The list of frequently asked questions: here, you will find the answers to frequently asked questions that will be asked by you people, or questions I feel you people will ask me a lot.

Regarding myself

Can I e-mail you to your old e-mail addresses?

Who uses my old e-mail addresses now these days? Regardless, no.

You're a real dedicated Japanese animation and comic fan, are you?

Let's say this. The last time I took a quiz, I got 368/500 right. That's a real high score. So, to answer your question, I really am. Now, yes, I have received the title of "otaku" several times, including the one test I took, but I don't consider myself one.

So, what are you strengths and weaknesses in Japanese animation and comics?

Despite the high score, I have a good amount of weaknesses. I am not good with shounen series. (I got six more points in the shoujo section than in the shounen section - 22/25 to 16/25.) I am not good with series that are released in the States. I am trying to learn super robot series, though I still have a long way to go. Oh and I am not a dub fan. Thus, I am not good with any subject relating to dubs.

With the weaknesses, comes the strengths. I am very good with Japanese seiyuu. I know fan subbed series quite well. Um, translations, I guess I can call it a strength. (I missed only one question from that section.) I love shoujo/ren'ai series. I added in "ren'ai" there because series like "Love Hina" and "To Heart" are more aimed towards guys. Calling "Love Hina" a shoujo series is like calling "Power Stone" a fighting game. "Love Hina" is a shounen series with shoujo elements and "Power Stone" is a party series with fighting game elements.

Why aren't you a dub fan?

Where do I begin? First off, I was born and raised in the San Jose area. I lived around Asians and as a result, I hate it when people change the names of foods like from okonomiyaki to pizza.

Dubs also tend to be off in translations. There are some parts that can't be translated. Some companies try, but others fall.

What else? I have seen a lot of bad dubs. For series with bad dubs, look at my review sections and see if the series has one.

If that doesn't help, there are barely any series in which the dub is better than the sub in my opinion. If the animated series has a non-Japanese theme involved (i.e. "Cowboy Bebop"), usually I would prefer the dub. If not, all the time. The only Japanese-theme series in which I prefer the dub over the original is "El Hazard", which I will review later. Watch the dub and you'll hear how good it is. The only reason why I prefer the dub over the original is that Okiayu Ryoutarou-san playing as Jinnai really threw me off, as I am more used to hearing him as pretty boys.

Speaking of him, I am a real big Japanese seiyuu fan. I guess I don't have time to stop and get to know the dubbed actors. There are people who are fans of the actors. I'm just not one of them.

Like I said, AIM's your best chance. Please don't act like some kind of idiot when you talk to me. Unless you have an alias people know you as, tell me where do I know you from or what places on the web you regularly go to because I can't keep track of everyone due to the amount of places I submit works for. That's better than asking who I am or it's better than having no idea on how to start your first converstion with me.

Oh yeah. Don't bother inviting me to chat rooms. I'm so busy and chances are that by coming in there, I'm expecting something idiotic. I'll deal with IRC channels, but not that often.

Yeah. The picture you see when I do rants usually is like my signature picture. That's how people know me, I suppose. In message boards, you see me carry that picture of Haruka. Since I am a big Hayashibara Megumi-san fan, I thought, "Why not have a signature picture of one of Hayashibara-san's characters?" and I picked Haruka because if there needs to be a character people really need to appreciate, it would be Haruka, even though she didn't have many parts in "Love Hina" and plus, she's a real spiffy character.

Most of the time, I get the former from Animesuki. As for the comics, I get them from Manga Jouhou. Every now and then, I will get a raw version of the form of entertainment either because there is no fan translation version available or I just want to see the form of entertainment right away.

How good is your Japanese?

Not as good as I'd like it to be. I barely have the ability to speak it. I can read and write kana, but my kanji reading and writing abilities are horrible. My translation ability is poor also, even though there's that one quiz section scenario.

This is a two-part question. First, where did you new alias come from and why did you change your other one?

For the first part, "Bata" means child or kid in Tagalog and since I have the personality of a kid, I gave myself that alias. As for the second part, there are a few people named Jazzie-kun. So, I decided to change my alias.

How come you never say words like "gotta"?

Simple. That's my style. I'll say contractions, but that's it. To me, words like "gotta" have that gimmick feel and I don't like talking that way.

Regarding the site

Can you link to my site?

Yes, but if there's too much work with me, then the chances of your site being linked are small. I can't place every site up here. I'm a pretty busy person myself and besides, I am not the directory of anime, manga and video game sites you know. Okay, that's what my links pages seem to be like, but still, it is not a directory of sites. That's why sites like Anipike exist. They do a better job at that than I do, especially the Anipike.

If I do link to your site, link back to my site. Both links pages have directions on that. Seeing that my site now these days no longer has the "A" rating, I will have to place up notices.

Can I use the images on your site?

Yes, but there are catches though. Ask me first and give me credit after. If I give credit towards people, you must do the same, though I may forget where I got them. That's why I placed the last paragraph in the Credits page. By the way, save the images and put them in your server. In regards of fan art, you can't use those images, unless you ask the artist first, especially if I made the art myself.

There's a chance you have material that should rightfully not be up there. Can you take it down?

Yes. Just contact me and give me the details. Once I have read them over, I will follow your request. Just don't kill me afterwards, okay? Sometimes, I overlook some statements, though I don't do that intentionally. (Again, I'm only one person that's constantly busy.) If you want, you can ask me to give you credit if you want it to stay up in my place.

I have spotted a broken link. What do I do?

Just contact me, give me every detail on the situation and I'll fix it up.

Why do you use suffixes a lot?

I do it for etiquette reasons. The only time I don't is when I give out news bits. Obviously, most of the news around the world don't use them. So, I follow suit.

Are there rules I should know of?

This list will grow. For now, here are a few rules to keep in mind.

1. If you're going to send me an e-mail regarding the site or just an e-mail for some other reason, make sure you put some sort of indication in the subject title. If you don't, most likely I'll assume the mail is spam mail. To be safe, just make sure you have a title for your subject. Don't put down a greeting for your subject such as "Hi!" or "Hey," or even "Greetings!" and while I'm at it, don't even put any of those words in your subject becuase I will think of it as junk mail by mistake. Place the subject down.

2. As for requests for series being reviewed, look for some kind of indication saying that I will accept requests and then send your e-mail.

3. No chain letters or such. I just hate that stuff.

What does the text below the banner say?

"Gomen nasai. Shu to shite eigo to roumaji desu." Sorry. Mainly in English and in Roman letters. You know how Japanese pages say a phrase like, "Sorry. This page is in Japanese only," right? The sign is a parody of that. Of course, the site is not all in English and in Roman letters, which is why I did not put down "only".

Why is it that I see you use the word "naughty" a lot and not "hentai" or "ecchi"?

Long story short, "hentai" means weird as a whole and not just limited to anime. "Ecchi" means sex, but there's no negative impact involved. There used to be a page that indicates this, but it's rebuilding. Yeah, you see "hentai" meaning pervert in dictionaries, but again, there is no negative impact involved. I used to know a site giving a good definition, but that's a distant memory now.

Do you have any plans of making a Japanese version of this place?

In a word, no. Tried it, but I'd end up wearing myself out in the end.

How come you never use the word "anime" or the word "manga"?

Want an example?

No matter what you think, "Peanuts" is an anime and manga series. So is "Ranma 1/2". "Peanuts" however is not a Japanese anime and manga series. The sentence I should be saying is "'Piinattsu' wa Amerika no anime no shiriizu to manga no shiriizu desu," or "'Peanuts' is an American animated and comic series". Get it now? I know that now these days, people say "anime" when they are referring to Japanese animated series and "manga" when they are referring to Japanese comic series, but I'm old school.

Regarding anything else

Can you give me advice on how to make a web page?

Got a while?

1. Check your site to be sure it is clean. This is the most important point to remember in my opinion. If you have to let some parts slip by, don't over do it, though I'd prefer that you keep the site clean.

2. Have a good building base. Make sure you know what you are doing. This includes finding a good provider, putting up a suitable name for your site and so forth.

3. If you have a hard time choosing between style and viewability, pick the latter. Do this if you can't seem to make some sort of balance. I try to though.

Yeah, it seems more plain than balanced. I don't want to ruin people's connections and sight. This is why I don't put up a blog, but rather a diary like a lot of Japanese sites, especially those who work in the fields of anime and manga as well as games.

4. Always give credit! I'll repeat that. Always give credit! If you are getting images from some other page, give credit if they ask you to.

Be careful when you give credit on various material though. A site like mine can't go mention every company because I cover various series, though some people mention the companies. I bow to them. That's why the entrance page has the statement, "All of the materials here are materials of their respective owners," down below. If you're doing a site on "Love Hina" for example, you better put down a statement like, "'Love Hina' is property of Akamatsu Ken-san, Xebec and such."

5. Find ways to let people come to your site. Put your e-mail address, join a group, do whatever to get visitors coming in.

6. Try not to put up too many pictures. I know it's nice to have lots of pictures. Still, try not to put up a lot, especially if you do it on one page. Not everyone has a fast connection.

7. Be consistent with your updates. If you can't do that, when you finish an update, tell the viewer when the next one will come up.

8. If you submit your page to various sites like Anipike, make sure it is done! No, I don't mean like, "I better put up summaries for all 13 episodes of 'To Heart', as well as placing the voice actors of each character, pictures of the games and other stuff!" Just have the basic parts of the page done, like the front page. (If you are not sure on whether or not your page is finished, you can ask for my approval.) Various places, especially the Anipike, probably don't want to see your page not finished because there will be a 90% chance, you won't return to finish it. If not, higher.

Also, don't say, "This site is under construction," if you submit a site. Saying this is annoying. They want to see your site done.

9. Have some creativity in yourself. No one wants to see a page that doesn't stand out. If you want to use my site as a model, go ahead. I grabbed ideas from various sites and I did build up my own as well. In fact, the task of combining ideas from great sites in the past and now was what I originally planned to do before I made this place. Well, just don't use all of my ideas here though.

10. Try not to make promises you can't keep. Chances are that you won't fulfill them. I know I made that mistake a few times, but I try not to.

11. This is frustrating for me to say, but try to have a no frame equivalent. Doing so will bring in more visitors. If you think frames will carry the load for you, think again.

Why do I say it's frustrating? In the past, I had a hard time making a no frame equivalent. Yeah, I had done it, but now, I don't use frames anymore because Japanese staff sites these days are like this.

12. Don't be such a bragger. Yes, I love being the best and yeah, I might brag when I make video game reviews, but do I enjoy bragging? No. The same should apply to you. No one likes a person who brags a lot.

13. If your page is in English, make sure your English is good enough! I don't want to see leet because if you do, I will assume that you have low self-esteem. If you're trying to make a page in English and English is a language you have difficulties with, ask me or anyone else out there that knows the language well. (Despite the fact that I correct papers well, English is one of my weaker subjects. Still, ask me if you want. I can make the page easy to read and understand.)

14. When creating a site, take breaks. Stretch out and you have to especially work on your arms as well as your hands. You can not make a page in one day. Shoot, back then, it took me longer than a week to create this site.

15. Have a lot of heart building your place. As Herbert Kelleher (one of the founders of Southwest Airlines) said, the worker, in this case, you, comes first. If you feel good about yourself, you will start a chain and that chain will make your visitors happy. Not only are the visitors happy, but you are happy as well.

16. I'm sorry I didn't think of this earlier. Think of the visitor a lot. This means, watching your music files, the format of the page and so forth.

17. Redesigning: I have bumped into various pages that do this. Do the redesigning while your original site is still up. If you don't, you'll frustrate your visitors.

18. When doing updates, you better have free time ahead of you. This will help you become more focused.

19. If you haven't done so by now, pick up lessons from sites besides mine or pick up lessons from people. Feedback also helps. Oh and get someone to check your page.

20. Having a little luck helps.

Conclusion

Are you really tired from all of that fixing? (I am asking myself this question. =P)

Hai! =P

Is your question not on the FAQ section? Go ahead and contact me.

Last update - 2006/9/19

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