Megatokyo
| Megatokyo | |
|---|---|
| File:Megatokyobook1cover.jpg Megatokyo volume 1, 2nd edition | |
| Author(s) | Fred Gallagher, Rodney Caston |
| Website | http://www.megatokyo.com |
| Current status/schedule | Updates Monday, Wednesday & Friday |
| Launch date | August 14 2000[1] |
| Genre(s) | Comedy/Drama/Action/Romance |
Megatokyo [メガトーキョー] is a popular webcomic originally created by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston, and is now solely written and illustrated by Gallagher. Its writing and art styles are heavily influenced by Japanese manga. The comic was started on August 14 2000.[1] Megatokyo's contents and comic strip on the website are available completely free, with the contents generally being updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Unofficial translations into other languages are available elsewhere on the web, although the French and German translations are the only ones near to being in-sync with the official version's update schedule.
Megatokyo centers around Piro, a man in his twenties who is an anime and manga fanatic; his friend Largo, a gaming enthusiast; and their adventures in a fantastical imagining of the city of Tokyo, Japan. Originally, the comic was gag-a-day-styled, with continuity, while present, taking a back seat to the daily humor. As it progressed, however, it became increasingly based around a more complex, on-going plot with many continuously-developing characters.
Megatokyo took its name from its Internet domain, which had hosted a short-lived news site of Caston's before the start of the comic. The news site in turn took its name from the city in the Bubblegum Crisis anime series. Megatokyo frequently uses "L33t speak," and some argue that the comic helped to introduce that style to a more mainstream audience.[2]
Plot
Megatokyo follows the story of two Americans, Piro and Largo, who are stuck in Tokyo and are unable to get home. The two protagonists are based on Megatokyo's two creators (or their online personas), but are fictional characters with lives of their own. Piro, as an otaku, is a shy and somewhat under-confident person who cherishes Japanese pop culture including manga, anime and dating sim games. Largo, the more extroverted of the pair, is obsessed with computers and gaming; somewhat unable to distinguish between the fictional and the real world, he sees elements from his games in everything around him like a modern day Don Quixote.
The two arrive in Tokyo after an incident at the E³ gaming exposition and find themselves with no money to buy plane tickets home. After living for awhile in the apartment of a Japanese friend of Piro's, they are eventually forced to make an independent living in Japan. Piro finds work at a store called "Megagamers" that specializes in selling anime, manga and video games, while Largo takes on somewhat irregular jobs with the "Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division" and as an English teacher at a local high school (teaching his students about l337, games and hacking). Piro and Largo grow as individuals as the series progresses, becoming deeper and more serious characters than the stereotypes they represented at first, and begin shaky relationships with women in their lives.
Megatokyo's pace and style indirectly correspond to the history of the comic itself. Much of the early humor consists of video game culture jokes, as well as culture-clash issues. During this early phase, the story moved along at a haphazard pace and was often interrupted by pure gag episodes and "dead piro" days. This has changed somewhat, however, with the greatest changes occurring after Gallagher completely took over Megatokyo - most prominently: slower pacing, increased detail of character personalities and a larger focus on romances between characters.
The comic features aspects from a number of different anime and manga archetypes, usually making light of the genres' various clichés: Junpei, a ninja who takes on Largo as his "l33t master"; giant saurians (such as "Rent-A-Zilla") roaming the streets; the "Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division," which fights the monsters with giant robots and oversees the orderly and periodic destruction and reconstruction of predesignated areas of the city; Ping, a cute robot girl who becomes friends with Piro; and a school girl, Sonoda Yuki, who possibly is in love with Piro and has started taking art lessons from him. Dom and Ed (real-life friends of Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston), hitman-like employees of Sega and Sony, respectively, play characters associated with the Japanese stereotype that all Americans are armed to the teeth. Hayasaka Erika is a former idol, singer and voice actress (currently employed alongside Piro at "Megagamers"), while her shy, soft-spoken roommate, Nanasawa Kimiko, is aspiring to the same career (although she is currently employed at an Anna Miller's restaurant). Seraphim and Boo, Piro's and Largo's "conscience enforcement agents," respectively, try to help their "clients" make the morally correct decisions, while Asmsodeus, Piro's "anti-conscience," attempts to undo their help. One of the more mysterious characters is Tohya Miho; she befriends Ping and seems to enjoy psychologically toying with others.
Usually, characters in Megatokyo speak Japanese, although some speak English or l33t (subtitled). Under most circumstances, when a character is speaking in Japanese, it is signified by surrounding the English text with angle brackets. Not every character speaks every language, so occasionally characters are unable to understand one another; in several scenes, a character's speech is written entirely in rōmaji Japanese to emphasize this. Largo, for instance, speaks no Japanese at all, and thus cannot converse with some of the characters without the help of an interpreter.
Megatokyo is divided into chapters, each consisting of approximately 100 pages. Chapter 0, which subsumes all of the comic's early experimental phase, covers a comic time span of about six weeks. Each of the subsequent chapters chronicles the events of a single day. The seventh chapter, Known Bugs and Security Flaws (#743), started August 2005. Template:Endspoiler
Chapters
- Ch 0 - "Relax, we understand j00"; 1 - 129
- Ch 1 - "Do you want to save before you quit?"; 134 - 192
- Ch 2 - "things change little by little.."; 196 - 301
- Ch 3 - "Am I Your Number One Fan?"; 307 - 397
- Ch 4 - "Low Ping Rate"; 402 - 514
- Ch 5 - "Color Depth"; 526 - 633
- Ch 6 - "Operational Insecurity"; 639 - 729
- Ch 7 - "Known Bugs & Security Flaws"; 743 - Current
The numeric gaps between the ending of a chapter and the beginning of the next one indicate the presence of omake manga or other strips unrelated to the plot. Chapter 0 was not given a title in the web version but the book version retroactively gave it the above title.
Main characters
Piro
Piro is the protagonist, and an author surrogate of Gallagher[citation needed]. He appears at first glance to be a fairly typical, dorky American, a manga and anime (especially shōjo, spelled shoujo in Megatokyo) fan who can speak fluent Japanese (and some L33t) and is frequently depressed or morose[citation needed]. He is also a fairly talented artist who refuses to believe in his own skill - an exaggerated parallel of Gallagher himself[citation needed].
Piro seems to have extreme difficulty reading women[citation needed], possibly due to his feelings of insecurity and his impression of girls garnered from playing dating simulations, and as such does not realize the feelings Kimiko has for him[citation needed]. Early in the comic, he usually read shōjo manga, to try to work out the "correct" way to deal with women and life in general[citation needed]. However, this philosophy is starting to change, as he is spending more time with Kimiko and other women, and listening more to the advice of Seraphim, his "conscience enforcement agent" and general friend[citation needed].
The name "Piro" comes from Sawatari Makoto's cat in the Japanese ren'ai game Kanon, a favorite of Megatokyo's artist, Fred Gallagher[citation needed].
Largo
Largo is the comic's secondary protagonist, and the comic version of co-creator (and former co-writer) Rodney Caston. He is an American computer game fan who usually acts before (or instead of) thinking. He is technically gifted, though he uses beer as a CPU coolant; and cannot pass up the opportunity to tamper with anything even remotely technological in nature, usually working on computer hardware in the nude, as an extreme measure to avoid static discharge.
He speaks fluent L33t, but no Japanese, relying on Piro and other bilingual characters to translate. Early on in the comic, he somehow manages to get exployed as an English teacher at Shiritsu Daitou High School, becoming "Great Teacher Largo" (a reference to the anime and manga GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka).
In addition, he is obsessed with beer ("b33r," as he calls it), and, fortunately for him, seems to have a superhuman tolerance for alcohol. He also seems to have a remarkable healing ability (or be subject to a form of cartoon physics), as he has suffered at least two broken arms since arriving in Tokyo, with neither causing much ill effect. There is some confusion on this matter in that some fans believed that it only took a few days for them to heal, due to them missing a box in one of the strips stating that it took six weeks.
Largo's opinion on women is divided. At times, he sees women as fair game, while at other times as evil beings (which he thinks Piro has a weakness to). In spite of this, he has developed a relationship of sorts with Hayasaka Erika. Largo is energetic and lively; he's a fire to Erika's water. Most importantly, he cares about Erika as a person; despite noticing her physical attributes, he shows a surprisingly deep and friendly side. This may lead him to being one of the few people in Tokyo capable of connecting with Erika below her hard shell.
The name "Largo" comes from Caston's online nickname, just as Gallagher is Piro.
Hayasaka Erika
Hayasaka Erika (早坂 えりか) is Kimiko's roommate. She is a powerfully popular former Japanese idol (singer) and seiyū (voice actress). Though she has been out of the direct spotlight for three years, she still has a considerable fanbase; a mere sighting of her caused riots from fans.
Erika is very strong-willed, confident, cynical, and hates being protected by others. She was once engaged to a man named Hitoshi [3], who, at the height of her career, claimed to believe that he was holding her back, and broke off their engagement. Erika was deeply hurt, and that event, combined with exposure to swarms of fanboys and possibly her periodic work as a "booth-babe" at cons, has caused her to adopt a rather negative outlook on men, herself, and people in general.
She speaks Japanese and fluent English (and seems to understand L33t). Recently, she has developed a relationship of sorts with Largo.
Nanasawa Kimiko
Nanasawa Kimiko (七澤 希美子), Erika's roommate, is a Japanese girl who works as a waitress at an Anna Miller's restaurant. She is an aspiring seiyū who often finds herself too shy or insecure to take on roles.
Kimiko is a kind, soft-spoken person in general, though she has a slightly impulsive nature. Her personality is somewhat similar to Piro's in that she has very little self-confidence and becomes extremely upset and flustered when she injures others, be it physically or emotionally. At the same time, she is prone to mood-swings, quite often causing herself embarrassment by saying things she doesn't mean.
Kimiko lands the role of Kotone in the game "Sight," and is earning herself an army of followers to rival even Erika's due to her rant on "Mumu-chan's Voicevoice Paradise," a radio talk show, where she came to the defense of fanboys after being angered by Mumu's deriding comments about them. She has mixed feelings about being an idol.
She has developed strong feelings for Piro, although she is too shy to admit them. She speaks only Japanese, and doesn't seem to understand that Largo only speaks English.
Tohya Miho
Tohya Miho is an enigmatic and manipulative young goth girl. She is highly intelligent, and adept at both arcade and role-playing games.
Miho speaks English and Japanese fluently, and has no problem understanding L33t. She is drawn to resemble a gosurori (a Japanese synthesis of Goth and subculture), and is often described as "darkly cute;" Gallagher has described her as a "perky goth" in the past, though most would hardly describe Miho as being in any way "perky."
Not much is known about Miho's past. It has been hinted that there is a problem with her health and that she was once in severe danger, but no details have been revealed as of yet. It is also known she has had some kind of background story involving Erika's fans. She had some history with Piro and Largo before meeting them in Japan, in the form of a massively multi-player online role-playing game called Endgames. In the game, she was a tall, handsome man (dubbed Niho by Megatokyo forumgoers) with the same ribboned hairstyle she has in the real world. Piro defeated her, while she was abusing a secret "personality" statistic in order to manipulate large amounts of player characters, presumably by turning the system against her. This event seems to be Miho's motivation for becoming closer to Piro and Largo, but her ultimate intentions are unknown.
Miho is a frequent subject of speculation and debate, both in the comic itself and on Megatokyo's forums. The two most common competing perspectives on Miho's nature is between readers who believe her to be a supernatural evil, and readers who take the view that she is a mundane evil (or simply misunderstood). The latter position is in the majority among forum regulars, but the former also has vocal proponents—its most vocal being in-comic character Largo, who believes that Miho is undead, and in command of an army of zombies. Another common Miho-related debate is centered around the nature of her relationship with the android, Ping. Ping believes her to be a friend, although when Miho was hospitalized she revealed she was merely using Ping, possibly to influence Piro somehow or to further her own ends. Debates over Miho and Ping's relationship can become very heated, as many fans are keen on defending both characters from any negative statements. Template:Endspoiler Template:Megatokyo
History
Megatokyo was started as a joint project of Fred Gallagher and his friend (and later, business partner) Rodney Caston, with Caston writing the scripts and Gallagher supplying the artwork. Caston sold off his ownership of the company in May 2002. Since then, the comic has been managed entirely by Fred Gallagher. In October 2002, Gallagher was laid off from his day job as an architect, and he has since taken the comic as a full time job.
Rodney Caston's departure from Megatokyo was not fully explained at the time. Initially, Gallagher and Caston only briefly mentioned the split, with the news of it publicly announced when Gallagher posted a news post officially announcing Caston's departure.[4] On January 15 2005, Gallagher explained his version of the reasons for the split in response to what he felt was a "mean spirited" comment by Scott Kurtz of PvP, where Kurtz implied that Gallagher had stolen Megatokyo from Caston:
"While things were good at first, over time we found that we were not working well together creatively. There is no fault in this, it happens. I've never blamed Rodney for this creative 'falling out' nor do I blame myself. Not all creative relationships click, ours didn't in the long run."[5]
Four days later, Caston posted his version of the event on his website:
"After this he approached me and said either I would sell him my ownership of MegaTokyo or he would simply stop doing it entirely, and we'd divide up the company's assets and end it all. This was right before the MT was to go into print form, and I really wanted to see it make it into print, rather then [sic] die on the vine."[6]
Changes
Originally, Megatokyo was laid out in four square panels per strip, in a two-by-two square array as a compromise between the horizontal layout of American comic strips and the vertical layout of Japanese comic strips. The limitations of this format soon became apparent, and the comic switched to a manga-style, free-form panel layout, which allows for both large, detailed drawings and small, abstract progressions as the needs of the script require. This change happened in the spring of 2001, during Chapter 0 and the first year of Megatokyo's publication.[7]
Funding
An online store called "Megagear" sells art supplies and Megatokyo merchandise. Megagear was created by Fred Gallagher and his wife as an independent online store to be used only by Megatokyo, although it now also offers Applegeeks and Underpower merchandise. Megagear launched officially on August 1 2004,[8] replacing a Megatokyo store that had formerly been part of thinkgeek.com. This online store, in addition to banner advertisements and sales of Megatokyo books, provides a source of income for Megatokyo's author. As of September 2 2005, Megagear has offered hemp clothing as an environmentally-friendly alternative.
Books
|
Megatokyo Volume 2 | Megatokyo Volume 3 | Megatokyo Volume 4 |
| Covers of Megatokyo books 1 (1st edition), 2, 3 and 4. | |||
Megatokyo comics are now published by DC Comics under their CMX Manga imprint.[9] Currently, volumes 1-3 are available through Dark Horse Comics. As of February 9 2006, three volumes are available for purchase. In January of 2003, Studio Ironcat published Megatokyo Volume One: Chapter Zero - a book compilation of strips which are now included in the Dark Horse Comics edition of Volume One. Gallagher and Ironcat were unable to come to an agreement on further volumes, and so Dark Horse Comics was the publisher of choice for Megatokyo volumes 1-3. The Megatokyo books have also been translated into German, Italian, and Polish.
- Megatokyo Volume 1: Chapter Zero (Megatokyo vol.1 1st ed.); ISBN 1929090307
- Megatokyo Volume 1, 2nd ed.; March 21 2004 ISBN 1-59307-163-9[10]
- Megatokyo Volume 2; January 22 2004 ISBN 1-59307-118-3[11]
- Megatokyo Volume 3; February 2 2005 ISBN 1-59307-305-4[12]
- Megatokyo Volume 4; June 21 2006 ISBN 1401211267[13]
Sales
As of July 2004, Megatokyo is the tenth best-selling manga property in the U.S.[14] Volume 3's highest ranking in bookscan is 3 ending February 20 2005.[15] This makes it the best selling Original English Language manga.
Reception
Megatokyo has been subject to much analysis from webcomic fans. Some critics dislike its slow pace and apparent lack of clear direction or resolution for the many plot threads that run through the Megatokyo story.[16] This perception is exacerbated by the often-erratic update schedule; in order to prevent the front-page content from appearing too stagnant, Gallagher has occasionally resorted to "filler-art days" and strips by other authors and artists that contain no continuity with any storylines - including the infamous "Shirt Guy Dom" stick-figure strips. Complaints about the speed of updates have even prompted Gallagher to install an update progress bar for readers waiting for the next installment.
As a story-oriented comic, Megatokyo has a large supporting cast, as well as several storylines at any given point in time. However, there are no on-site aids for the uninitiated, confused, or forgetful; the Megatokyo website has had story and cast pages which have been "under construction" for several years. A number of fans have created their own resource sites, such as Wikitokyo, including plot guides and character pages, indicating a need for such resources.
In addition, much of Megatokyo's humor and appeal require several different types of knowledge to be understood, and thus the comic can be hard to approach by those unaquainted with such things. However, an article in The New York Times noted that, although Gallagher and Caston did not want Megatokyo to rely on obscure knowledge, it couldn't be helped:
"Their work sits at the intersection of several streams of obscure knowledge: gaming and hacking; manga, from which Gallagher lovingly and virtuosically cribs the black-and-white manga style (large, dewy eyes, long soap-operatic story lines that entwine science fiction and teenage romance, and hairstyles of unlikely heft and spikiness); the boom in Web comics over the past few years; and comics themselves."[17]
Professionally, Gallagher is now working full time on Megatokyo. He was one of the first webcomic artists to have the ability to profit from his hobby, but with this change the customary complaint about the speed of updates was renewed. With Gallagher's full-time status, there is criticism that updates should be more frequent than when Gallagher was only working on the comic part-time[citation needed].
Artistically, Megatokyo is often praised for its intricate pencil work (done entirely in grayscale, without either digital or physical "inking"), and inspired character design.[18] Gallagher has been criticized for an uniformity of appearance and simple design of his characters, particularly with his female faces, which some say are identical, with hairstyle and attire as the only distinguishing features.[19] Conversely, it is noted that Gallagher takes great care in costuming choices, hair and other design elements. [citation needed]
Originally, the strip was known for a frenetic sense of humor, with a greater emphasis on slapstick, video game humor and gag-a-day format. In the years after Rodney Caston left, Megatokyo has evolved into a very different kind of webcomic, focusing less on the types of humor that defined it in the beginning, and more on the romantic relationships between characters - which, some argue, means that Megatokyo has become simply another traditional bishoujo series, in turn leading to a section of former fans feeling that Megatokyo was better when Caston was writing it.[19] Additionally, without Caston's input, it has been said by some that Caston's alter ego Largo's violent gamer antics appear forced and seem to be just an afterthought on Gallagher's part.[16]
Arguably, buffering some complaints is the sense of humility Gallagher typically gives off. As Tycho of Penny Arcade notes, "We've gotten on famously ever since I figured out that he legitimately detests himself and is not hoisting some kind of glamour."[20]
References
- ^ a b "Start of Megatokyo (strip #1)". Retrieved September 3.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Documentation of Megatokyo's involvement in speading "leet" to a more mainstream audience". Retrieved May 19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Megatokyo Strip 627". Retrieved 2006-05-19.
- ^ "Fred Gallagher's news post announcing Caston's departure". Retrieved May 19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Fred Gallagher's view of Rodney Caston's departure". Retrieved August 26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Rodney Caston's version of his departure". Retrieved August 26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Fred Gallagher details the change of panel lay-out". Retrieved May 9.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Strip 589 "Fred "Piro" Gallagher comments about Megagear's launch status". Retrieved August 5.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Megatokyo changes publishers to DC Comics / CMX Manga". Retrieved February 26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Darkhorse's product details on Volume One". Retrieved September 1.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Darkhorse's product details on Volume Two". Retrieved September 1.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Darkhorse's product details on Volume Three". Retrieved September 1.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "CMX Manga's product details on Volume 4". Retrieved April 9.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "ICv2 Looks at Manga Channel Shift". Retrieved April 14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Megatokyo Reaches Number 3". Retrieved April 14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "You Had Me, And You Lost Me: Why I don't read Megatokyo - Criticism of Megatokyo". Retrieved August 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Hodgman, John (July 18, 2004). "CHRONICLE COMICS; No More Wascally Wabbits". The New York Times. Retrieved April 11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "Megatokyo Volume 1 Special Review". Anime News Network. February 8, 2003.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b "The Comic Book Guy.com on Megatokyo". Retrieved april 11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Doujinshi Code". Penny Arcade. Retrieved april 11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
See also
External links
| Fan translations |
|---|
- The Megatokyo website
- RSS http://www.megatokyo.com/rss/megatokyo.xml Megatokyo news
- The Megatokyo Forums
- Dark Horse Comics, previous book publisher of Megatokyo.
- DC Comics imprint, CMX Manga, current book publisher of Megatokyo.
- Fredart, other art by Fred Gallagher.
- Rcaston.com, blog of Rodney Caston.
- Megatokyo article at Comixpedia, a webcomic wiki
- Megatokyo discussion on Webcomicsreview.com
Fan sites
- Wikitokyo, a wiki dedicated to information about Megatokyo
- Reader's Guide to MegaTokyo, lots of information on Megatokyo plot and characters