Does anyone besides me watch Japanese animation?

[WizarDru]

There is a group of fans I suggest you avoid: the fanboys and fangirls. These people are the drooling, screaming yutzes with 5-second attention spans, and make websites that say "Dragon Ball Z rox!" The only exposure to anime these people get is stuff on Cartoon Network, FOX, and YTV. They watch the heavily censored, stupified, and Americanized anime and think that's how it is. Oh, how I would like to sit them down and show them raw Dragonball, so they can see just how mangled their "favurit cartoon" is.

I think you've been going to wrong places for anime fans, if this is your general impression of them. Try going to a well-organized convention, like Otakon. I think you'd be surpised at the kinds of people and anime you might see there.

 

[DarkSoldier]

I think you've been going to wrong places for anime fans, if this is your general impression of them. Try going to a well-organized convention, like Otakon. I think you'd be surpised at the kinds of people and anime you might see there.

Well, if I could, I'd go to a con (I'm allegedly going to Sakuracon next April) and meet with the intelligent fans.

Those fanboys/girls, I meant to say that they're usually the newbies, the ones who don't know the real story about their favourite shows, and accept what they see as gospel. I'm sad to say that I was like that for a time.

 

[Enchantress]

[B
The Americanized stuff is garbage of the worst calibre; I strongly recommend that you avoid anything playing on TV (except Gundam Wing, since that's relatively uncut, but it's still fodder for fanboys and yaoi-deprived fangirls).

Find stuff that is not in the mainstream yet: the classic Universal Century Mobile Suit Gundam stuff, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and the Guyver, to name a few. The stuff that American studios haven't had a chance to butcher yet is the good stuff. Steer clear of anything on kids' TV.

There is a group of fans I suggest you avoid: the fanboys and fangirls. These people are the drooling, screaming yutzes with 5-second attention spans, and make websites that say "Dragon Ball Z rox!" The only exposure to anime these people get is stuff on Cartoon Network, FOX, and YTV. They watch the heavily censored, stupified, and Americanized anime and think that's how it is. Oh, how I would like to sit them down and show them raw Dragonball, so they can see just how mangled their "favurit cartoon" is.
[/B]

Okay, I am trying my HARDEST to not find out where you live and come after you with a chansaw. I do NOT (I repeat) do NOT drool, scream, have a five second attention span, like DBZ, or watch heavily censored, stupified, and Americanized anime and think that's how it is!!!!!!
Plus, Gundam Wing was the first anime I ever watched, which is what got me hooked, which is why I wrote this thread, which is why I am even HAVING this conversation!!!!!
*Takes a deep breath before continuing*
And whether I am yaoi-deprived is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!

 

[jdavis]

It's sort of funny but the first Anime I ever saw was Legend of the Overfiend, if you don't know what it is count yourself lucky, If you have seen it then I am terribly sorry, it's the kind of movie that just makes you feel dirty when it's over. After that we watched Fist of the North Star and the Original Vampire Hunter D, then I was hooked. Unfortunantely I was also a starving college student, so instead of buying stuff I started copying everything I could get my hands on ( I have over 100 hours of copied stuff). When I actually had money I bought everything that came down the pike, then DVD hit and I realized everything I owned was out of date with modern technology. Now I get most of my Anime from Cartoon Network, remember there is a big difference between Toonami and Adult Swim, the good stuff comes on late. As far as G Gundam goes I watched every stinking episode and they all burned their way into my skull, Zoids...yea caught them all, DBZ seen them all, for that matter if they showed it I watched it, even if it sucked and I knew it, I used to get up early on Saturdays and watch Digimon on Fox, Heck I even own the first season of Pokemon (Ok it's my 6 year old daughters but I watched every stinking one with her 50 odd times.) Hamtaro....yea I taped those. In other words it's all a big addictive trap, man American cartoons just give me a headache anymore but I'll sit through the worst Japan has to offer cartoon wise. Do they have a Anime adiction help line? Oh and thanks to this I'm probably going to head to the video store next pay check, cause you guys mentioned some stuff I have never heard of.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Enchantress, I don't think DarkSoldier meant anything personal by his post, and I don't think it was aimed at you at all. For example, for one thing he actually says that he likes Gundam Wing (that's the one televised show that he does like), and that he dislikes Dragonball Z (like you, although you're both wrong, because it's a good action show, just dreadfully long fights most of the time).

 

[Aaron L]

I definitely don't watch anime.

 

[Mark]

Sure hope this works, and if it does, I'll worship you 4 ever Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*...fingers crossed...*

YAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!! It worked!!!!!!

WooT! But I do not wish for you to worship me. I only ask that you laugh at some (not all) of my jokes...

 

[Mark]

Oopsie, Enchantress...

 

[Black Omega]

Favorite anime is easy to list. Bubble Gum Crisis is right up there because it got me hooked on anime. In a game at the time I was running a character called Pristine (Pris for short), bad temper, road a motorcycle, girl with attitude who sang in a band. Some friends into anime also in the game said I had to see BGC, for obvious reasons.

I'm also a fan of Kotetsu, Phantom Quest Corp., El Hazard, the OAV's are excellent. For stuff you might not have seen yet, Read or Die is great, light hearted adventure coming to the US soon. Boogiepop Phantom I'm..still trying to decide. It's one of very few series to actuyally creep me out at times. Spirited Away was excellent. Excel Saga was not to my taste at all but I know people who loved it.

Personally, I'm a big fan of DBZ. It has drawbacks. Goku v. Frieza took -way- too long. the dubbing is not only verybad at times, but actually messes up the show (today's show, Wed the 13th, is a great example of this). It's also very watered down, everytime Vegita says 'Darn it!" I wince. The power levels reach the point of being silly, but it's not as bad if you just keep thinking "It's a super hero anime, not a martial arts anime."

On the plus side it does things other long running anime rarely bother with. Characters age, get older, get married, have kids, their kids grow up, etc. Bulma starts out around 15 and by the end of DBZ she's in her 30's and looks it. Charactes develop and change but it often takes time. Vegita took a good 170 eps to grow up from a bad guy to a good guy.

DBZ is hardly perfect, but it's great fun.

 

[Tsyr]

Favorite anime is easy to list. Bubble Gum Crisis is right up there because it got me hooked on anime. In a game at the time I was running a character called Pristine (Pris for short), bad temper, road a motorcycle, girl with attitude who sang in a band. Some friends into anime also in the game said I had to see BGC, for obvious reasons.

I'm also a fan of Kotetsu, Phantom Quest Corp., El Hazard, the OAV's are excellent. For stuff you might not have seen yet, Read or Die is great, light hearted adventure coming to the US soon. Boogiepop Phantom I'm..still trying to decide. It's one of very few series to actuyally creep me out at times. Spirited Away was excellent. Excel Saga was not to my taste at all but I know people who loved it.

Personally, I'm a big fan of DBZ. It has drawbacks. Goku v. Frieza took -way- too long. the dubbing is not only verybad at times, but actually messes up the show (today's show, Wed the 13th, is a great example of this). It's also very watered down, everytime Vegita says 'Darn it!" I wince. The power levels reach the point of being silly, but it's not as bad if you just keep thinking "It's a super hero anime, not a martial arts anime."

On the plus side it does things other long running anime rarely bother with. Characters age, get older, get married, have kids, their kids grow up, etc. Bulma starts out around 15 and by the end of DBZ she's in her 30's and looks it. Charactes develop and change but it often takes time. Vegita took a good 170 eps to grow up from a bad guy to a good guy.

DBZ is hardly perfect, but it's great fun.

I've found that most peoples "entry anime" also tends to stay on their list of favorites. Strangely, I don't even remember what mine was.

My biggest single problem with DBZ is the pacing sucks. Far too much time is spent flexing, groaning, glaring, posing, and powering up... If you cut out all the repeated frames in the series, you could probably fit the entire series into half as many episodes as it is now.

It's also far too predictable... Current hero finds new threat. New threat kicks current hero's ass for a while. Current hero goes off and trains, or figures out his own inner flaw. Current hero comes back and saves the day. Massive damage to surrounding landscape. Possible deaths, never permanent. It never bloody changes.

Actualy, I kinda like the original Dragonball. That show has a charm to it that is completely lost in DBZ.