Anime: What is it....and why is it here?Aug 26 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Anime is a style of art that spans a wide array of audiences. While anime is misconceived by many, it really is a form of art to be enjoyed.
I'm no anime expert, but it's pretty and fairly common that everyone and their grandmas now know about what Japanimation, or anime, is. While anime is freely aired everywhere, the misconsceptions of anime have led it to be looked at as a perverted, violent, and stupid way to for the animators to let out their insecurities. This has led to the huge editing and censoring of anime put on TV. Watered down to the limit...but here are the ins and outs of anime... What is anime? Anime is simply, a cartoon. While it does feature a distinct style of animation, as well as some patterns (most anime follow groups of people and not just individuals, etc.), anime is basically a cartoon from Japan. Anime also includes a deep, complex storyline as well as focuses on the relationships of many characters. While it does feature some references to Japanese culture, for the most part the meanings of a certain anime can be understood by anyone. Anime isn't a cartoon! Cartoons are for the family! So, as you've heard countless times, there is a huge misconception that cartoons are meant only for kids. While we enjoy the Simpsons and South Park with glee, we still look down upon anime. Now, while many people are quick to blame the people who have been to believe that cartoons are meant for kids...I disagree. The real reason why anime is so misconcieved is because the television tells us that anime is for kids. They told us that Dragon Ball Z was for kids. It's not really the people's faults as much as it is the advertisement company's. These are the people who decided to make anime for kids, and instead of keeping it for the core audience intended, they morph it into a completely different show to fit the audience they want. Oh yeah? Even if it for adults, what about those hentai losers?...actually what is hentai? Another core reason for the misconception of anime is hentai. Hentai in Japanese means perverted, and most anime of this nature usually involve erotic and explicit sexual situations. Also, some of these hentai can get downright strange, some involving the use of tentacles and other objects. The form of hentai, disturbingly became somewhat popular when anime first hit the U.S., which made many believe that all anime was based on perverted situations and the likes. Actually, most anime isn't of hentai nature. Gimme a break. I've seen nudity on even so called non-hentai shows. Anime is perverted like those who watch it! While hentai anime and regular anime are two different things, even anime does have a share of sexual situations and occasional frontal nudity. What separates the two is that the nudity and such in normal anime is not of an explicit nature like hentai anime. For example, let's take a look at an R Rated movie. We see that full frontal nudity can be shown on R Rated movies, as well as depictions of sex. We consider movies and such with sexual situations on an explicit nature porno. This is a comparison of what the difference of hentai anime and normal anime are. As for the sexual innuendo or references, in regular anime, these are seen as of comedic value. For example, there are childish references to the old "balls" joke, and whatnot. Also, some anime contains sexual themes, such as lesbianism, etc.. Still there are no scenes of an explicit nature depicted in normal anime. Fine, whatever. So what about the violence? Anime does feature violence, as I can't recall one anime that doesn't go without it. Although some shows feature more violence than others, most shows do feature it. The violence levels of anime aren't anything worse than the movies that we watch. There are scenes of decapitation and limbs being cut off, but mostly the violence consists of streaming blood and fist fights or gunfights. There's not much more to say, other than violence is usually a regular in anime, some with less levels than others. So is there any anime for kids? Of course. While many conceive all anime to be adult-oriented, there are many shows that have content suitable for any child. Some shows are made for younger children, devoid of any of the sexual situations and violence in the usual anime. The newest example of this is the show Hamtaro on Cartoon Network. I've heard that all this anime is considered mainstream in Japan. What kids!!! Actually, it's considered mainstream in many parts of the world. While mothers overseas would be sure not to let kids watch anything overly explicit, much of what is considered controversial here is mainstream around the world. While I'm not saying that kids are allowed to watch nudity on T.V., to an extent shows garnered towards children that would be considered controversial here are allowed for kids to watch. Of course, this is to an extent as I stated above. These kids are just like any other kids. Okay, I'm starting to like this whole anime thing. So why the heck is everything so watered down here? As stated before, the people who took the project of anime here decided to make the shows they produced targeted to an audience that the show wasn't meant for. To do this, the shows were watered down tremendously so that any content considered controversial would be cleaned out. While censoring is fine, many of the editing techniques that are used butcher much of the show itself up. For example, DBZ lost much of it's comedic value, as well as a sensible script when the dialogue was cut up for censoring purposes. Also, much the blood is erased from the shows garnered towards kids, as well as any sexual innuendo. This sucks. So where can I get original versions? If you're looking for an untouched version of the shows on Network tv, my only suggestion is to learn different languages. The shows are sometimes aired on channels garnered towards different people (Spanish, Japanese, etc.), and therefore the shows air in their regularity. If you look online, you will see that many fans have made special versions of the shows. They have kept the original versions intact, with English subtitles. While this is good, many fans sometimes mess up the meaning of a certain line in translation, and also many add uncessary cussing as well. Many of the producers of the shows on tv are now becoming more open, and releasing dubbed and uncut versions of the shows on VHS and DVD. They are also fairly common in stores. Okay, now you're boring me. Finish this up already? Anime is a form of art that has been conceived the wrong way. While Anime may be garnered towards more mature audiences, most anime stays inbounds of regular ratings. Only a few anime really contain anything over the top. Anime isn't to be taken as a meant-just-for-kids style of animation, as it is also not to be taken as a meant-just-for-adults style animation. Anime is just as wide a selection as cartoons. Some anime is kid-oriented, some isn't. If you understand this, you'll soon begin to enjoy anime. While anime is fun, it also isn't better or worse than our cartoons like many seem to say. Animation is animation, and it depends on the viewer's opinion of which one is better. Not all anime is better than cartoons around the world, and vice versa. I hope I've enlightened you, although I'm sure that you've read the 999 reviews before mine about anime. Anyway, for those who clear their misconception of anime, then good for you. You've just found about a hundred or more cartoons that you can enjoy.  |
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