Anime... I Don't Get It...
Caboose
title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Please explain...</div> What is the deal with anime? I don't understand it... I aksed the president of the Anime Club at me school (yes, we have a flippin anime club... <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> ) why anime > live action films.
She said that you can do things in anime effects wise that you just can't do in live action movies... Now, I can see that being true 20 or so years ago... But now? You can do anything you want to with CG and make it look real. Look at The Matrix for example.
You can add tenticles to Japanese school girls too if you wanted to...
I just think anime looks funny too... People with odd colored hair and yea...
Please explain?
P.S. This is not meant to offend any people that live and breathe anime (Infinitum <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->) I honestly just want to know.
She said that you can do things in anime effects wise that you just can't do in live action movies... Now, I can see that being true 20 or so years ago... But now? You can do anything you want to with CG and make it look real. Look at The Matrix for example.
You can add tenticles to Japanese school girls too if you wanted to...
I just think anime looks funny too... People with odd colored hair and yea...
Please explain?
P.S. This is not meant to offend any people that live and breathe anime (Infinitum <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->) I honestly just want to know.
Comments
To say anime > live action is a tad, well, closed minded. Sure, anime is a medium you can go nuts with everything, it's not held back by a special effects, cg or set budget, the artists have 100% control over how everything looks, acts and sounds.
Also, as with live action movies, anime covers pretty much every genre ever thought of, and usually hybrids and expansions thereof. It's got romance, porn, action, porn, thrillers, porn, period drama, porn, sci-fi, porn, yaoi, porn hentai and porn.
Not all anime looks the same, and not all are as OTT as some. Take Metropolis, it's got quite a western feel to it in comparison to a lot of other anime, but then again, take Blood: The Last Vampire, it has a lot more detailed and realistic character design over what most people would see as stereotypical anime characters.
If you don't like anime, don't watch it. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I really hate reading the word anime then later one tenticles + japanese school girls..very stereotpyical <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The difference = (imo) Anime can allow you to free your mind and believe yaddya, bla, bla ,bla, etc, such as Gundams (very mobile big mechs), etc.
And well...movies I can't see that happening to the effect of Anime.
Also, anime tends to be EPIC which I like. I like the matrix alot because it basically was live action anime.
So, I guess what I'm sayin is, for me:
Deep stories + outrageous characters with powers of all kinds + love = Rob stays put and watches
But that's just me.
I've watched a couple episodes of Moble Suit Gundam and Cowboy Beebop, but I just can't get into it.
I think I saw Akira a few years back too... It was just odd... I was in Elementry school however @ the time...
Well, I play video games... I like first person shooters mostly... um...
I like movies, comodies are my favorite. I uh listen to Hip-Hop (Not Rap, I hate that G-Unit Little Jon crap that's popular now...) I have nothing against eastern culture either... I'm a Buddhist and er yea, that's about it for me...
I've watched a couple episodes of Moble Suit Gundam and Cowboy Beebop, but I just can't get into it.
I think I saw Akira a few years back too... It was just odd... I was in Elementry school however @ the time... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now here is the solution to your problem;
What type of movies/tv shows do you like? Go watch that type of anime. You might find it easier to understand then if you ran out and just suddenly watch Neon Genesis Evangelion or something. The thing about anime is that it is a Genre that encompasses other genres.
Like Power Struggles?
- Naruto
- Hunter x Hunter
- Inuyasha
- One Piece
- Almost any Samurai Anime
Like Advanced Plot and Philosophical questions?
- Full Metal Alchemist
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (Though don't you dare make this the first one you watch, or your view of the genre will be changed)
- Ghost in the Shell
Like movies about sports?
- Prince of Tennis
Just go find what you want to see, and go from there. Don't watch things in Anime that you normally wouldn't watch as far as Movies go. And as always, try to avoid the blatant hentai, you'll know it when you see it, and just understand that it has a crowd it caters to and you don't want to be part of that crowd.
Honestly, everyone seems to think that all anime is alike. No one realizes that there are different kinds and you have to pick and choose. If you want help finding a particular type of anime you would like, just let me know I will try to help.
Oddly enough, my friend(who shall remain nameless) started watching subbed anime about a couple of months ago. His reading speed has increased immensely.
HOOKED ON ANIME WORKED FOR ME!
Like everyone else has said, it all depends on what YOU like. Don't think of Anime as a genre- that'll restrict your appreciation of it. Rather, think of it as a medium, such as the canvas, or film. It has different genres and artists, each with it's own distinctive style.
EDIT: you have an Anime Club at your school too? I never really liked anime club members-the vast majority of them think anime is the be all and end all of entertainment.
Asking the difference between anime and live action seems to me like asking the difference between RPGs and FPS games. They're different styles and they appeal to different types of people. Some like both, and some can't stand the other. Anime focuses mostly on style and story (as far as I can tell) while live action focuses on being very convincing. They're different, not opposites.
Really! I had no clue?
Just as there are a million different kinds of live action movies, there are a million different kinds of anime movies, and neither can be used as a blanket term to describe anything.
With most anime, it's an "aquired taste." I thought Inuyasha was stupid at first but after seeing a couple of episodes a clear plot developed and then you got into it and it was cool. Unlike most american series, anime series can't just be picked up anywhere spradically and you can expect to follow along with it. You got to watch the episodes <i>in series</i>.
<span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>el List:</span>
<a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80939' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/in...showtopic=80939</a>
READ THIS POST SO I DON'T HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF YA BLOOMIN' IDIOTS
^ was that non-subtle enough for you?
Really! I had no clue? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
well he said what is the deal and to me that means, "i can't see why anime is special or different."
Gotta hand it to the Japanese though, when they overdo it, they <b>overdo it</b>. (ex: giant robots flying through space fighting with swords. WTH?)
That's one of the things I don't get...
Gotta hand it to the Japanese though, when they overdo it, they <b>overdo it</b>. (ex: giant robots flying through space fighting with swords. WTH?) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you read my list...
Gundam wing is a little odd because of that, thus why it is not in my top 5.
If you have never seen any anime, give Cowboy Beebop a chance. It's good. Most people who don't care for most anime still think it's really cool.
Better SF, this is just flat out true, and it is way cheeper (thus more of it)
There tends to be an ACTUAL plot, where as most american TV has 0 plot (Farescape being one of the few that is the revers of this)
the plot factor is what always draws me to anime over normal TV.
Anime Vs Movies?
meh, they both have thier strong points, though atm anime is winning simply b/c I think american movies are going through a serious slump atm, there are very few good movies coming out recently.
And again:
RoTK: many millions of $$s
Anime Version: Many Fewer Millions of $$s
Now, some people are straight up fan boys and are not worth listening to, as they give people who like anime a bad name to the rest of the world (I Like haning out with them, but I understand where they are coming from)
There are also ALOT of different types of anime, and some ofthe nutjobs insist that all of it is god like...
And they are stupid.
There is ALOT of very bad anime.
There is also alot of anime that requires specific knowledge/tastes.
forinstance, FLCL basicly sucks if you don't like random stupidity AND Don't know Japanese pop culture (as the entire anime is bassed off of refferances to different things). I know very little about Japanese pop culture and therfore only realy like it for the sound track (and that sound track rocks)
On the otherhand most of us can sit down and watch Bebop or Trigun (so long as you start from the first ep) and get it, and apreciate it. We will not get every little bit b/c, again, there are referances to Japanese culture we will not get.
Akira is another problem, it makes alot of refferances to Japanese culture that most of us do not understand. Alot of people go in expecting an action flick, and get boged down by the plot that makes little to no sense, again, I don't think Akira is the best Anime to introduce people on, I would suggest Trigun, Bebop, a WELL Subbed eddition of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex (as it will include explenations of alot of the situations), Gun Smith cats, Nadesico (again, need some periodic explenations) and a few others.
<ul><li>I find Japanese culture interesting. Both the traditional aspects, the elements taken from the West (and warped), and the little idiosyncrasies.</li><li>I like languages. I'm picking up Japanese quite quickly from anime, supplemented with a few resources on the net.</li><li>Unlike western cartoons, anime isn't confined to being children's cartoons only (of course, a lot of anime you'll find on TV <i>are</i> kids' cartoons). Some of these shows are really good in their own right, in terms of plot intricacies, character development, humour, etc. There <i>are</i> western shows like these (not cartoons, of course), they just seem to be fewer.</li><li>Cliches are a cultural thing. Different culture = different cliches. Therefore, even the shows that <i>do</i> have cliched plots are interesting because, to a Westerner, they aren't cliches (...yet. Watch enough anime, and you start to pick up on them). Other than cliches, the different culture means a slightly different view of the world, so anime usually has a slightly different feel to it.</li><li>I like the style of art, simply put. The effort that goes in to the visuals varies widely, and some are <i>very</i> slick (Gad Guard, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell).</li></ul>
That's basically it. The number of good shows just seems to be higher, really.
That's one of the things I don't get... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hell, I hated the Gundam Series. But that didn't stop me from finding Anime that I liked.
Doing what you are doing now would be equivalent to this:
Wow that TV Series on Disney Channel, Kim Possible, is extremely dumb and corney.'
THEREFORE:
All TV-shows suck.
It's a logical fallacy, you can't project like that.
--------------------
Anyway I'm trying to think of shows that aren't over the top, or at least not in ways that bother your average american. You might like Full Metal Alchemist, since it kinda feels westernized. Actually, it contains almost no cultural references outside it's own setting at all. There are many others like this, and those are ones I'd start with.
Another big factor is that most anime's actually have an end.
Example, Trigun: 24 episodes, that's it. No more. They aren't afraid to end the season, which means each episode most have something special in it. This ties in above w/ the comment about fillers.
Most live-action shows are made w/ the intent of going on and on and on until they are cancelled.
For me, its not so much the fact that its animated as much as it is this storyline element. Compare animes with 'Western' animation based shows:
You've got Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Animated, hilarious, and very much a great show. No storyline whatsoever beyond what is in the individual episodes. Same with Harvey Birdman. And Duckman. And Family Guy. All great shows, but there is no large overall storyline. Each episode, rather than being a piece of the puzzle, could be completely disregarded and the series as a whole is unaffected.
Certainly live-action shows could (and have) been made like this, but its a very uncommon thing.
Anime also, as many have said, caters to darn near anything you want, not just the sterotypes. But for me, the emotional attachment to the characters formed during the story-telling is the big draw. I was on the edge of my seat all the way through Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). Just my two yen...
Just as there are a million different kinds of live action movies, there are a million different kinds of anime movies, and neither can be used as a blanket term to describe anything. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
You know... we had "Live-Action" videos during German class a few years back.
They had neither life nor action. It was basically a slideshow (on a television) with a recorded conversation in the back. I'm still hunting down the man responsible for their creation - continue with your lives.
Anime = visual style. Just like western animations have lots of different styles, and films have different styles. You've got filters over the whole movie/show (check Band of Brothers and its filter that makes it look a bit older-ish), there's the revenge-ish type movies (insert messed up French words) with their prdictably spoke dialogue (like Max Payne).
You could create an action movie like the Matrix with a sepia filter and better acting and it'd probably feel like a completely different movie (although you'd probably want a couple of costume changes to adjust some problems with that example...).
It just ends up being a widely popular style (compared to normal film making).
Plus, anime shows have very limited budgets, hence the DBZ type animation, or the Trigun animations where people will stand on screen and the characters mouth will move in the same way while they talk/yell. Or they'll move really slow to draw time out more.
One of the things I find a bit annoying about anime, but it's still good. In film you never draw out one continous still shot that long.
That's one of the things I don't get... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some one had to eventually do it <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->