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Megatokyo

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A strip depicting Piro, Largo, Sonoda and Nanasawa, published on October 8, 2004.

Megatokyo is a popular webcomic created by Fred "Piro" Gallagher and Rodney "Largo" Caston. Initially written by Caston and drawn in the manga style by Gallagher, Caston later left the comic; today Gallagher both writes and draws the strip. Started on August 14, 2000, Megatokyo took its name from its domain which Caston already owned.

One of the most well-known features of Megatokyo is the frequent use of "L33t speak", and some argue that the comic helped to revitalize l33t speak.

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Megatokyo follows the story of two Americans, Piro and Largo, who are stuck in Tokyo, Japan after an incident at the E³ gaming exposition. The pair find themselves stranded without any money, leaving them with no way to buy tickets home.

The two protagonists are based on Megatokyo's two creators (or their online personae), but they are fictional characters with lives of their own. Many of the male characters are based on Gallagher and Caston's friends, but with the exception of Seraphim who is based on Gallagher's significant other, the female cast members are not based on real life.

Much of the comic's early humour consists of video game humor and inside jokes, as well as culture-clash issues—a testament to Caston's writing. The story has changed over time with the greatest changes coming after Gallagher completely took over Megatokyo and now features aspects from a number of different anime and manga archetypes: as Largo fights off the threats from zombie hordes with his Beowulf cluster, the angelic Boo (a hamster of Baldur's Gate fame) desperately tries to set him on the straight and narrow; while Piro's life has grown similar to a dating sim game, with Seraphim dispensing unasked for advice on his love life or lack thereof.

All strips are available free of charge from megatokyo.com or can be purchased in book form, which is published by Dark Horse Comics. Currently, as of this writing, three volumes are available for purchase. (At one point I.C. Entertainment (formerly IronCat) published a book compilation of strips that are now included in Volume One. Megatokyo and I.C. were unable to come to an agreement on further volumes. Hence, Dark Horse Comics is now the publisher of choice for Megatokyo.)

Criticism and Praise

Megatokyo has been subject to substantial—some claim unwarranted—criticism and praise. Some of this criticism no doubt stems from Megatokyo's lasting popularity, but there has been much legitimate critical discourse as well. Some critics dislike Megatokyo's layout design, which has changed over the years from a traditional American four panel comic strip to a manga-influenced multi-paneled page. Critics also dislike its storytelling style, slow pace, large supporting cast (with no on-site aids for the uninitiated or confused leading fans to resort to creating their own resource sites) and no clear direction or resolution for the multiple plot threads. This perception is exasperated by the often erratic schedule of updates and filler art days the strip has featured in the past, making the slow pace seem even slower. The complaints about the speed of updates has even prompted Gallagher to install an update progress bar for readers waiting for the next installment.

Megatokyo's supporters feel the new focus on storytelling and slow pace constitute an artistic vision on Fred Gallagher's part, citing source material that include anime, manga, and the various Japanese dating sims that Gallagher emulates and ocasionally satirize. Furthermore, while Megatokyo's layout has changed from the four-panel form to a manga-influenced layout, that seems to have been a natural artistic evolution in Gallagher's style—and if it has been criticized by some, it has been embraced by many others. However, just as there are fans of Gallagher's art, there are detractors who also complain that his art style has not evolved nearly as much as other webcomics. This also leads to accusations of laziness on Gallagher's part based on the perceived lack of artistic evolution and exposition on the multiple storylines.

Professionally, Gallagher is now working full-time on Megatokyo. He was one of the first webcomic artists to make a business out it but with this change more criticism has arisen. One, being the customary accusation of selling out as well as two, the customary complaint about the speed of updates. With Gallagher's full-time status, the criticism is that updates should be more frequent than when Gallagher was only part-time. This criticism was one of several that Eric Burns of Websnark made about Megatokyo in his webcomic essay, 'You Had Me And You Lost Me,' an essay that focuses on webcomics that he used to read but stopped reading. Three webcomics are featured in this essay, of which Megatokyo numbers one. Time will only tell if this criticism is valid or not.

Artistically, Megatokyo is often lauded for its intricate pencilwork (done entirely in grayscale, without either digital or physical 'inking,' although occasionally, colored art is displayed) and inspired, almost ethereal character design. Gallagher has been criticized for an uniformity of appearance in his characters, particularly with his female characters' faces, which some say are identical with hairstyle and attire as the only distinguishing features. Conversely, it is noted that Gallagher takes great care in costuming choices, hair and other design elements and that Gallagher's fans approve of his "big eyes, small mouth" style of art.

Many critics argue that Megatokyo was better when Rodney Caston wrote it. 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 since Caston has left, Megatokyo has evolved into a far more manga-influenced webcomic, focusing less on the humor that defined it in the beginning. Critics of Megatokyo often attack the post-Caston work as not being funny anymore. The post-Caston storylines focuses heavily on Piro, Gallagher's alter ego in the comic, which leads some to believe the story is an extended projection of Gallagher's own fantasies—or a form of Mary Sueism. Additionally, without Caston's input, it has been said that Caston's alter ego Largo's antics are not the same as before with some former fans feeling that Largo's violent gamer antics seem forced and seem to be just an afterthought on Gallagher's part.

Complicating the issue are suggestions that Piro is or could be in questionable relationships with underage Japanese school girls. This latter criticism is interrelated with the common complaint that under Gallagher's direction, "Megatokyo" is morphing into the manga and dating sim games that Gallagher himself is so interested in. His fans defend the contention of potential pedophilia by asking for it to be considered in the context of the same manga and dating sims that the storyline emulates. However, critics note that even in Japan which is where Gallagher's primary source materials originates from, it is still illegal for minors to be portrayed in a sexual manner. Although such works usually circumvent said law by claiming that despite appearances of youth, all characters are of age, one or more of Piro's potential love interests are underage and without such a disclaimer.

Finally, some critics complain that the fictional Japan in Megatokyo does not resemble real-life Japan, as Gallagher himself has spent only a few weeks actually living there. Supporters counter that Megatokyo is meant to recreate the worlds of anime and manga, not to provide perfectly realistic depictions. Allegations of unrealistic plot points include the practical reality of Americans being stranded in Tokyo as well as the accuracy of the characterization of various Megatokyo cast members of Japanese nationality. Megatokyo's critics have suggested that Gallagher's use of kanji for Japanese cast members suggest an attempt for some pseudo-realism, raising the question of a double standard in portraying a fictional Japan without much factual basis versus attempted mimicry of the culture.

The Departure Of Rodney Caston

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 anounced when Gallagher posted a news post officially announcing Caston's departure. On January 15, 2005, Fred 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.

Four days later, Rodney posted his version of the event on his website Rcaston.com:

Fred continued with his story lines and wanted to do most of the writing, Fred began to control more of MegaTokyo's direction, stories, and characters. Obviously some decisions were made that I was not happy about, this is natural given our different styles of writing and creation.

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.

Rodney Caston goes on in his post to give credit to Tycho of Penny Arcade and Scott Kurtz of PvP for linking to and promoting MegaTokyo early on and claims that without their efforts, MegaTokyo would not exist today. He also states that he feels a sense of pride when he sees a copy of "Megatokyo" in a bookstore with his name credited on it.

Characters

In Megatokyo, Japanese names are written in Japanese order, with the family name before the given name. The first feature of Megatokyo (a "DPD") which revealed a character's full name had that character's name written in Western order. However, the first time a full Japanese name was mentioned in the actual comic, it was written with Japanese order. A more descriptive list of characters and character details can be found at Megatokyo characters.

  • Piro: Megatokyo's main protagonist, based upon the artist himself, Fred Gallagher. Piro is a shy, geeky twentysomething convinced of his own inferiority despite his artistic talent.
  • Largo: Megatokyo's second protagonist, based upon the former author Rodney Caston. Largo is a heavy drinker who can't tell the difference between the games he plays and the real world.
  • Hayasaka Erika (早坂 えりか Hayasaka Erika): Japanese girl, Kimiko's roommate. Tall, beautiful, and occasionally dangerous to impertinent fanboys, Erika is a former idol who has attempted to fade into quiet obscurity.
  • Nanasawa Kimiko (七澤 美子 Nanasawa Kimiko): Japanese girl, Erika's roommate. Kimiko is a budding seiyuu (voice actress) who recently got her first big part.
  • Ping: Prototype PS2 accessory android. Ping is designed to be the perfect girlfriend—when she isn't rampaging through downtown Tokyo with a telephone pole.
  • Sonoda Yuki: Typical Japanese middle school girl. Yuki is infatuated with Piro, but denies it to her friends and family.
  • Tohya Miho: Japanese high school girl. Miho is a mysterious goth gamer who seems to enjoy manipulating people, both in-game and out.
  • Seraphim: A miniature angel, the personification of Piro's good conscience; based upon Gallagher's wife, Sarah.
  • Boo: A miniature giant space hamster, the personification of Largo's conscience; originally from the game Baldur's Gate.
  • Asmodeus: A miniature devil, the personification of Piro's bad conscience; based upon Ken'ichi Hashimoto, who worked on a Japanese translation of Megatokyo.
  • Ed: A character based on the author's real life associate, Edmund Balan. Ed is a Sony operative sent to destroy Ping before rival game companies capture her; unfortunately, he tends to hurt himself more than her.
  • Dom: A character based on Dominic Nguyen, Wired Magazine employee and friend to the author. Dom is a Sega operative sent to capture Ping—though events in later strips suggest that may not be his only goal.
  • Junpei: Resident ninja; calls Largo his "L33t Master" and is trying to learn the way of the l33t.

Forums

A message board system called the Megatokyo Forums accompanies the Megatokyo website to facilitate discussions among the site's fan community. Aside from discussion of the comic itself, the topics cover other areas of interest to the community, in particular art, computer gaming, and technology. Launched on September 29, 2000 in their present incarnation, the forums are remarkably active, with almost 40,000 registered members. Several Internet Relay Chat channels also exist for the Megatokyo forums.

The following is an overview of the individual forums.

  • Megatokyo Central: A forum for general discussion of miscellaneous topics. A certain randomness (often frowned upon by moderators) prevails here that can be disconcerting to new forum members (and veterans alike).
  • Story Discussions: This forum is dedicated to discussion of the Megatokyo comic's plot and characters. The author begins a thread here for each new comic that is posted.
  • The Music Forum: All things pertaining to music and musicians belong here. This includes critiques of new songs as well as requests for help from aspiring music artists.
  • Party System: A forum for threads pertaining to sociology and politics. This forum requires membership to view.
  • Art and Drawing: This forum exists for all artists to post their work as well as view and critique others' work and exchange tips.
  • Creative Writing: A forum for creative work in written form. Any type of writing is welcome here, although poems are the most frequently posted.
  • Gamer's Central: This forum is for all things gaming, from the video games themselves to all manner of consoles as well as computer games and collectible card games.
  • Tech Talk: Technological help is asked for and received in this forum. New developments in computers and operating systems are also discussed here.
  • Role Playing Games: This forum includes discussions of traditional tabletop role-playing games as well as threads where posters can participate in scenarios and games.
  • Hard Questions Room: Along with Party System, this forum was created to provide an alternative to Central for serious topics. This forum requires membership to view.
  • Anime, Manga, and Cosplay: This forum is dedicated to discussion of anime, manga, and cosplay.
  • Dating Sims and Visual Novels: This forum is dedicated to Japanese dating sims, visual novels and Bishojo games in general.
  • No Save Points: This is a forum which is more dedicated toward the real life experiences of the various posters and community participants.
  • Ask Shoujo Manga: Nearly identical predecessor to the No Save Points forum. See Shojo for further information regarding the naming. This forum no longer exists on the boards.

See also

Translations

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