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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 2032421" data-attributes="member: 2205">To be completely honest, it's folks like you that also turn me off from anime.  "Look at me, I so wish I was Japanese!"  I mean, I don't have anything personal against that vibe, but I simply don't get it, and when I detect it, it immediately shuts down my brain.I can kinda see the point; I'm not completely up-to-date on where Japanese culture is anymore than I am on where current Sudanese culture is, but anecdotally I've heard that the Japanese in general are much more forgiving of their "nerdy" element than, say, Americans are.  A friend of mine, who's also in my gaming group and is an all-around upstanding "geek hobby guy" lived in Japan for a few years, speaks flawless Japanese (on the phone, anyway, he could convince people he was a native) and even he's turned off by both anime and the "l337 ninja katana-fan" Japanophile aspect of anime fandom as well.  He said, also, that in addition to nerdy hobbies being more or less acceptable in Japan, but the Japanese in general seem to really like Westerners as well; you've got some automatic "coolness" factor in Japan just by virtue of your foreign background (quite the reversal of Japanese culture during, say, WWII.)  So I can see where it comes from, but I still don't really get it myself.Well, honestly, how much of the Japanese animation is "serious?"  A lot of it is for kids too, and much of what isn't is either extremely slipshod in it's writing and/or animation, or is the equivalent of over-the-top 90210-ish teenage soap opera.  Except sillier.  Certainly, it takes itself more seriously than, say, the Simpsons, but you'll have a hard time convincing me that it actually is more serious.  Even in anime, unless you're a raving fanboy, you have to admit that the really good shows are just as exceptional (in terms of standing out from the crowd) as good American animation is.In terms of when should a studio turn to animation; animation ain't cheap.  Well, good animation, anyway, ain't cheap.  A fully animated Disney feature film, for instance, takes several years with hundreds of people working full time on it, and will end up costing well over $100 million to produce.  The CGI equivalent is also expensive, but faster, which means relatively less cost.  Still, something like Monsters, Inc. or the Final Fantasy movies were hardly cheap.  "Saturday morning cartoon" quality animation can be done cheaper, naturally, but forget about anything like cool CGI effects, or things like that.  You can also do cheaper and quicker CGI animation, and there've been a few examples of it out there (the Barbie movies, the Donkey Kong show, etc.)  Also, be prepared for a lot of stock and reused footage, or (as in anime) a lot of "slideshow" like effects.  But in general, if you've got an effects-heavy action/sci-fi/fantasy type show, you can still make a case that animation could be cheaper.Then you run up against what Chain Lightning said about studio expectations and attitudes, though, so even if you can put a business case on paper, you likely won't get it funded, because it's a different paradigm than what American studios have used in the past.  What Chain Lightning didn't mention, is that it's not just the studios; the "suits" he's talking about are actually right on the money and generally in line with the American viewing public in general.  Anything sci-fi animated "not for kids" is very much a niche market in America, not mass market.  I think there's a prevalent attitude amongst anime fans that if "people would just watch this, they'd love it" kinda a Field of Dreams-ish "If we build it they will come" expectation of the marketplace that just isn't true.  Could a really good science fiction American "anime" marketed for adults be a financially successful and viable business proposition?  Yes, quite likely.  Would such a movie/series/etc. take the world by storm, completely change the American public's opinion on animation and general and spark a revolution in the American entertainment industry?  No, probably not.</blockquote>

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