Hagane no Renkinjutsushi and the Neo Nerd.

So I have these cousins. By societies' standard they are both suffering from what I have recently read is called the "Peter Pan syndrome". This dear reader, is what happens when young adults move back in with their parents in troubled economic times. AHEM! There has been a (shocking) rise in the number of young adults aged 25-35 who return to their parent's homes to lessen the financial burden of renting/owning property/sorting through their debts/failed marriages and what not.. As they get free meals and laundry its not all bad, but they have to watch Frasier with their mom and take out the trash. And bringing home dates..at 28. Awkward.

In truth that doesn't actually relate to my cousins as neither one of them seem interested in much else than computers. It sounds like a bit of a cliche to call my cousins nerds or geeks (there is a bit of a difference I will have you know between a geek and a nerd, but they are very closely related so for the purpose of this blog I'll just group them together), but their obsession with all things electronical kind of lumps them into that category. You have to admit though, that the nerds of old have been replaced with a different kind of nerd all together. Something I would like to call the Neo Nerd.

That would be me motherfucker.

Today's nerds don't just sit around with pencils in their breast pockets and calculators in their hands. And that weird bit of tape holding their glasses together. What was up with that anyway?

Nerd circa 1980

Today's Neo nerds are all about computers. Perhaps a generalization, but I don't care. There are still transparencies between the two breeds (an interest in scientifica, mathematical equations etc, thick rimmed glasses, socially awkward, overweight/skinny physique and speaking in a language about topics that seem specifically foreign and exclusive), but being a nerd of the 20th century is cool. And  thats because they seemingly have an insight into a world that we all traverse daily, namely the INTERNET. If it weren't for Nerds we would never have had a programmer named Bill Joy, who with his obsession with computers and timely access to them, become the writer of the interface we now know, use and understand as the "Internet".  Ask any girl with a laptop. Who do you think she is happier to see or more likely to call when she can't figure shit out on her Mac? Her jockey boyfriend or the nerdy guy next door?

See hot chick, dudes with computers. What did I tell ya?

In other words if you are a Neo Nerd, you have game. You may feel unappreciated as a human being called upon to save the day by rebooting computers, but your longevity as a popular and vital member of my speed dial will long surpass any need I may have had to copy your math homework, circa 1980.

Add to that the popularization of nerd culture as a influence on "Hipsterism"(Hello again big ol' glasses, starwars mug and ill-fitting pants) and the equalization of stigmas concerning the interests of nerds, and being a Neo Nerd suddenly makes sense.  I have never seen as many Neo Nerds wait overnight in sleeping bags for the opening events of the "Avengers" premiere or weep at the trailer of the very promising and yet ultimately disappointing "Prometheus". There is just something about those obsessive, passionate, argumentative and earnest types of people who we classify as nerdy or geeky that crept its way into the standard of our obsessions in the 20th century.

Most Game

The Internet is the watering hole for Nerds of this century and its perfectly acceptable to be a freak for apple products, wear Star Trek underpants and be anxious about the newest Star Wars film to be released in 2015. Two years and nine months away. But who's counting?

I might not have your underwear (yet), but I do at times have your hairstyle.

And its this obsessive cataloging which brings me back to the Lost Boys aka my cousins. Both of these fine twenty-something year olds are admittedly Neo Nerds. And they are really good at it.

Entering what I call their "Mancave", they had transformed my Aunt's biggie best sitting room into a computer enthusiasts wet dream. As these guys built their own computers with transparent casings, aquarium like you could see the machines' guts at work; monitors,  multi-fold, pinned on walls like butterflies, stacked games of EVERY imaginable kind, even the damn mouse with its standard tampon format, was decidedly untampon like and very much transformer toy with a crash course needed in the simple working of this complicated device. Add the temperate atmosphere controlled to preserve the machinery at ultimate levels and the light quality of the room and my intimidation was complete. I quietly pitied the piano underneath the cables and the living room furniture, now covered with sheets and blankets, stored in perpetuity.

Fuck you throw pillow.

Throwing me a bone, these lads decided to boost my entertainment value and connected me to the most intricate network server and a collection of every conceivable film, TV show, documentary and more interestingly Anime (standard to high definition) known to man. Imagining that my years in Asia taught me something about Anime, I soon came to realize that I didn't know diddly squat. Turns out there's more Anime out there than you can throw a rock at. And for those who believe Anime is only a cartoon series of little value for children, or and excuse to draw semi-nude girls with big eyes, I will say shame on you for being so close minded.

How do you get Pikachu on a bus? You Poke him on.

Essentially Anime is when a Manga series (which is basically the story in comic book format) gets turned into an animated television show. These things can run for years..I mean decades. Imagine being that invested in a show.

As long as they dye my hair black, and hide the old pace maker we can fool 'em. 

See as an art form, Anime is the perfect storytelling device. The narrative structure and tempo of the series allows for amazing character archs and development. In fact there are certain Anime's out there that follow the lifespan of characters, and then duplicates in other dimensions (say wha?).
The character's appearance is controlled, i.o.w a character can live for years and never age. You don't have to pay for sets, costumes or actors. It's all about the voice work and animators and more importantly THE STORY. As a rule, you have to watch the first five episodes of any Anime series to get a feel for it and the characters.
As I got into these shows,  I started watching multiple episodes nightly. Not sleeping, so eager was I to find out what was to happen next. It was like that time when Heroes first came out all over again. Urgh.

You will always be my Hiro.

And that is the story of how I found Hagane no Renkinjutsushi or THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD.

Plenty of best-of-lists, puts this particular series squarely on the top, time and time again.
Here is a bit on the plot of the show. Two little boys named Edward and Alphonse dabble in Alchemy (in this reality Alchemy is a skill and Alchemists are warriors or scholars, but well respected dudes) and they decide to bring back their mother from the grave through human transmutation, which it turns out is forbidden in the world of Alchemists. It goes terribly wrong and the brothers bring back something that is NOT their mother, and in return the cost is the body of Alphonse and the leg of Edward. Moments later, maimed and alone Edward transmutes his brother's soul to an Samurai-like Japanese Armour set, losing his arm as payment for the act. Throughout the series, these two brothers try to regain their bodies, Al because he can never sleep, eat or feel the warmth of anyone, and Ed because his guilt at losing his brother's body and his own mutilation drives him on. And that's just a glimpse of the whole thing.

Whoever uses the last pennzoil  is definitely on the outs in this household.

As this particular series starts stacking up the goodies, the baddies, the subplots, the deaths, the intrigues, it feels like you are watching a house of beautiful cards being built or a room of dominoes being stacked.  Add that the animation is of the best and the musical scores that interchange between episodes make you forget that you are reading subtitles its pretty hard not to become invested, dammit. Like how you should be when you watch a GOOD story.

Also known as 'Meh' story telling.

It kind of made me wonder whether the "western" entertainment industry or Hollywood would ever wake up to the untaped market of the Anime world. Maybe when they get tired of rebooting Spiderman or reshooting 21 JumpStreet, or making another fairy tale action epic, they might consider the dark, gritty world of anime and the largely untapped world of story-telling.

Well technically Disney ripped off this Japanese Anime called Kimba the White Lion and that was pretty excellent. Unfortunately the folks at Kimba is still waiting for the acknowledgement and maybe some royalties.

Fantasy based stories are obviously the trend of our cinematic and television based viewing. Every Marvel comic book has a screenplay in the pipeline, whilst the anticipation of HBO's "Game of Thrones" newest season, is  avidly discussed over games of Settlers of Catan. Wasn't Lord of the Rings named Book of the Century? Come on! Ample proof that people can handle the challenge of multiple characters, complicated plots and strategic storytelling.

The problem is, that  one wonders if Hollywood could do Anime its due justice or will they inevitably fuck it up. Mmm..

Until such time, you might as well download and watch The  Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood to get a feel for all this Anime business. Now if you will excuse me, I need to clean my foggy glasses and sew the hem on my Princess Leia costume.

      Follow this link for more on The Brotherhood of the Fullmetal Alchemist:

http://devilsbats.blogspot.com/2010/07/full-metal-alchemist-version-english.html