AnimeWorldLand – This Week in Anime

Oh, never mind. This is a headline/investment chasing scam, and the people involved have yet to get permission from the MANY rights holders tied to the Dragon Ball IP to make this happen. While we could use this news cycle as motivation to talk about how rich people feel like they can just say stuff and it will manifest into reality nowadays, it’d be a lot more fun to talk about the wild and wonderful ways amusement parks have manifested in anime over the years!

What do you say? Want to split the cost of parking and admission and take in all these various escapes that the whole family can enjoy together???

However, the positive side of this is that members of the Saudi Arabia royal family running the PIF don’t appear to be particularly good at this joint economic pivot and promotional effort. Their headline-grabbing endeavors like these theme park initiatives seem to stall out as quickly as they’re announced, and event culture plays fizzle fast. I didn’t see a single set from the Riyadh Comedy Festival make its way onto any of my socials or algorithms, but it did generate tremendous controversy and forever tarnish (or in some cases further tarnish) the careers of participating comedians.

And I hope everyone will forgive me for flexing my Poli. Sci. degree so early in what’s supposed to be a more fun column, but this has been on my mind for a minute, and is maybe one of the most effective examples of the incompetency of the uber wealthy that we can point to today.

Also, yes, I went to Disneyland twice this summer after having lived in Los Angeles for five years, and I was acutely aware of the rose-tinted capitalism happening around me. While I did have a good time while I was there, I don’t think I’ll go back unless my friend who works in a division of Disney provides comped tickets again.

While I was initially shaky on this show and this world’s willingness to accept that a fourteen-year-old somehow murdered an entire classroom of his peers with inhuman levels of carnage and efficiency, Deadman Wonderland quickly made it clear that I was overthinking this one.

Once the eagle police officer snipers showed up, I realized I needed to turn my brain off a little bit and go with the flow. Sure, that might be a little contrary to the web of conspiracies and shifting character allegiances that the first few episodes of the anime set up, but when the anime nonsense is this good, I can’t complain.

Also, despite being just about as elevated in its execution as Deadman Wonderland, Amagi Brilliant Park is far more interested in the logistics of trying to save a failing theme park that’s secretly a home for various magical creatures. Basically, it’s a mix between Defunctland, Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, and some of the best waifu designs the mid 2000s had to offer!

And, while I know that all sounds a bit too conceptual for its own good (or at least it felt that way during my freshman year visit to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Anime Club), this is a surprisingly funny show that manages to feel pretty cohesive once your disbelief is thoroughly suspended!

Though, I’m thrilled to say that the MC’s name is seemingly the only part of this anime that’s aged poorly! The dub has a fun, “we’re still figuring out what anime sounds like” charm to it, and many of the gags still hold up! I’m especially partial to every joke where these cutesy, mascot characters behave like the often overworked and frequently horny we know theme park employees to be!

Also, Moffle taking off his shoes to reveal feet that are identical to his shoes is one of the best sight gags I think I’ve ever seen in an anime, and it deserves everyone’s attention!

The intersection between psychology and logistics involved in crowd control present in spaces like amusement parks is deeply interesting. While I’m sure much of it is trial and error, the way Disney, Six Flags, and other major venues of this nature manage to keep the often fickle and quick-to-complain masses engaged and entertained is something to behold. For folks looking to scratch a similar itch in a more expedited viewing window, I’d recommend CPG Grey’s old video analyzing the fastest ways to board a commercial airliner.

Even if I personally never got super into the work, it’s easy to see the appeal. Especially considering that actual animals were getting into this anime during its heyday, I fully see now why this anime was seemingly everywhere for a hot second.
And, of course, RIP Grape-kun.

If nothing else, I really want to highlight the localization and character designs/costuming in this work, which go WAY harder than they need to, and I can’t help but appreciate the passion that went into both parts of this work.

It’s also really nice to see such an authored and authentic take on the creative properties at play in a theme park! As anime becomes increasingly popular, we’re likely going to see more headlines about obvious cash grab activations like the ones this column opened with. However, I’d much rather see and would be far more likely to attend venues that are more interested in offering a distinct experience than trying to maximally extract money from the widest possible audience.

Though, if I’m wishcasting, my vote would be for Nintendo to finally follow through on the full scope of the promise of Super Nintendo World, and deliver experiences across their full portfolio. A sci-fi themed Metroid area would be a lot of fun, and the Splatoon IP is practically begging for live application of its gameplay!