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The Role of Anime in Modern World Culture and Its Place in People’s Lives

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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The Role of Anime in Modern World Culture and Its Place in People’s Lives

Even if you haven’t succumbed to the allure of anime, the hugely popular animation style originating in Japan, the chances are you will be aware of it. The first examples of this artform appeared in the early 20th-century, but its cultural reach and influence have exploded over subsequent decades. There are now over 500 animation studios in Japan alone, with more in other parts of Asia, America, Europe, and Australia. Because modern world culture has taken anime to its heart, this form of entertainment has significantly impacted personal relationships.

The many facets of anime

Anime might essentially be cartoons, but they were tapping into much deeper aspects of Japanese culture, dwelling on traditional folklore and mythology that have been an important part of the culture for centuries. But where anime has undoubtedly resonated with an audience that continues growing is in the way it deals with contemporary issues, particularly relationships. The target demographic tends to be young adults, although huge numbers of adults are also aficionados. The combination of exquisitely illustrated animation, storylines exploring issues such as romance, sexual themes (including LGBTQ topics), and social issues has led to an entire sub-culture of anime dating. Singles are drawn to these dating platforms through a shared love of anime, but also the interests often running in parallel with the animation side, such as cosplay and video gaming. They can be their true selves on such dedicated platforms and find like-minded people for friendship and even romantic relationships. Being the easiest way of finding love nowadays, dating platforms for otaku and those who cherish anime culture continue to gain in popularity!

The anime industry

As well as getting together via matchmaking sites or apps (such as those typically aimed at ‘nerds,’ or ‘geeks,’) fans of animation, comics and games can connect in chat rooms and forums. They can also congregate at fan events, such as launches of the latest edition of a popular anime series or conventions celebrating manga comics and graphic novels. (The important role manga plays in peoples’ lives can be illustrated by considering the size of this market in Japan: as far back as the 1990s, it was worth around $6 billion; in the USA and Canada, it was valued at a quarter of a million dollars in 2020).

The otaku sub-culture

This obsession with anime, otaku, and computer games has been categorized as ‘otaku’ in Japan. This might have had negative connotations with social outcasts when first coined in the 1980s, but it has evolved into a crucial aspect of youth culture far beyond Japan. To be labeled ‘otaku’ is no longer a pejorative term. If anything, it is almost regarded as a badge of honor, indicating a passion for a potent form of artistic expression.

Anime: a global phenomenon

Although anime has been around since the 1910s, it wasn’t until the 1970s that this form of animated feature gained prominence. It is now estimated that more than 60% of animated TV shows broadcast across the planet originate in Japan. In Western countries in the 1960s, this fascination with the East Asian artform continued with anime being adapted into media franchises such as the cyberpunk movie Akira in 1988 Speed Racer. Companies marketed anime features throughout the 1990s and beyond. For any single with a keen interest in anime, a world of opportunities awaits.

Anime as a backdrop to social interaction

Many individuals are drawn to anime because they can empathize with what the writers and illustrators are telling their audience. There is so much to the stories than the eye-catching animation. There may be plotlines involving deities and supernatural elements, but these will be multi-layered, dealing with real-life dilemmas. Anime series have explored problems such as bullying, homophobia, and gender issues for years. For any fan who might be suffering from anxieties, they can find their concerns being tackled head-on in anime stories. Discussing these can help people feel less isolated

Anime may have been around for over 100 years, but its influence shows no sign of waning. As modern culture continues evolving, spilling into other areas, crossovers with computer games and live-action movies based on anime will ensure its popularity keeps rising. If you’re looking for playlists for parties or dates, there are even anime songs you can check out. Anime fans might be criticized for having an immature outlook on life, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Watch Circuit des Yeux Perform on NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk (Home) Concert’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Watch Circuit des Yeux Perform on NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk (Home) Concert’

Haley Fohr, aka Circuit des Yeux, is the latest artist to play a ‘Tiny Desk (Home) Concert’ for NPR. Her set, which was filmed in the May Chapel at Chicago’s Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, features performances of three songs from her new album, -io:  ‘Vanishing’, ‘Dogma’, and ‘Stranger’. Watch it below.

­-io, Circuit des Yeux’s sixth album and Matador Records debut, arrived last Friday, October 22.

This Week’s Best New Songs: Parquet Courts, Obongjayar, Jlin, and More

Konstantinos Pappis
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This Week’s Best New Songs: Parquet Courts, Obongjayar, Jlin, and More

Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this segment.

On this week’s list, we have Jlin’s dizzying and hyperactive ‘Embryo’, the title track from the producer’s upcoming EP; Parquet Court’s raucous garage rocker ‘Homo Sapiens’, the final single from their new LP Sympathy for Life; Strange Ranger’s hypnotic new song ‘It’s You’, the closing track from their new mixtape No Light in Heaven; ‘Message in a Bottle’, the captivating first single from the Nigerian-born, London-based singer Obongjayar’s debut album; Nation of Language’s ‘The Grey Commute’, which layers its sharp political commentary over ‘80s synths and a propulsive beat; and the dreamy and evocative ‘I’m So Tired’ by Deserta, the solo moniker of former Saxon Shore/Midnight Faces member Matthew Doty.

Best New Songs: October 25, 2021

Jlin, ‘Embryo’

Parquet Courts, ‘Homo Sapiens’

Strange Ranger, ‘It’s You’

Song of the Week: Obongjayar, ‘Message in a Bottle’

Nation of Language, ‘The Grey Commute’

Deserta, ‘I’m So Tired’

How Brands Can Get Their First YouTube Subscribers

Our Culture Mag & Partners
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How Brands Can Get Their First YouTube Subscribers

As the second most popular website online, YouTube is impossible to ignore for brands looking to reach a broad audience and one of the crucial metric of success on the platform is growing YouTube subscribers. Starting a YouTube channel is easy, but the level of competition makes it tricky to actually gain subscribers. It is crucial to get your videos found on the site, but also convince people to watch your content and subscribe. With the right approach, though, every brand can build a following, encouraging viewers to keep on returning to your videos. The following steps can be used to start your channel and set yourself up for success.

Identify an Appropriate Theme

Consistency is a crucial part of video marketing. Viewers will subscribe when they appreciate the content you are regularly creating. If your channel gets filled with all kinds of styles and themes, people won’t know what to expect. Try to settle on an overall theme that forms the basis of most content. You could choose to vlog, create tutorials, show product demonstrations, and more.

Design Your Channel

Designing your channel is a simple process, but it makes life easier for viewers. You can start by writing an enticing bio that explains who you are and the content you create. The page should then link to your website and all relevant social media channels. Finally, you can add a banner that could be based on your logo or the personalities that feature in the videos.

Create Content

Content creation is the most critical factor in the process as viewers won’t subscribe to low-quality channels. There is no single way to create content, with all styles represented across YouTube. Product demonstrations may work well in a simple location, featuring an attractive background. Vlogging can be improved with a quality camera that has a stabilization feature. While the styles can vary, look to ensure the production values, including lighting and sound, are a primary focus.

Use Creative Titles

Titles are a significant reason for a viewer to click on your video. A compelling title might create some curiosity, asking a question, or building an open loop. Alternatively, the title could feature the name of a person recognized in the industry. You may be tempted to use a controversial claim, but avoid this strategy if it won’t suit your brand. Clickbait can get some quick results, though it won’t always be a practical long-term approach.

Design Thumbnails

Thumbnails should stand out to YouTube visitors as they browse search results. Most effective thumbnail images use bright colors, often with the addition of simple text. Curiosity works well with these images, so you could experiment with blurring out parts of the image to generate interest.

Use Call to Actions

Getting people to watch your videos can be tricky, but turning them into subscribers is even harder. So often YouTube users find it easy to buy YouTube subscribers rather than trying years to increase their subscribers. Using a call to action is a critical step, as most people won’t naturally remember to subscribe. It is common to end a video explaining the button viewers should press, possibly using graphics to make it as simple a process as possible. If you are speaking directly to the camera in your content, adding a call to action earlier in the video can help.

Develop a Social Media Network

Social media is one of the best ways to promote your videos as followers have already shown an interest in your content. If you can get people to follow your Instagram or Twitter, you have found a way to engage them. Posting your YouTube videos, including the compelling title and thumbnail, will encourage a significant proportion of followers to then watch your video. Creating short trailers that suit the social platform can also help grow curiosity, leading to many people clicking over to YouTube.

Monitor Analytics

YouTube analytics can be a valuable source of data, helping you understand what is driving subscription numbers. Analytics will show you details on which subscription button was pressed, if people found you in the YouTube search results, whether the subscriber was directly on YouTube or viewing an embedded video, and more. This data can be used to focus your attention on a particular promotional method, so you gain the most subscribers for your time and effort.

Anyone can start a YouTube channel, but this simplicity leads to a vast amount of competition. Trying to get noticed on the site can be tricky, even before you begin to acquire subscribers. When you start to build an initial following, though, the process gets more manageable, with viewers liking and recommending your content. As long as the videos are engaging, viewers will stick with you and look forward to future content. Growing a following on YouTube might seem like an impossible task at first, but following these steps will help you start the process the right way.

Jay Black, Frontman of Jay and the Americans, Dead at 82

Konstantinos Pappis
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Jay Black, Frontman of Jay and the Americans, Dead at 82

Jay Black, frontman of the ’60s rock band Jay and the Americans, has died at the age of 82. Black’s family confirmed that Black passed away on Friday (October 22) due to complications from pneumonia. Black also suffered from dementia.

Jay Black was born David Blatt in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park and earned the nickname ‘The Voice’ due to his vocal range. He was the second Jay to lead Jay and the Americans, joining the band in 1962 after the departure of their original singer John ‘Jay’ Traynor. After landing a deal with United Artists Records, the group scored a number of hits with Jay in the lead in the 1960s, including ‘Only in America’, ‘Come a Little Bit Closer’, ‘Cara Mia’, ‘This Magic Moment’, and ‘Walkin’ In The Rain’, with a total of 21 songs making the charts.

Jay and the Americans notably served as the opening act for the Beatles’ first US performance in 1964 in Washington, D.C. They also appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Merv Griffin Show. Though the group’s members split in 1973 to pursue solo projects, Black would continue to perform as Jay and the Americans with a rotating cast of musicians. His final performance took place in 2017.

“New and old fans continued to marvel at the strength and range of Black’s voice through his last concert in 2017,” Black’s family said in a statement (via Rolling Stone). “Appearing mostly in the tri-state area and Florida, Black’s concerts were heavily attended and mostly sold out. He had a special bond with his fans who flocked to his annual sold-out shows at The Westbury Music Fair. He thought of them as family, knew many of their names, and would dedicate songs to them from the stage and meet with them after the show.”

Black is survived by his four children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Album Review: FINNEAS, ‘Optimist’

Martha Davies
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Album Review: FINNEAS, ‘Optimist’

Perhaps a producer with eight Grammy wins and a James Bond theme under his belt doesn’t need to worry about where he’ll go next. Finneas O’Connell, in his debut album Optimist, certainly seems more wrapped up in the hollowness of fame than the promises that glitter behind it. With his phenomenal, genre-defying work for his sister Billie Eilish, O’Connell has cemented a reputation as one of the industry’s most influential producers. His solo work, however (he is known simply as FINNEAS) is slightly more elusive. His first record is by no means a brash attempt at seizing his sister’s fame, but it isn’t the explosive introduction that might be expected. Optimist offers a set of tracks that are never adventurous enough to challenge the precedent that FINNEAS himself has set. 

The album begins with an early single, ‘A Concert Six Months From Now’. Soft guitar and a sample of a crowd distantly cheering precedes nostalgic whisperings that hint at FINNEAS’ ability to craft clever emotional narratives, whether reflecting on “When Harry met Sally/ And you fell asleep” or capturing millennial relationships with the promise, “I’ll wait for years but I won’t wait alone/ And then someday you’ll wait for my face on your phone.” Midway through, the opening sample clashes with buzzing synth as drums erupt and a great wave of cymbals rears up, granting the track a kind of feverish energy. It’s an impressive and detailed soundscape – something FINNEAS is known for after his work with Eilish – but it doesn’t feel groundbreaking, and the rest of the record follows suit. In most of the remaining songs he flits between earnestness and irony, but often doesn’t commit to either compellingly.

In ‘The Kid Are All Dying’, a lolling keyboard melody tumbles into a heavy kick drum beat that backs tongue-in-cheek worldly analysis: “Do you have a dollar?/ Would you like to fund a war?” FINNEAS offers a sweeping view of 21st century dilemmas, making no claims to be profound; irony is particularly palpable in the bridge, where his breezy falsetto introspections serve as a self-deprecating aside (or at least it is hoped that the line “I’m whiter than the ivory on these keys” is not intended to be an example of songwriting genius.) A sample of inaudible chatter that steals in at the beginning and end of the track emulates the empty babble of political debate. This is self-conscious satire, but it doesn’t land with the witty sharpness that was perhaps intended, and in ‘Happy Now’ the line between complicity and complaint remains blurred. “Take a drive around town in my douchebag car/ Like the superstar that I pretend to be,” FINNEAS intones amid pops of electronic drums, and though his bewilderment is evident as he clamors, “If I’m not I’ll never be/ Happy now,” his spin on the reality-of-fame narrative doesn’t invite overwhelming sympathy.

Irony subsides in ‘Only a Lifetime’, which meanders down another well-trodden path by preaching gratitude and sincerity. The track’s dainty piano, however, effectively betrays a sense of urgency, echoing slightly with distortion, and judders of synth emerge at points, adding welcome depth. ‘The 90s’, another single, swerves back into nostalgia of a particularly millennial variety as FINNEAS gazes longingly back at a time “When the future was a testament/ To something beautiful and shiny/ Now we’re only counting down the time that’s left.” Warped vocals give way to blasts of synth that tremble and rupture to march the track to its entropic end. As the sole writer, producer and performer of every song on the record (with the exception of the opener’s grand string section), FINNEAS is flexing all his creative muscles here, revelling in his own versatility. He has the freedom to drop in an instrumental named after his dog, which is jarring in the context of a pop album, but further showcases both his talent and absolute creative liberty; and he abandons all political and existential qualms in a track entitled ‘Around My Neck’, in which slick drums and subtle snare glide into voice-cracking yelps of desire.

FINNEAS is certainly firing on all cylinders here, but what emerges is the sense that for someone so skilled, perhaps this is all still a bit too easy. Despite the record’s varied sounds, it doesn’t feel audacious enough, never following one experiment through to its rousing finale. Paradoxically, the standout track is the sonically uncomplicated ‘Love is Pain’, which boasts fluttering keys and harmonies that snatch at the fringes of FINNEAS’ most touching declarations. “There’s this dream I’ve had/ About mom and dad/ Makes me so sad I wake up crying,” he murmurs. “Can’t believe I’ll have/ To live through that/ Wish it wasn’t mandatory dying.” Abandoning the chase for irony and inspirational platitudes, FINNEAS presents agonising emotion effortlessly here. By the time the album closes, however – its final song is a colourful, disco-led celebration that drowns out the record’s general sense of dread with a cheery reminder that “If you wanna dance again/ You can dance again” – FINNEAS’ skill is clear, but his standpoint is still ambiguous, having at once renounced popular discourses and thrown his offering into the mix. 

Ultimately, there is depth to the record but little excitement. Idiosyncrasies in production offer themselves up if you search hard enough, but they blend safely into the broader landscape of the album – it lacks the jeering, in-your-face experimentalism that leaps out of Eillish’s releases. In all fairness, that might simply be Eillish’s identity, and not FINNEAS’, but in its own right the album begs something a little curiouser, a little grittier. Wishing for it, surely, can’t be too optimistic. 

Watch Lana Del Rey Perform ‘Arcadia’ on ‘Colbert’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Watch Lana Del Rey Perform ‘Arcadia’ on ‘Colbert’

Lana Del Rey was the musical guest on last night’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she performed ‘Arcadia’ from her brand new album Blue Banisters. Check it out below.

In addition to ‘Arcadia’, Blue Banisters includes the previously released singles ‘Text Book’, ‘Wildflower Wildfire’, and the title track. It marks her eight studio album and second of 2021, following March’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club.

Watch the 1975’s Matty Healy and Phoebe Bridgers Perform ‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Watch the 1975’s Matty Healy and Phoebe Bridgers Perform ‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’

Matty Healy was the surprise opening act at Phoebe Bridgers‘ sold-out hometown show at LA’s Greek Theatre last night (October 22). According to Coup de Main, the 1975 frontman’s acoustic set included two unreleased songs, one of which he introduced as ‘New York’. Bridgers also joined Healy for the first-ever joint live rendition of their Notes on a Conditional Form duet ‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’, which she had tweeted out earlier in the day after telling fans to “come early tonight.” Watch clips from the performance below.

Album Review: Hand Habits, ‘Fun House’

Konstantinos Pappis
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Album Review: Hand Habits, ‘Fun House’

Meg Duffy doesn’t reveal much about the song. It’s the first thing we hear about on Fun House, and whether or not it’s the same one, we hear about it again: first it’s “the song,” then “your,” then “a.” It is, quite naturally, a thing of the past: the thing Duffy attempts to dig into on their third album under the Hand Habits moniker. In press materials, the singer-songwriter compares the act of performing to casting a spell, and what’s so enchanting about the best songs is how they sometimes have a way of not only conjuring memories, but also giving them a better home. In another meta moment, on ‘False Start’, Duffy seems to be referring explicitly to one of their own songs, confronting a careless listener as they sing, “You missed the best part.” This time, it’s more the you that’s hard to grasp: The song feels both abstract and palpably real.

Duffy ensures no one misses the best parts of Fun House by making it their most fully-formed, expansive, and rewarding effort yet. One of its greatest gifts is that it doesn’t go big just for the sake of it: the shift in sound is a natural result of the dynamic Duffy cultivated with the producer Sasami, who was working on engineer Kyle Thomas’s King Tuff album when Duffy moved in with them. Duffy credits Sasami’s vision for pushing them to overcome musical boundaries and find new ways of expressing emotional truths that, as was the case with many of us, had resurfaced during the pandemic. “I think I started getting really angry,” Duffy told The FADER. “And I couldn’t really understand where that anger was coming from.” While previous Hand Habit albums, particularly the spare folk of 2019’s placeholder, seemed inclined to blanket that sense of anguish and unease, here those feelings have the space to unravel and take different shapes, becoming a propulsive force on ‘More Than Love’ and eventually boiling over on ‘Gold/Rust’.

These might be, depending on what you gravitate to, the best moments on record, but the true magic of Fun House is in rich detail Duffy and their collaborators have weaved into the songs. On the gorgeous single ‘Aquamarine’, Sasami’s pulsing synthesizers fill in the space around a voice that can’t quite speak of trauma, but whose words point to its lingering effect: “Why can’t you talk about it?/ I got used to being on the other side of the truth.” The song is about turning over a box of items that belonged to their late mother, but Duffy revisits these memories not as a means of documenting pain, or even attempting to heal it, but as vital step in the process self-care. When they whisper through flickers of the past on ‘Just to Hear You’, it’s all internal and almost inaudible, covered in ripples of guitar and synth that have a nourishing shine to them. It’s clear Duffy is approaching these experiences not through a wary distance but with a calm fortitude, a perspective that allows for movement and discovery without drowning out the songs’ emotional intensity.

It also amplifies the qualities that marked Hand Habits’ music in the past – its remarkable patience and tender beauty – making Fun House sound less like a departure than a homecoming. It’s why, while the focus in the studio might have been on challenging some of Duffy’s musical proclivities, everyone involved in the project seems more concerned with how to best accommodate them. Sasami’s hand in the production is certainly felt throughout the album, but her backing vocals on tracks like ‘Concrete & Feathers’ also provide a gentle backdrop for Duffy’s impassioned performance. On ‘No Difference’, it’s the incredible cast of guest vocalists – including Mike Hadreas aka Perfume Genius, Big Thief’s James Krivchenia, Christian Lee Hutson, and Griffin Goldsmith – that elevate the song as they embody the conflict at the core of it. Hadreas, whose 2020 LP Set My Heart on Fire Immediately shares a spiritual connection with Fun House, also sings on ‘Just to Hear You’, lending it a sense of comforting familiarity.

The added layers never feel superfluous or overly literal, but are instead subtly and evocatively implemented, like the strings, courtesy of Elizabeth Baba, that glide and hurtle through ‘The Answer’. The use of drums in particular is one of the album’s strong suits, not least because of how they vary throughout, from Joo-Joo Ashworth’s liquid percussion on the opening set of songs, to Goldsmith’s swirling drums on ‘Gold/Rust’, or the crisp, organic pace Krivchenia keeps on ‘Concrete & Feathers’. The drums Sasami lays out on ‘The Answer’, meanwhile, sound more like a heartbeat than an instrument, accentuating the intimacy of the track.

As an in-demand session musician, Duffy’s most memorable contributions include the slide guitar on the War on Drugs’ ‘Holding On’ and the haunting solo on Weyes Blood’s ‘Seven Words’. Their virtuosity stands out on several songs here, the guitar serving as a kind of guiding presence in their journey – the sweeping solo on ‘More Than Love’ lifts the whole record up in its first few minutes, while the acoustic guitars on closer ‘Control’ ground its self-affirmations in a lush, reassuring backdrop. “I can change, I can change, I can change,” Duffy sings, “But it’s all behind me now.” It’s a strikingly direct sentiment for a record that hangs in the spaces between past and present, truth and metaphor, you and I – one that prefers to evoke rather than address things, the way a song does a memory, or the other way around, again and again till all meaning is lost. But it also knows that sometimes, to stop yourself from rewinding the tape, the trick you have to pull off is just spelling it out.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia Goes Sustainable

Modestas Mankus
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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia Goes Sustainable

Sustainability has been a pivotal topic of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. This year, MBFW Russia has become the place to drop in unwanted clothes that upcycling designers will use for their upcoming collections. This initiative has marked another great year of progress for the fashion week that profoundly celebrates sustainable fashion.

This project will go beyond this season of fashion week. Russian Fashion Council, EcoLine Group, and Vtoroe Dykhanie Fund will collect unwanted clothes every season, further passing them on to upcycling Russian brands, who will use them in their catwalk presentations.

Anyone can take part in this green initiative. You simply have to visit the Museum of Moscow from 14:00 to 21:00 and turn the clothes in at a special reception point in the Museum’s courtyard. No invitation is needed to do that — everyone is welcome the reception point. Participants will have a chance of getting invitations to sustainable brand shows during #MBFWRussia for this and next season, and the most active ones will obtain bags made of upcycled banners and upcycled shirts from Fashion Week. The clothes that won’t be included in designer collections will be given to Vtoroe Dykhanie.

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