The State of American Animation

[mojo1701]

Thirteen, actually.

Oh, good glayvin!

 

[Chain Lightning]

Y'know, I'd probably also enjoy something that totally didn't take itself seriously, and was really campy to boot. I saw a preview for Cosplay Complex and I thought to myself that I'd probably enjoy that campiness of it.

I dunno. I'll probably try it anyway.

Cool.

I think you got the proper attitude toward anime. You try some, don't like some, saw a few you like. Sounds good to me. Y'know what? There's nothing that can turn off a guy toward anime more than buying something he thought he was gonna like (read a good review or impulse buy from reading back cover) and then going home, watching it, and finding out that it sucks big time. With the DVDs being about 5, 10, or even 15 dollars more than a regular DVD movie.....it hurts. Sorry if I misunderstood and maybe thought you hated "all" anime. As you clarified, you do like some.

In a cheezy rpg gaming kind of kung fu macho road to discovery thingy....I like the Fatal Fury anime. Its pretty solid. But I might be biased because I was running a Street Fighter rpg at the time and watching the "Street Fighter" movie and "Fatal Fury" series was great inspiration.

In the light and fun adventurous not too serious area, maybe check out the "Read Or Die" anime. Not the tv show though. I've heard to stay away from that. But the original "Read Or Die" is good stuff too. I mean....I didn't pick it up for a while because of the title and none of the art on the box lent me to believe it was any different from the rest of the drek, but I gambled one day and it actually payed off.

 

[Desdichado]

Don't take this the wrong way, but this seems to be your own prejudice showing through here.

Quite possibly.

You seem to be misinterpreting the sentiment that Galeros was (IMO) trying to get across. The idea of being more "into" anime because one can speak (some) Japanese isn't some sort of cultural envy; it's because, one enjoying a foreign product, it helps to have additional knowledge about the culture that created said product. Anime is created in Japan for Japanese consumption. As such, there are indelible aspects of Japanese society in any particular anime; there's nothing wrong with wanting to study the language and culture to try and understand that better.

Quite possibly. However, there certainly are folks who are into that kind of cultural envy. Just because I'm not a huge anime fan doesn't mean I'm not familiar with anime fandom. In fact, anime fandom is certainly a factor in why I'm not a bigger fan of anime.

Galeros may not be that kind of guy, and from his subsequent posts, he seems to not be (so my mistake in jumping on him, although I tried not to be rude about it) but don't try to tell me there aren't a whole bunch of really nerdy anime fanboys that aren't exactly as I described. I've met some in person. I've met scads of them online. They're scary.

 

[mojo1701]

Quite possibly.

Quite possibly. However, there certainly are folks who are into that kind of cultural envy. Just because I'm not a huge anime fan doesn't mean I'm not familiar with anime fandom. In fact, anime fandom is certainly a factor in why I'm not a bigger fan of anime.

Galeros may not be that kind of guy, and from his subsequent posts, he seems to not be (so my mistake in jumping on him, although I tried not to be rude about it) but don't try to tell me there aren't a whole bunch of really nerdy anime fanboys that aren't exactly as I described. I've met some in person. I've met scads of them online. They're scary.

And people make fun of Trekkies... ever been to an anime con?

 

[WizarDru]

And people make fun of Trekkies... ever been to an anime con?

Yes, I have. And, pound for pound, I had more fun at Otakon 2004 (with the kids, no less) than I have at any non-gaming 'con since the 80s, with the possible exception of the 1998 Baltimore Worldcon. The biggest difference was that I found the median age was lower (at 36, we were the older fans), the fans were much more sophisticated at costuming and there was a much bigger emphasis on different media, such as Asian Cinema and video games. Oh, and the male to female ratio was much closer to even than any other type of convention I've attended.

Were there some embarrasing fanboys and fangirls there? Yup. Just like at any kind of convention, be it gaming, Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Anime, general SF, literary SF, auto shows, spelling bees, sporting events or any large gathering of people. The worst fanboy I ever met was at a Philcon , '86 I think, where a guy had bought a small dragon puppet, put it on his shoulder and then regaled anyone he could trap with it's extensive history and adventures (it was named Frodo)....or was it "Filthy Pierre", the bizzarre cross-dressing accordian-playing filk-singer who was playing Lensman folk-songs, trying to woo my wife while I was talking with someone else?

Frankly, it sounds like it's time for the Geek Heirarchy chart, again:

 

[mmadsen]

The Fist of the North Star movie, I assume? It doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, without the context of the series, not unlike the Bebop movie. [...] The appeal of the movie was that it was a pretty-looking summary of the first two seasons of the show...horribly, horribly condensed. Lots of characters appear with virtually no introduction, the story jumps around and I hear the English voice-cast was terrible.

"Now I will turn myself to steel!"

My friends and I (lo, those many years ago) found Fist of the Northstar oddly interesting, but the jarring jumps in the story left us scratching our heads. To this day, we can proclaim, "Now I will turn myself to steel!" to indicate a non sequitur or inexplicable context change.

 

[Mallus]

Frankly, it sounds like it's time for the Geek Heirarchy chart, again:

Where do "Stylish, urbane --not-to-mention handsome-- thirty-something year old gamers who hang out in bars drinking vodka martini's (up w/olives) while discussing Paranoia Agent, the new Battlestar, and their great new campaign comncepts with their buddies" fit in?

Just out of idle curiosity, mind you...

 

[Klaus]

WizarDru, that chart is just priceless!

And where would Star Wars fans fit? (probably paralell to trekkies)

 

[WizarDru]

"Now I will turn myself to steel!"

My friends and I (lo, those many years ago) found Fist of the Northstar oddly interesting, but the jarring jumps in the story left us scratching our heads. To this day, we can proclaim, "Now I will turn myself to steel!" to indicate a non sequitur or inexplicable context change.

Ha! That would a perfect example. That was the king of the Kiba ("Fang") Clan Bandits, who in the movie is reduced to a bit player for all of 15 seconds or so. In the series, he and his bandits are the subject of a 5 episode story arc, condensed from 3 volumes of manga. One thing about the series is that a lot is made of martial art schools and how the styles interact; something the movie completely glossed over, and something the English translations always avoid, it seems.

 

[WizarDru]

Where do "Stylish, urbane --not-to-mention handsome-- thirty-something year old gamers who hang out in bars drinking vodka martini's (up w/olives) while discussing Paranoia Agent, the new Battlestar, and their great new campaign comncepts with their buddies" fit in?

But, but...I drink Guinness.