Huh?

[greatbear]

I guess I will never 'get' anime. It seems more popular than ever, but I just cant figure out what the draw is. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Comments

[thekingoftoday.livejournal.com]

I don't get into anime that much. I like some of the movies but I think the t.v. shows are retarded.

[naylandblake.livejournal.com]

Why do you feel you need to get it?

Anime is really just the term for Japanese animation - and like any other entertainment there are some parctitioners of it that I enjoy and some that I don't. But of course your mileage will differ. The age range targeted by theseshows could be anything from 4 to 24. Don't feel like you have to get all of it.

[mr-wes.livejournal.com]

LIK3 OMG! I <3 ANIM3!!!!!!11!
IT R0X0R$! SQU3AL!!!!1!

*cackle*
Sorry, couldn't resist. I hate anime with a purple passion. My friends love it but I just don't get it.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

needs moar tenticle rape :drool:

[poohnnova.livejournal.com]

Well like anything else, Anime is a term used to generalize sooo many types...

I for one like the "girly" types... Shoujo is the name of the style I like. this would include anime like: Revolutionary Girl Utena, X, Ah My Goddess, and Record of the Lodoss War.

I have found I LOATHE "Hentai" anime... This means "PERVERT" in Japanese... think Tentacle Beasties... Sex... Sex... Sex.. ODD perverted sex... and more sex.

I can take some or leave "Mecha".. think huge robots, get it... mechanical..all depends on what it's about... Some is good.. some is just SHOOT SHOOT BOOM BOOM... not my style.

So, you need some good anime... I think I have a VHS laying around which a friend made me a few years back. It has a few episodes from most of the old school anime types. You don't like one, you fast forward to the next. But you can get a fill for the type.

And yes... Pokemon was orignially a Japanese Anime... different than what we see though... a lot of the dubbing changes the meanings completely.

For a true shock, try to find an original editions of Sailor Moon... when she flys up and becomes Sailor moon, she's nude... completely. and you can see it... they took that out in teh American versions :)

I would really really recommend about anything by Miyazaki... A true GENIOUS... Some of his more recent: Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, and my FAVORITE: "Naussica, Valley of the Wind"

Hope that helps convince you to try other types!!

try...

[disccub.livejournal.com]

Spirited Away (as you recommended) which blows away anything Disney and Tokyo Godfathers.

I guess some of the appeal stems from those really bad facial expressions and bad dubbing from Speed Racer.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

*blink*

Except for the subgenres and a couple familiar names, you might as well have been speaking to me in Japanese! lol

See, someone like you would know what the good stuff would be. I wont find it on television or discussed in an internet forum like Genmay. In those all one finds is Pokemon and Yu Gi Oh separate-the-kid's-money-from-them tripe to the tenticle rape snuff-sex hentai shit. Egads.

[vernnyc.livejournal.com]

Some fun things in the Japanese version of Sailor Moon is that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are girlfriends. And there are some gender changing sailor scouts who wear leather outfits ... woo hoo. To say nothing of a gay crush an alien has on Sailor Moon's main squeeze Mamoru!

I also love Miyazaki, and of course everyone has to see Akira... visually stunning even if the (translated) story is a bit weak at the end.

Oh, and Magic User's Club has a fun love pentangle :-)

[sabin.livejournal.com]

Actually...
If you want a TRUE shock value.
Watch Ranma 1/2, original editions.

I can laugh my ass off to it. only because I accept that it's completely just off the wall.

For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[aadroma.livejournal.com]

The initial draw to me was that you had a much deeper story with a higher care in its presentation.

Cartoons are normally geared towards children, and unfortunately this means that any kind of animated medium a) has shoddy production values, and b) will seldomly ever be as stimulating as a live show. Now, there are, of course, exceptions to the rule (some Disney cartoons have been gorgeous to look at, The Simpsons in its heyday was some damned good satire that WAS NOT kiddie fare), but in general American animation was not something to spend a lot of money on, and not something for an engrossing story with deep characters.

The anime I was introduced to was completely different than what I'd seen. You had complex characters, mindfuck stories, and some beautiful animation. Several of the science-fiction shows, in particular, were engaging and deep. The look was unique and a breath of fresh air to what I'd been exposed to, which reeked of cutting corners.

Nowadays, unfortunately, there seems to be less of a focus on production values, and I don't feel that a lot of what's produced today is as strong as it once was. Also the genre has become cliché when it comes to exposure in the US, so EVERYTHING has to be a corny giant robot cartoon, super-deformed nonsense, or women with unrealistically large boobs getting attacked by tentacles. The look has also been standardized, it seems, and that look is increasingly going stale ...

Re: For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[disccub.livejournal.com]

But, cartoons were not originally geared exclusively toward children. If you view the old Warner Brothers cartoons, there were more adult references. They were also shown before movies for adults (as opposed to adult movies).

Cartoons that tend to have the longest staying power are those that appeal to children and adults - Old Warner Brothers, some Disney, Simpsons, etc.

Re: For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[aadroma.livejournal.com]

I'll agree, they weren't originally FOR children; that's what makes a number of these old toons so great, and why new versions were such a pale imitation. They instantly became sillier and talked down to their audience (children). Anything that made the original endearing was hence lost, and unfortunately that is what was duplicated when HB started making cartoons.

A general appeal is good, so long as it doesn't require reins to be put on the storytellers, or for narration to be pitched out the window altogether.

Re: For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that there was a bit of a rennaissance in the mixed (kids/adult) style of US cartoons driven by the Simpsons. Tiny Toons and Animaniacs played homage to their predecessors quite well, and sophisticated silliness like The Family Guy, Futurama, South Park and the like became quite popular with adults and will have lots of staying power. It even seems that 'mainstream' cartoons have in recent years sprung up with 'hidden' themes and messages for the adults who inevitably stuck around their kids while they watch the tube. I mean, what kid nowadays would appreciate an episode of the Powerpuff Girls where the entire dialog consited of snippets of Beatle lyrics? Gone seem to be the horrid days of tripe like 'My Little Pony'.

Re: For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I guess I have not yet been exposed to the gems of the genre.

I guess I am bombarded by Pokemon-type nonsense, and other things geared towards children, as well as hentai strangeness that seems to be popular with hormone-charged internet-bound teenagers. What is with the tenticle rape stuff? Yeesh.

What I seem to notice is that the backgrounds are usually very lush and detailed, while the characters end up being misproportionate (for human forms) and the animation robot-like. And the thing with the mouths. lol

I guess it would take someone who knows the good stuff to show me the best of what the genre has to offer.

Re: For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[chastmastr.livejournal.com]

*waves frantically, as if hinting that he is local and HAS much of the good stuff, or at least stuff he likes and recommends* ;)

*hint*

*hint*

*hint*

I'm this screen name at yahoo dot com if you'd like to e-mail me...

Re: For someone who appreciated (appreciated?) it ...

[chastmastr.livejournal.com]

Oh, great things are out there, they're just not going to run in most easy-to-find venues, and they're mainly going to be fansubs right now -- Jungle Hale Guu (or some such name) is hysterical, for example, and my cub and I also enjoy Loki Ragnarok Detective, Haibane Renmei, Snow Fairy Sugar, and many, many more. But again, these aren't going to show up on most US venues. Most of what the average person knows about is, alas, horrible and crappy, and watered down to boot! But JAPAN is making great stuff, still. :)

Still, no kuma yaoi series. YET... pressure Go to make one! ;)

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

I like some of the ones that are like high-end sci-fi productions. "Akira" and "Metropolis" (not the original Fritz Lang film, though loosely inspired by it), for example. But as other people have said, it's a very broad class at this point.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I guess I need a book called 'Great Anime For Dummies'!

[beastbriskett.livejournal.com]

As it's been said, there are many types of anime. In Japan, animated series can be an action-adventure, a soap-opera, a mystery, or any film genre. The variety and richness in that market is a huge contrast to the North American market, where animation is thought of as a cheap way to get kids to eat cereal and buy toys. Most of what's imported here reflects that narrow vision.
Just like here, though, there's a big range of production values. Television animation has much smaller budgets than features, and the animation reflects that. I've always been impressed by the way Japanese get the most out of each drawing, and they led the entire industry in enrichening each image by adding shading and complex drawing long before computers made this easier.
It may not be your cup of tea, but try viewing a couple of Myazaki films, such as "Spirited Away" or "Nausica". I think you'll find them better than any spoon-fed Disney film.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Makes perfect sense. I need help from people who know the good stuff.

I have heard about, but never seen 'Spirited Away'.

[beastbriskett.livejournal.com]

Most of the films mentioned here can be found for rental at Netflix, Hollywood video, or even Lackluster, especially the more recent ones.
Hope you try one, at least!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Once I have a chance, I think I will. Thanks!

[danthered.livejournal.com]

I am posting this comment before reading any of the other comments that have been left, so I don't yet know how many people I'm going to offend when I say:

<ahem>

Hi, group. My name's Daniel, and I hate Japanimation. (And no, I will not call it "animé"; that cutesy namelet hadn't been invented waaaaaaaay back in 1995 when I took a very good class in International Animation of the 20th Century. It was taught by an acclaimed practitioner who studied and worked, amongst other places, in Japan for five years, so if "Japanimation" is good enough for him, it's good enough for me, too.)

I've no special animus towards those who enjoy it for whatever reason. Everyone's tastes are different, and I don't hold my tastes to be better or smarter or righter than anyone else's. That said, my reaction to every piece of it I've encountered has been somewhere between "This is silly" and "This is ridiculous", with frequent overtones of "I don't get it" and occasional forays into "This might've been entertaining when I was four years old." I do not know what it is about Japanese culture that makes adults consume patently childish humour and plot, and I've sort of moved beyond caring.

Go, Speed Racer! Go, Speed Racer! Go, Speed Racer...far away from me!

(And yes, I've seen Spirited Away. All of it. I really feel I gave it a fair chance.)

[madlizard.livejournal.com]

i know how ya feel...i don't get it at all...

[kspsibear.livejournal.com]

I think it panders to the lowest common denominator. PLEASE don't feel bad that you don't get it. People like you and I and a few others are not suppose to get a lot of the crap that is being fed to the American public, at large.

I have this same problem in the comic book world with "manga." I guess it's "so cool" to read a sequantial story backwards. I wasn't brought up Japanese, so it's not a flow of logic that I particularly want to be a part of. A lot of it seems to be violent for violence sake. I don't like that either.

I don't think I've seen any anime or manga that was particularly good, especially if you were older than, say 10 years old. And there's a LOT I wouldn't want a 10-year-old to see because it is so violent.

Many of the titles do not translate. I think it's the "Donkey Kong" syndrome (it was suppose to be "Monkey Kong" do you see any donkeys in the game?). I'm afraid the so-called American way of life has been taken over by the Japanese culture in a lot of areas. Have you read any assembly instructions on any electronic device lately? They read like an episode of Miss Swan of MadTV.

I'd better stop... I'm starting to feel ashamed about being an American again...

Wish I could get my comic to be a cartoon (shameless plug).

[sabin.livejournal.com]

Anime is difficult to describe. Because it's not REALLY a genre. It's a style. It has dramas and comedies and sci-fi type movies. Just like you wouldn't directly compare The simpsons and the lion king together just because they are both non-live action, would you? So when someone says they watch anime, it doesn't really mean they watch ALL anime that's out there.

I personally like more serious style anime.
Ghost in the Shell comes to mind right off the bat. It's very sci-fi and fairly unrealistic. Cowboy Beebop is also one I enjoy, it's serious sometimes and completely rediculous other times.

I also prefer the art style compared to general american style cartoons. Where less animation is done, but more surrunding detail is emphasized. Sometimes it's just implied animation, like the fast lines moving in the background leaves a little bit to the imagination I guess.

Bah, maybe I didn't really explain anything at all, but it's the best I can come up with.

[chastmastr.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, I turned on Cartoon Network or one of those channels this weekend and saw something truly hideous -- can't recall the name, but it managed to combine ghastly animation with poor writing, bad voices, etc. (worse than any of the series we've previously mentioned as poor ones) and if THIS is what you have encountered, no wonder you can't see the point. Ugh. Drop me a line if you'd like to get together and give other kinds of anime a shot -- no guarantee you'll like them, but worth a try, and it would be nice to meet you! :)

David