Anime anyone?

[Az]

[otherlander]

1. Ms. Kauru!

I wish Comedy Central still had Ruroni Kenshin.

[buddhamama]

2. my son has me hooked on it

InuYasha is the series i am currently watching.

[Az]

4. The author of Inuyasha was my primary gateway

into the world of Anime. She is one of the most prolific and wealthiest women in Japan. Her series Ranma 1/2 was so twisted yet compelling that it really opened me to the fact that anime was so much more than just a cartoon.

If your exposure to anime has just been the stuff from Adult Swim and Cartoon Network do yourself a favor and look deeper. Most of the good stuff in the world of Anime is just too developed and deep for American audiences and most networks won't touch it. Adult Swim gets huge kudos but they still have to play market forces. And a lot of the stuff is heavily editted and very dumbed down.

My avatar is Luffy D Monkey from a series called One Piece. In the translation they brought over they utterly evicerated the dialog, story, and characters. The series is much more cutting and deals with hard issues but that was inappropriate for the market the distributor wanted to hit so they editted all the nasty stuff and labotomized the dialog.

[buddhamama]

5. i have seen One Piece

i am looking into buying original Anime series with english sub-titles. My son and I have been watching the Inuyasha series through the internets, we'll continue to do so till i order up the DVDs.

thanks for your insight.

[sakabatou]

12. The One Peice dub is like putting an ice pick through your ear

[Az]

14. A dull ice pick coated with lemon juice

I cannot watch it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Hell yeah!

[TheMightyFavog]

6. This Saito is my Homeboy:

[sakabatou]

10. Hotlinking doesn't work for that Saito

but this one works!

[Lilith Velkor]

7. E pluribus anime!

I like Kawajiri, even though he's a wannabe Yoshitaka Amano. If yer gonna imitate others, might as well imitate the best, ne?

[ChoralScholar]

8. I just don't get it.

God help me, I've tried to watch it. I just don't get it.

[sakabatou]

9. You probably have watched it without a gateway

Start with Miyazaki films. And if you're ready, watch Akira.

[ChoralScholar]

11. I tried watching Inuyasha.

And I had to watch a full-length anime movie for Film Class (the prof was Japanese) - I wish I could remember the title.

[sakabatou]

16. Remember any of the story?

[ChoralScholar]

17. No.. It was 6-8 years ago, when I was an undergrad.

[sakabatou]

21. Can't help you then...

[Az]

18. Inuyasha

Is definately a relationship series. Takahashi (the author) specializes in long stories of convoluted relationships set in unusual settings. Not all anime is palatable to everyone. You really have to thrive on the relationship stories to get into her stuff.

[sakabatou]

22. It's also been said by Pantsman, that it's DBZ for girls.

[Az]

13. Like I said above

Most of the stuff the US gets exposed to is what passes through the marketting/PR departments of US distributors. And frankly there are tons of series that will never get greenlit. US markets just are not set up for mature themes in animated format. The Simpsons is the most advanced model we have. US Markets can't get the notion of zaniness being an intergral part of animation.

Another problem is that Anime tends to tell large scale stories. US Markets are geared for contained episodes. That is everything has to be reset to normal at the end of an episode. Characters die in anime. Things change. Characters develop. Real stories are told.

One of the most amazing things about watching anime is that you can be watching a series that you think is starting off as just eye candy and suddenly you notice some subplot begin to manifest that just blows your mind that they managed to pull it out of the setup. Deep philosophical concepts such as life and death, honor, identity, and many other are delved into in this way.

The Anime that shows up in the states is often labotomized. The icky stuff is cored out and entire episodes are chopped up and stiched back together remaking the story in an easier to digest form for the American audience.

Check out series like Ghost in the Shell or Trigun. Trigun in particular starts off seemingly silly but after a bit a subplot comes along that overtakes the series and really makes a statement. Movies such as Akira and any of the Miyazaki films (Princess Mononokie, Spirited Away, Howls Moving Castle, My Friend Totoro) are common gateway points for people who find their way into anime. Oh and if anyone insists animation is just for kids go check out the movie Graveyard of the Fireflies. And by lots of kleenex tissues.

[sakabatou]

19. I blame for 4Kids for that...

Though, when I was younger, I actually liked it.

[nykiera]

15. Just finished watching "Crest of the Stars",

"Banner of the Stars", and "Banner of the Stars 2".



Next up is the "Oh My Goddess" tv series.

[sakabatou]

20. I didn't like "Ah! Megami-sama!"

I found the manga a lot better.