03-Mar-2012, 2:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-Mar-2012, 2:31 AM by James.)
Not expecting many responses (or any responses  ) to this thread based on how 1) CC players generally don't seem like the type that would enjoy anime + 2) If there were anime fans here, a topic would have likely already been created, but it's worth a shot.
Any other anime fans here? If so, what have been your favourite ones to watch? My favourite one of all time is without question Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, a 12-episode work that is emotionally jarring as it is short. At first glance, everything about it radiates cuteness and cheer and happiness, but just wait...
(if anybody does watch it, give the ball a couple episodes to get rolling)
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Since most people tend to be either unfamiliar with anime or have some misconceptions about it:
Anime refers to Japanese-style animated tv shows, movies, etc. (at least that's the English/Western definition; in Japan itself "anime" just refers to animation in general). Anime is considered a distinct "branch" of animation because it is so different stylistically than other forms: most notably in character design, but also in how cameras are used and in various other intangible areas (such as Japanese cultural influence).
Sadly, the nature of North American* culture means that for most people, animation is synonymous with Saturday morning cartoons aimed at extremely young kids. Classifying anime (or indeed animation as a whole) as "just for kids" is beyond wrong. While there is obviously anime aimed at younger audiences, a large portion of anime is directed at teenagers, young adults, and yes, adults. Additionally, most shows have considerable substance to them. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, for example (the one I brought up in the top part of this post) is more emotive and complex theme-wise than ANY show I've ever watched, animated OR "real", and it's challenged in those areas only by some of the greatest movies of all time. Would you have guessed that from the show's cover art? Nope, and that's exactly my point with this paragraph.
In any case, hopefully there are some other anime fans here. 
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* It's not just North America, but most CC Zone members are from here and our continent is by far the biggest offender. Speaking of North American culture, whenever an anime gains enough popularity to warrant a company picking it up and dubbing it with English voices, it always gets Bowdlerized in some form or another (often brutally), so try and watch anime in the original Japanese form with English subtitles instead...
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Nooo, warn before you link to TVtropes - that site is so addictive it's evil.
...
On topic, I watch a bit of anime but I'm not a huge fan. Some is really good, though.
Quote:You tested your own land mine. It worked!
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Well I'm no big gigantic fan of animes but I did use to watch the Pokemon anime for quite some time
Yes it is considered an anime. Don't correct me anyone.
Despite having seen like twenty or so animes in their entirety I don't exactly consider myself a fan of anime itself. It's like saying you're a fan of cartoons, and who doesn't like cartoons (surely someone but nevermind). Also, saying that you like anime is somewhat an endorsement of the genre as a whole, including the most popular elements of that genre at present, which I definitely do not want to be associated with.
Some series I really like include Haibane Renmei, Dennou Coil, Cowboy Bebop, Azumanga Daioh, FLCL, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
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I never understood the appeal, and yes, have always thought that they were just for kids. I've watched the first episode of FLCL before (and I chose FLCL because it contains the best music ever), and didn't really enjoy it. But I'll give another one a try, if you annoy me enough, James.
P.S. Though, I did enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie and Avatar: The Last Airbender, if you count either of those.
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I don't watch much anime, but I enjoy it. I have only seen a handful of series and movies such as Evangelion, Noein, Kanon 2006, Akira, and some of the Studio Ghibli films, among bits of others.
03-Mar-2012, 5:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-Mar-2012, 6:01 PM by James.)
Replies ahoy! 
Quote:Nooo, warn before you link to TVtropes - that site is so addictive it's evil.
Too true. My apologies
Quote:Well I'm no big gigantic fan of animes but I did use to watch the Pokemon anime for quite some time
Yes it is considered an anime. Don't correct me anyone.
Of course it is
Quote:Despite having seen like twenty or so animes in their entirety I don't exactly consider myself a fan of anime itself. It's like saying you're a fan of cartoons, and who doesn't like cartoons (surely someone but nevermind). Also, saying that you like anime is somewhat an endorsement of the genre as a whole, including the most popular elements of that genre at present, which I definitely do not want to be associated with.
Some series I really like include Haibane Renmei, Dennou Coil, Cowboy Bebop, Azumanga Daioh, FLCL, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
If I asked 10 people around here whether they considered themselves fans of cartoons, I'd likely get 10 "no" responses. Fandom usually implies enthusiasm about the subject, and that's the sense in which I'm using it. Re: unfortunate association; that's a risk inherent in nearly all "I like X"-type statements. For instance, I once told someone I enjoyed watching ice hockey, and then had to endure a long ramble about how I was a monster for getting enjoyment out of watching men skate around with the sole purpose of fighting and knocking each other out. -_- I am curious about what you're referring to by "the most popular elements of anime", though.
Also: Haibane Renmei, Dennou Coil, and Cowboy Bebop are all on my "to watch" list. Haven't heard of the last three, although if they're anything like the first three they'll soon be on that list as well. ^_^
Quote:I never understood the appeal, and yes, have always thought that they were just for kids. I've watched the first episode of FLCL before (and I chose FLCL because it contains the best music ever), and didn't really enjoy it. But I'll give another one a try, if you annoy me enough, James.
P.S. Though, I did enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie and Avatar: The Last Airbender, if you count either of those.
Watching only one episode of an anime (or any show, really) is almost never enough of a sample to make quality judgements with. To bring up Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica again, its audience was temporarily crippled from people only watching the first one or two episodes. They all came flocking back later once they heard about how it was actually good.
S:TM looks like it's widely considered anime, but A:TLA doesn't look like it is. The semantics about what qualifies and what doesn't aren't really that important, though.
Also, I am hereby commencing FB spam. 
Quote:I don't watch much anime, but I enjoy it. I have only seen a handful of series and movies such as Evangelion, Noein, Kanon 2006, Akira, and some of the Studio Ghibli films, among bits of others.
I just started watching Evangelion, since it was often compared to MSMM in terms of "darkness". Was about to say I'd never heard of any of the rest, but I looked up Studio Ghibli and they made Kiki's Delivery Service, which I watched when I was really young. (Interestingly, it got an astounding 100% on Rotten Tomatoes...think I'll watch it again at some point ^_^)
I need to go back and re-watch some of the series I watched when I was younger, like Cardcaptor Sakura. Most anime intended for younger audiences still tends to be enjoyable for older viewers as well, something I'd chalk up to the nature of Japanese culture. (I'd rather not write a long rambling point on a largely intangible subject )
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Interestingly, I was reading a bit on Wikipedia about Cardcaptor Sakura for a bit of a nostalgia trip, and I came across this (Cardcaptors is an alternate name for it):
"The American edit of Cardcaptors was heavily panned by critics, who called the editing ridiculous, cutting out vital character backgrounds essential to understand the plot."
This is exactly what I meant in the spoiler text in my original post.
People who don't watch anime but know a little about it will generalize it around the elements of those shows that are popular. The shows I like have often little in common with the shows most people that I'm talking about have heard about, especially if they got their opinion of anime from watching what shows ended up broadcast in dub form on Cartoon Network, which is how I discovered it and resisted it for years. They might think that all anime fits into tropes like tedious fighting series that go on for hundreds of episodes, magic-girl superheroes, mechas, etc. Or if they know a little bit better, they might think that I'm some creepy guy who just likes watching kawaii high schoolers do ridiculous things all the time.
A lot of "mature" series subvert this stereotype by being ridiculously violent and hyper-sexualized. Eva is a good example, although I still have some affection for it, because I find it hard to justify liking it when it's so brazenly cerebral while having pornographic violence and a whole cast of characters with personality disorders fighting the apocalypse and losing.
Lots of people who haven't watched any other anime have watched Princess Mononoke, or My Neighbor Totoro, or one of the other famous Ghibli films, and liked them. Their popularity is not working against any anime stereotypes because their greatness stands outside of anime tropes.
Quote:People who don't watch anime but know a little about it will generalize it around the elements of those shows that are popular. The shows I like have often little in common with the shows most people that I'm talking about have heard about, especially if they got their opinion of anime from watching what shows ended up broadcast in dub form on Cartoon Network, which is how I discovered it and resisted it for years. They might think that all anime fits into tropes like tedious fighting series that go on for hundreds of episodes, magic-girl superheroes, mechas, etc. Or if they know a little bit better, they might think that I'm some creepy guy who just likes watching kawaii high schoolers do ridiculous things all the time.
A lot of "mature" series subvert this stereotype by being ridiculously violent and hyper-sexualized. Eva is a good example, although I still have some affection for it, because I find it hard to justify liking it when it's so brazenly cerebral while having pornographic violence and a whole cast of characters with personality disorders fighting the apocalypse and losing.
Lots of people who haven't watched any other anime have watched Princess Mononoke, or My Neighbor Totoro, or one of the other famous Ghibli films, and liked them. Their popularity is not working against any anime stereotypes because their greatness stands outside of anime tropes.
Fair enough. It is a bit frustrating when anime as a whole gets viewed just as a collection of those tropes (and its viewers as crazy for said tropes), although I wouldn't eschew them by any means.
Evangelion is a bit of an extreme example, don't you think? But even still, those elements you listed aren't necessarily bad things unless they're mindlessly included. It's all about why those elements are present in the story. I haven't gotten far enough into Evangelion to be able to comment about it specifically, unfortunately. [Also, since I compared Evangelion and MSMM in my previous post, I should clarify that MSMM is a different kind of "dark"...]
Also, (WARNING: TVTropes link)
Not saying tropes are bad, just that there are tropes that are overused in anime that I dislike.
If you're seriously watching Eva you best do yourself a favor and make sure you watch the End of Evangelion movie instead of, or at least in supplement to, the final two episodes of the tv series. It doesn't help you understand what happens better, but it tells an arguably much more interesting story.
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