently, not only Singnet users have been hit, but Starhub users have received the letter as well, and not just only from ShowGate, but also Geneon Entertainment Inc as well. For a detailed story, and a background of the whole saga, check out this blog

I won’t go into the specific ramblings of the legality of downloading such stuff, data privacy concerns, morality of suing - presumably - 12 year olds and older, and the legality of using anti-piracy software, since it has been debated many, many times on other blogs, but what I am concerned about is what will happen, if other MNCs with intellectual property take up this issue, and decide to target Singaporeans, at a time of high inflation rates, high commodity and oil prices, and the EU & US economic downturn that is starting to affect Singapore, what would happen? Is Singapore a big red dot on the map that MNCs will target for copyright enforcement (perhaps going for free or open source software would be good, but that’s another story)?

Okay, this week’s been a pretty crazy week for me, due to the fact that I had to be on standby near two computer labs for the preliminary exams and following that, prepare them for the actual N-level exams. Anyway, it seems that I bring luck to people who need it? I helped a group of girls that were doing a website competition because they had problems embedding a video clip, and also had to chip in a hand to “submit” it because the thumbdrive containing their stuff could not be mounted on a laptop the teacher is using to burn to CD for submission.

I helped out another student today, due to the fact that she only had her hard copy F&N coursework (guess who. LOL!) which needed to be edited in Word and printed out to be submitted. Instead of re-typing out the text, I helped her OCR it into the computer and saved alot of time…luckily she asked me for help early otherwise it would be disastrous.

Finally I couldn’t help but notice that there were at least three anime blogs about KKnM holding a CharaFest, so I decided to join them and spread the word, since I do have hits from search engines. Hey, I’m just helping out, alright? LOL!

Well done, Odex. Today’s Straits Times has written up an article attacking anime downloaders, stating that they have a “perception problem” when it comes to their releases. Being the cheapest in the world? I think legitimate Malaysian and Chinese businesses sell theirs even more cheaper than Odex - besides, the stated $9.90 offer is a “trial”. Strangely the article doesn’t mention anything about fansub translation quality, only about picture quality, and also no mention at all about their massive stockpiles of crappy VCDs collecting dust in video stores islandwide. And since when does Odex bring in DVDs from Japan?

As usual, life goes on in Singapore with just one more “correction” to the Matrix: C&D letters for anime are being sent. I am going to make a prediction here with this new development:

1. Toy shops specializing in anime and manga will close (except for Comics Connection, I guess - the HORROR!)

2. Odex will get rich (for now) and start bleeding red when the expected sales they wanted isn’t picking up, in a mirror of Creative’s lawsuit against Apple if they don’t buck up their work, being a near-monopoly on all anime titles.
3. Anime, Manga and Cosplay will die in Singapore, even though the “in thing” now is the digital and creative media fields. Otakus will become hikkimoris and start to develop withdrawal symptoms, or they buy their stuff from overseas and literally become a salaryman in the future, a la Densha Otoko (sp?).

Disclaimer: This is a prediction, so please do not sue me for predicting whatever that will be happening in the future.

Actually wanted to post this once the renovation was done, but due to a lack of time (because my parents were practically getting me to move most of the heavy stuff in the flat), I couldn’t take any photos. So here it is.

And a close-up of the centre gashapon - GSD with GiTs in the corner and MS Selection 37 (Ugh, waste of $) on the right:

Will take more pictures once my camera’s fully charged. Somehow the battery discharged itself during storage. Probably starting to have the memory effect soon. Wonder if I can trade-in this camera for a new on at IT Show ‘07…hmm…

I have brain-numbed myself this morning by watching episodes 1 to 11 of Code Geass, and it’s time for my advocacy of this show:

Yes, I know the title is cynical, and this review will be cynical in nature. For die hard fans of the show, please do not behead me on a guillotine, for I like the show too. I just want to write from a cynic’s view, OK?

Anyway, the story begins a la Gundam Seed - a secret weapon (”poison gas”) is stolen by resistance forces, and the main character of the show, Lelouch, gets involved in it because they drove off the truck containing the weapon with him. The Britannia forces mount a search for it, and lo and behold, Lelouch (aka bad-ass version of Kira) meets Suzaku (aka gentler version of Athrun). The weapon is released at this stage, and instead of being gaseous, its solid - a girl in fact, who resembles Chobits. The Britannia Special Forces finds them, and Lelouch is given the power to put a geass on people by the girl, and this he uses to subdue the enemy, and subsequently pwns the enemy forces and kills his own cowardly, but evil half-brother.

Fast forwarding a few episodes later, Lelouch dons a secret identity and calls himself Zero a la The Count of Monte Cristo, Suzaku pilots the Lancelot, Lelouch discovers that his classmate, Karen (aka Cagalli) is involved with the resistance, Suzaku meets Princess Euphie (aka Lacus), 3rd in line to the Britannia Imperial Throne and ChobitsC.C. (the “poison gas”) is somehow related to Belldandy. What else can this anime series do? Suzaku has two girls hinting at him (his 17-year old military tech department colleague, and Shirley, his school classmate) and as well as Lelouch (Karen, and also Shirley). Sooner or later, this is either going to turn into a conflict, or end up like a GSD harem a la Athrun. This series has a lot of potential to do a side-story in school, like what Full Metal Panic spawned the last time. *Crosses fingers* Hope they come true, I can’t wait to see what will Karen do in school. Personally though, Karen’s HOT!

Apparantly, from various anime bloggers in Singapore, the rumors are that ODEX are going to find otakus (yeah I know it maybe an exaggeration, but they’re more otaku then me) who download fansubs and fine them. Now, before everyone starts panicking, please consider the following:

1. Look at a typical VCD/DVD shop and see the number of ODEX titles on the shelf. This is proof that a) they’re so bad that no one bothers and/or b) not many people are interested in such stuff. Given such a scenario, ODEX must have alot of money tied up in their inventory which is near-stale and almost movable - therefore they can hardly afford to get licences for series and produce them for the market, unless they borrow from creditors and venture capitalists - a debt on paper doesn’t look very good for niche companies, or their Gundam license is lucrative enough.
2. Unless the local ISPs are so stingy as to use hubs on the consumer end (So far I think StarHub is guilty), packet-sniffing is near-impossible for a SME unless you’re subcontracting for an ISP, or deliberately conducting portscans (illegal), how in the world can ODEX chase after us (financially, and physically)?

With this information, let our wallets vote against ODEX. On another note, what are Sheng Tai toys and ODEX are thinking? Their market targets are all WRONG. Remember the half-assed Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny series on Kids Central? Will a 12 year old kid understand the story and plot behind it (Typical 12-year old who has not finished watching GSD: “OMFG! Shinn’s so angsty-cool! NOOO! Stella died! Impulse pwns Freedom! MUAHAHA!”)? Chances are, very few.