A very masculine looking man holds in his arms the corpse of a fallen foe. Ready to bury him, his young wards ask why he would commit such a compassionate act. The battle-weary successor to ancient assassination art Hokuto Shinken looks off to the distance and says “because this man loved the same woman I loved.”

That foe was named Shin, who was once the best friend of our hero Kenshiro. When the world ended in nuclear apocalypse, few survived and others were driven by madness to use violence and fear to rule the land. Shin, like many of Kenshiro’s antagonists, was driven mad by his ambition and took away Kenshiro’s beloved Yuria after he had defeated Kenshiro in battle.

Kenshiro wandered the land aimlessly until he ended up in situations where he had to use his martial arts to destroy those who would do harm to innocents that were just trying to survive their days on this ravaged earth. Through these exploits of badassery, he soon discovers that Yuria is held captive by Shin in his slave-built city, Southern Cross.

Kenshiro storms Shin’s palace and finds both him and Yuria. To mock Kenshiro, Shin kills Yuria right in front of him. Through sheer rage, Kenshiro violently defeats Shin. When it is discovered that the “Yuria” that Shin had killed was a lookalike doll, Shin sobs and reveals that Yuria had taken her own life just before Kenshiro entered Southern Cross. Shin tells Kenshiro how everything he did for Yuria – though misguided – was out of love for her. He then takes his own life.

Kenshiro sees the true feelings of Shin as he takes his life and decides to honor his death with a proper burial. These warriors, who just recently hated each other enough to want to kill each other, rekindle their friendship as Shin’s life ends.

For this and many other reasons, Fist of the North Star is one of the greatest manga and anime series ever and one of the cornerstones of MANIME, or manly anime. You know, those super masculine, testosterone-filled shows filled with plenty of violence and justice!

The core elements of MANIME are defined by Fist of the North Star and other series. These elements are critical to any anime being manly and any anime where these features are not prevalent are would not qualify as a manly anime.

VIOLENCE

In Maddox’s Alphabet of Manliness, he states that “men love violence, and every red-blooded man wants to die as violently as possible.” Violence is a critical aspect of MANIME, whether bodies are exploding or being cut in half. For the sake of justice violence is dispensed without hesitation. In situations where the corrupt abuse the weak and helpless, violence is not only the problem, it is also the solution!

If the scum of the planet aren’t rendered into a spectacle of bloody fireworks or if honorable warriors who have to die are not doing so in a way that inspire those they leave behind, then the level of violence is not high enough!

TRAGEDY

In the anime Berserk, the once cold and heartless loner Gutz finds companionship with his comrades in the Band of the Hawk. He later finds love with Casca as well. On the night of the eclipse, his best friend turns to great evil to gain incredible power and takes away everything Gutz has come to treasure in one night. With his body ravaged and his world turned upside down, Gutz now has to live in a world where the wicked supernatural prey upon him and many others. But no matter; he moves forward to take down the fiends that took all that he came to love.

Every protagonist in MANIME has something great they lose along the way - be it friends, family, or loved ones. These things are taken away from them in the cruelest of ways and now they must live with that pain as they continue their lives. However, they do not use these tragedies as a crutch but those moments will never be forgotten and will always be a driving force in their actions.

SHOULDERING BURDENS

Often, many things are expected out of our heroes in MANIME. As the successor to Hokuto Shinken, Kenshiro had to uphold the laws of his school and settle conflicts with rival disciplines and also his own brothers whom he both loved and respected. This usually ended up with Kenshiro regretfully having to kill such people.

Throughout his battles, people also began to depend on Kenshiro as a savior from tyrants that would oppress them. He was initially somewhat reluctant to this violent quest but after seeing women, children, and elderly having their lives stolen, he had no other choice but to fulfill his destiny.

SELF SACRIFICE

It is common for heroic characters in anime to put their bodies and lives on the line to protect something precious to them. This in not exclusive to MANIME; it’s a common theme in the heroism. This is one of those traits that may cause fans to consider some series to be manly even though they are lacking other core elements.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

Manly anime characters share many common physical attributes to the point that they sometimes look similar. They usually are seen with the following:

• Giant, chiseled muscles
• Potato shaped heads
• Defined, rigid jawlines
• Built more powerful than a Sherman tank
• A deep, commanding voice that can shake the very heavens
• Thick, menacing eyebrows… or sometimes no eyebrows at all

Needless to say, a manly anime character would not be able to fit into a pair of skinny jeans!

FINAL WORD… FOR NOW

This is not the end of my discussions on MANIME. In fact, I will have future postings and will even be hosting panels on the subject at future conventions. These elements are core and common in many MANIME. They can niether be faked nor forced; they have to be real. With this in mind, you should be able to better grasp what makes a manly anime so.

New screens of Hokuto Musou(that Dynasty Warriors game about Fist of the North Star) came out and Juza of the Clouds is in it! For those of you who don’t know, Juza is a fucking badass, a pimp, and a troll all at the same time. He was one of the five Nanto Chariot Stars(responsible for protecting the last Nanto general) and hung out in his own palace with naked chicks all day LIKE A BOSS.

Juza of the Cloud is most famous for stealing Raoh’s horse(!) and doing other things to piss him off. For instance, Raoh wanted to know who the last Nanto General was so he struck a pressure point of Juza’s, forcing him to tell the truth. Not being able to lie when asked again, Juza states that “Raoh is a fucking dickhead.” and spits blood in his face(I think it was in that order it happened).

Raoh was not amused and preceded to smash Juza with his fists until Juza eventually died on his feet. What a badass.

More screen shots here!

If you don’t know why this teaser trailer would get me excited, then we must not be friends. But think of the possibilities. The publisher merger that brought together the makes of Ninja Gaiden and Dynasty Warriors together is now working on a Fist of the North Star game!? Today is a great day for mankind!

In the middle of the panel, myself and fellow panelists Shawn Wilson and Mike “Brotha Kyo” Burgess presented the Twelve Laws of True Man, which are more or less commandments that one would follow if one were to be a real man. These laws were created as a result of what our current generation of young adults have degenerated into in the wake of Harry Potter, Twilight, superficial pop music such as emo, along with plenty of bad anime that feature male characters looking feminine and whining all day. We not only had to clearly define what made manly anime like Fist of the North Star manly, but also provide laws for men to live by. The laws were well-received by both our male and female members, which was really surprising with the latter crowd.

By popular request, I have decided to post these laws of the website to be used for reference. These are taken directly from our PowerPoint presentation so any animating introductions we had for dramatic effect are gone. However, I think this method works far more than just listing the laws. I will also explain why we chose these laws. Oh and by we, I mean myself, Mike, and my roommate Taylor. Anyways, it’s time to travel the path of true man once again!

This law came up first because we all have that friend who used to hang out with us but would constantly bail on us the second he got a girlfriend. The worst part is when he planned to hang out with us but couldn’t because his girlfriend couldn’t make it or didn’t want to go. Disappointing.

This is a result of modern-day women(young women, specifically) feeling a sense of entitlement to do as they please. Young women will constantly lie, fake illness(and periods), have zero ability to cook and clean, bail out on plans, date unmanly losers(see True Man Law #1), wear terrible eighties fashion, and blame others for their mistakes and lack of efficiency. They will almost ALWAYS pass blame. There is not a thing that is ever their fault and they will be sure to let you know that everything is yours. It takes a while for a man to be able to figure out what to do to correct this problem, but based on my experience, I find that the sting of a man’s back hand sends a good message. Use it when appropriate as a form of discipline, and not out of your own weakness. Speaking of which…

Sometimes a woman will make the mistake of surrounding herself with unmanly losers. I have no idea why. Some women will develop a spinal cord and call these losers out on the bullshit that ironically women are infamous for pulling. A woman can probably handle this situation just fine, but if that is not the case, feel free to dispense your man justice upon the unmanly loser. The closer this happens to a kitchen, the better. Also, make sure they bring you a real beer; not some ungodly swill such as Heineken or PBR.

This is almost like a reversal of True Man Law #1. A lot of the True Man Laws do deal with women because they can potentially cause us a great amount of problems. The trick is knowing how to solve the problem, which these laws will help you with. Long story short, if your female friend stops hanging out with you because she has an insecure boyfriend, show him what for!

I shouldn’t even need to explain this; however, if your beef jerky comes packaged, you open it with your teeth, dammit!

I don’t need to explain this either. If a woman needs explaining on this, True Man Law #2 helps. Also, that’s Ace from One Piece. After my panel, an attendee asked why One Piece wasn’t included. There is indeed a lot of manly moments in that series, but it’s so well known that I preferred to cover series that are far more manly.

This was inspired by being in lab one day. I substituted for DirectX and the lab involved playing sound for when Ryu’s sprite did a Hadoken or Shoryuken move. They actually had already implemented  proper input code to check for the controller input to do a Hadoken. So checkoff required them performing the controller input so that Ryu could do the move and play the sound effect. A student didn’t know how to do a Hadoken and a friend was going to take the controller and do it for him. I yelled at him and said something like “NO! He has to do this on his own because it’s part of being a man!” That statement apparently made me famous with that class before I get to officially have them as students in OpenGL. Honestly, I have no clue as to what a student who doesn’t know how to Hadoken is doing in a game development program. Disappointing.

True Story. Also, that web comic is funny. A man hits a woman with a car and the guy in the webcomic asks what the car was doing in the kitchen. Classic sexist comedy!

I’ve been eating really healthy the past couple months and exercising more. I’ve also been practicing martial arts. I have buffed up a little and lost over 2o pounds since I changed my ways in late June. It has been pretty awesome and I will have to say that taking care of yourself and staying in great shape is part of being a man. If you need advice on this, I am willing to help you out. Oh, I forgot to mention this during the panel, but if you want to know is a relationship is worth having, then Enter the Dragon will let you know. Any woman who doesn’t want to watch that classic isn’t worth dating. Give them the option to watch that or a Johnny Depp movie to see where they really stand on the scale of desirability.

Damn straight! Brotha Kyo proposed this and I agree 100%! The nose is where you want to aim when headbutting because it will do tons of damage to your opponent and not so much to yourself. Plus that picture of Hanma Baki headbutting Olvia Biscuit is freaking AMAZING!

This law has been inspired by the greatness of Fist of the North Star! This part and the next part decree when it is acceptable for a man to cry.

I guess if your parents die of illness, it’s okay to cry. But you damn well better beat that illness down during your quest of revenge!

Parents have failed this country. I have never seen kids so rotten, so stupid, and having such a sense of entitlement such as they do now. Just the fact that kids find themselves entitled to anything proves that parents have failed to raise their kids properly. Maddox wrote an article about child discipline. I suggest you read it.

There may be some confusion with this law. I didn’t think about until just now. While it is important to help a manly friend get a woman, what if she isn’t qualified to be in a relationship with him? Well, makes sure that you give him your thoughts. Otherwise, help him out! Women sometimes need to be told that going out with a manly man is what’s best for them and it’s important to let them know that when it comes to your friend. Remember, guide the cock; do not block it!

That’s it for the man laws! I hope this has been very educational for you because the path of being a man is a very hard one. You will have to endure many trials and make many tough choices. Mistakes will be made but you can learn from those too. I can be found on Twitter if you need further counsel.

Kent Ward will make Mini-Megacon MANLY on August 22nd

I’m not getting much of a break from AFO as I have to gear up for Mini-Megacon on August 22nd and August 23rd at the Orange County Convention Center in -hopefully- sunny Orlando, Florida! This will be in smaller scope than the spring Megacon show; however, my posse are poised to help out Anime Sushi and we are all coming out swingin’ to bring you some very fun events!

At AFO, I was too busy making sure Swords of Orlandia III dominated every major event throughout the anime convention circuit in Florida to have time to do any panels or other events that celebrate some of the fandoms I engage in during my daily life. (Though, I do share a huge deal of success with many of the AFO staff members, my game team, and most importantly – the players.) I believe this will be the case for future AFOs, so I will use Megacon as my platform to promote awesome anime and videogames to the people! I have cleared this with the heads of Anime Festival Orlando so those super amazing bloggers that nitpick about what happens at local anime conventions(despite the possibility that they are not even into anime in the first place) can cool their engines for just a bit.

Not only will I be rocking Mini-Megacon, but I have brought some good friends along to help me out! Here is everything you need to check out at Mini-Megacon in a couple weeks:

Saturday, August 22nd

The Real Saturday Morning Cartoons – Before the World’s Greatest Game Show Host, Wheldon Smiley, heads off for Atlanta, he is going to make a pit stop at Mini-Megacon to show you some of the best cartoons from all eras. If you’ve seen it at AFO, then you have an idea of what to expect. Everyone who goes to this event tells me that it is fun so I will check it out myself before it is too late!

It’s MANIME! The Manly Anime Panel – Oh shit, you know who’s hosting this one. Only the two manliest anime fans in all of Florida! Brotha Kyo and myself will be talking about what makes a manly anime manly, using examples from essentials such as Fist of the North Star, Berserk, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Baki the Grappler, and more! BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I have some man laws I will unveil that makes your presence at Mini-Megacon important. The males of Orlando have forgotten what it means to be a man, and because of that, we will unveil the Twelve Laws of True Man to help guide you all on the path of greatness! You will be blown away!

A showing of Fist of the North Star 0: Legend of Kenshiro – The manliest anime/manga series ever gets its latest movie shown at Mini-Megacon, right after the MANIME panel. The movie is a prequel to the original series and chronicles the origin of Kenshiro accepting his role as the savior in his post-apocalyptic world. People will explode and manly tears will be shed! If you are a true man, you will watch this with Brotha Kyo and I… or else YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD! By attending this event, your manliness is guaranteed to increase by 10%! Women may get pregnant by going so be careful ladies!

Anime Madlibs – This is a cute event being put on by my dear friend GLORIANTES. The idea is that will take anime scenes and quotes and take out verbs and nouns and replaces them with what you have to input. You won’t know the madlib yet; instead, you’ll just give us the necessary parts of speech to complete it. We’ll fill it in and have a good laugh together!

Year of the Fighting Game: Round 2 – This event is going to get its own post on my website. but I will lay out the badassery now. Remember that super packed panel about fighting games the first time around? Well half that panel was a preview of what was to come. Now that Street Fight IV, BlazBlue, and The King of Fighters XII are out, the hype is over and now it’s time to discuss where each game succeeds and fails. Forget the “professional” game reviewers; they are far too incompetent to properly review fighting games. Smoot, Brotha Kyo, and I will set you all straight. Plus, we’ll actually talk about Tekken 6 for real this time!

Tales from the Con – If you’ve been to a Florida convention, then you have probably had the pleasure to meet local hero Fuzzy. Fuzzy has traveled more conventions than I care to hear him talk about during our lunches together and now he is going to share his best stories with you! After this, you won’t look at a cooler the same way again.

Anime it’s an Anime Event because Anime is in the Title - This will be for the LULZ. Every stupid thing we can think of can be an anime event if we put anime in the title! Nothing will spared and everything will be parodied and mocked, including ourselves. There will be a new so-called anime event every five or so minutes! Can you handle the INSANITY!?

Robotech: The Legacy Continues: Fuzzy is back to tell you protoculture addicts about what he has learned about the franchise from his trip to California. A lot of great things will come that will feature these super cool transforming robot things! Plus, we all know Fuzzy is the expert on Robotech.

State of the Anime Community – Smoot and I have much to rant and debate about what the hell is going on in our local anime community. I won’t pull any punches in this one and the event is not for the feint at heart. Some people will be offended and can choose to walk out or debate their side. I’m fair game to pick apart as well. I am not representing anyone other than myself when I speak my mind during this event and the same goes for Smoot.

BIG DAMN GAME SHOW - Wheldon Smiley has one more to give before he goes! It’s the super interactive anime and sci-fi game show where EVERYONE wins! It’s a good way to end Saturday night before the rave!

Cyberia Dance Party! - Anime Sushi is throwing on the craziest light-rave-dance show that they are famous for. Get ready to bust out your glowsticks to the craziest electronic music you’ve heard since the last Cyberia!

Sunday, August 23nd

Ninja Olympics – I wanted to call this the Special Ninja Olympics but was forbade from doing so. I am casting a resurrection jutsu on this classic and breaking all you poser ninjas up into teams of three to participate in tests of physical skill and stealth. Can you bring the gold shuriken home to your hidden village? That’s up to you to decide. By the way, this is not Ninja Warrior; you nerds would seriously get you asses kicked by that so we are creating something that meets your actual level of skill.

Rebuild of Evangelion - One of the most classic giant robot series is making a comeback on the big screen in Japan, and you are going to get a nice, big dose on all things Eva. Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance just came out in Japan, and that will be discussed along with theories about the story. One of my anime club students is handling the panel so it should be pretty awesome.

Quickdraw! Contest – There will be three 20 minute sessions to draw something quickly based on themes presented by the judges. This event did very well last time and we hope for it to do well again. We will break up artists into categories of novice and advanced and judge them as such. Prizes will then be given out at the end. We supply the pencils and paper, you bring the talent!

Wrap-up Karaoke - There is nothing like finishing up Mini-Megacon than by singing songs with some new and old friends. This event is the final hurrah for The Consortium and we look forward to spending it with you!

Okay, that’s a lot of events! I am sure that there will be more at Mini-Megacon. But hell, I think this does quite a job of getting you all to come. The next couple weeks is going to involves some hard work, but it will be worth it because times will be had! Make sure that you check out this website and Anime Sushi for more updates!

AFO9 has some pretty cool guests this year too, like the American Green Power Ranger, Jason David Frank, and the voice and motion capture actor of Devil May Cry’s Dante, Rueben Langdon. A bunch of One Piece and Full Metal Alchemist voice actors will be there too.

Now I am going to plug what I am doing there. I have a couple panels and a manly anime trivia contest going on the late nights. During the daylight hours, I will be a Game Master for AFO’s Swords of Orlandia II live action game. It’s a fairly interactive game taking place throughout the weekend in which registered attendees of AFO can choose a good or evil alignment and then go on simple quests and compete in contests of skill to gain experience points and level up. Once a player has maxed out their level, they contribute a shard of last year’s broken swords to their alignment and the side with the most will win the day. Also, maxed out players will be entered in a raffle for some cool prize. I think the game will go well with the younger crowd and you will most likely find me at the Raven’s Roost Tavern, interacting with players.

Below the jump will be a listing of non-Orlandia events that I am hosting.

Manly Anime Trivia Contest

Friday, Midnight – Oleander B – Kent Ward, Mike Burgess

Shed those manly tears because there’s going to an anime trivia contest of truly epic proportions! No kids in orange jumpsuits pretending to be ninjas here! If you think stuff like Berserk and Fist of the North Star is the best stuff ever, then this is YOUR trivia contest!

Fist of the North Star Will make your head explode!

Saturday, 10pm – Marathon/Cedar – Kent Ward, Mike Burgess, Jacob Luke

WATATATATATATA! Fist of the North Star is the manliest thing that has ever come out of Japan, and will celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! Celebrate the glory and heroics of the End of the Century Savior, Kenshiro, along with the other legendary Hokuto brothers. We will share grand tales of true manliness of one of the most legendary and influential anime and manga franchises ever.

Demons and Schoolgirls: A Hentai Panel (18+)

Saturday, 11:30pm – Palm Salon H – Daniel Fandino, Kent Ward, Kristal Jones

While extremely popular in Japan, as evidenced by the copious amounts of hentai games, manga and anime that are produced yearly, due to its adult nature hentai does not have the same exposure or level of acceptance in the United States. Demons and Schoolgirls is a lively look at hentai incorporating discussion, clips, prizes and a few surprises.

Due to the nature of the material being discussed, this panel will be 18+ only.

That’s right! All my stuff is about violence and sex, the way it should be. See you guys at AFO!