Anime - Japan's Answer to Hollywood
Aug 02 '01
The Bottom Line Read the review already!
I know you have all heard it. Hoards of the ignorant defining Anime as what is seen on Cartoon Network. People just shouting far and wide that "Anime is for kids" or "All Anime is violent." This Anime fan has had just enough of all that. To make things simple now before going on a huge rant and detailed thesis on Anime, I will say just this: Anime is merely a form of telling your story.
Like Hollywood uses live actors and CG special effects, authors use the pen and paper, Anime is done by pencil and paint. Anime is not a genre. Anime is made up of all the genres that we have in the United States. The most common misconception is that Anime is violent, science fiction or fantasy related, and filled with an absurd level of philosophy that it would take a PhD to figure out what is going on. People think that Anime is merely a bunch of buxom women with massive eyes and severely disproportionate body shapes. To all those who think like that, sorry to burst your bubble. Anime has comedy, drama, and mystery along with the science fiction and fantasy. Anime is not always a convoluted story line riddled with confusion and violence, but has kinder, gentler story lines. Take The Slayers for example. It is not overly violent. You don't have to watch it over and over and over again to understand what is going on. Its just madcap humor stuck in with a content level suitable for younger audiences (who don't understand the innuendos). Sure, its in the fantasy realm, but the rest of it is much different. Example two would be Marmalade Boy. Its an equivelant to the American daytime soap. No violence. No blood. No vulgarities. No convoluted story line. Sure, it has sub-plots up the Wazoo, but it never becomes so contorted that you need a good dose of Draino to clear it up.
Another misconception is that Anime is for kids. Of course, you can discover this merely by, you guessed it, taking the easy road and watching network television. Shouts of televised DBZ and Sailor Moon episodes echo as evidence of such childish behavior while parallels with Disney films fly makes me sick enough to hurl into my hat and place it upon their heads in a comical routine. First to the two aforementioned shows used as "evidence" that Anime is for the kiddies. Dragonball Z, while still an awful show up until the last quarter of the series, is hardly anything worthy for the kids in true form. Its bloody, violent, and full of the most vulgar language that would even make a deaf man cover his ears, basically, stereotype in the above paragraph. Now, on to Sailor Moon. Ah, not only is this show for the kiddies, but its also girly, so says the oh so wise mass public (news flash, the mass public is a mess of uniformed ignorants). Tell ME that Sailor Moon is for the young female, and I will hit so many preasure points on your body, 5th degree black belts would be amazed. The show, in its pure form that wasn't touched by the evilness of whoever did it (I have tried hard to forget them and apparently its worked), is actually a very deep and satisfying show. It has story, substance, AND wasn't edited to appeal to a particular market and paraphenelia run-off. It would do EVERYONE a good favor to find an uncut version and watch it.
Another complaint I just HATE hearing is about he animation style. "Oh, big eyes and huge breasts are all there is, (euphamism for female dog here a couple of times) whine whine wah wah!" Get off it already! If you simply hate that sort of style, try out stuff like Vampire Hunter D or anything else made by the same guy that does all the art for FFVIII and X. Its gritty and real. Animation styles are abundant in Anime, be it the surreal huge eyes derived from our own Betty Boop cartoons from way back when to the total realism that mimics life itself. If you just can't handle a certain kind (hard to imagine to you fans, I know), just find one that you can, simple.
My last big whine is about those who simply just hate Anime. Do you simply just hate movies all together? If so, I would like to meet you and submit your name to Guiness for being the first. Anime, like Hollywood, is a MULTITIDE of genres. It has shows that appeal to all ages, genders, and interest levels. There is no way you can simply just hate Anime, unless you are a perverse person who is going to keep on insisting it to just be right. If you like a certain type of show, its going to be in Anime. If you can't find it, you are just not looking hard enough.
To sum things up, Anime is not a genre, but a way of telling any story you want. Anime is not limited to the realm if children, its not always science fiction or fantasy, and its RARELY overly violent. Any story you want told has been told in Anime. This little editorial is to put some light onto the fact that Anime is not a single genre of copied material, but as varied as the titles in Blockbuster. Get out, its actually a GOOD thing to see a story without a real actor to play it. Too much reality is a bad thing.
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Member: Justin Murray
Location: Orlando, FL
Reviews written: 125
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