Japanese anime

[Cory]

Why do japanese anime's look the way they do?
you know what I'm talking about!

[mikan]

you talking about the Pokemon movie?

[Cory]

I am talking about it and every other japanese cartoon out there. The strait lines and the spicky hair.

[Doobieous]

Cory: Maybe you can answer me this: Why do western cartoons look the way they do?

[Nickrz]

Spicky hair?

[GuanoLad]

Why do ten year olds that can't spell ask such stupid questions sometimes?

"Why are elephants?"

"Is that yours?"

"Whatcha doin', mister?"

"Who farted?"

"If a train leaves Chicago travelling south at 150mph..."



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-PIGEONMAN-
Hero For A New Millennium!

The Legend Of PigeonMan (http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - updates every Wed & Sat

Anime (animated cartoons/Japan) & manga(comic books/Japan) look the way they do , because Japan had a cultural tradition of cartooning that dated back before the USA forcibly opened Japan's closed society at the end of the Shogunate era. See the book " Manga, Manga!" for details.

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YO-HO, ME HEARTIES! ALL HANDS ON DECK FOR THE MUSICAL BATTLE AT SEA!

[RTA]

Or the book "Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Anime".

[Torgo]

I used to date a girl who was really into anime, and wanting to know what the fuss was about I decided to check it out.

I rented a tape from my local video outlet entitled "La Blue Girl." I'll confess that I chose that one because it had an "adult content" warning on it and the adolescent in me was interested to see just how much nudity they were willing to present. HOO BOY!! Forget nudity; this one depicted full on porno-style sex scenes, penetration shots and all. Very, very creepy. I am told that a lot of anime is like this. Needless to say my anime adventures ended there for fear that I'd never be able to watch Droopy Dog in the same light again.



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"My hovercraft is full of eels."

[BurnMeUp]

Yeah what you had there, Torgo, was Hantai.... harde core anime... La Blue Girl, Uritsukodoji and others are like that, some are just storng R's like Wicked City and Ninja Scroll. Overall I like Anime, not all of it looks like the simple cartoons (like speed racer or Pokemon) check out Record of Lodoss War.

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Magnificent to behold - Greatly to be praised.

[counterattackii]

Well, Anime is a type of drawing style where you use simple triangles/circles/squares rather than trying to get realism. It is more for speed and ease of reproduction rather than for accuracy of looking like the object, such as a face. So they draw the simplest shape that will still be interpreted easily as a face/person/object. Hey, being in Art for 8 years actually came in handy for once... hope this helped.

--Never throw cats at glass houses. They go mrrrroooOOOOWWW THUMP! -- says Counterattackii

[Cory]

Huh, I watch anime all the. I never knew that thank you.

[Mister Armageddon]

The eyes, at least, are influenced by old Disney movies. Interestingly enough, Disney's recent movie Tarzan had characters that were clearly influenced by the anime style, so we've sort of come full circle.

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Mr. Armageddon
"Just when you thought you had all the answers, I went and changed the questions!"--Roddy Piper

A good anime feature for beginners is Robotech. It's occasionally shown on Cartoon Network & is cool.

Starblazers is another good choice.

For humor-anime , try Lum/ Urusei Yatsura; which traslates loosely as "Those Obnoxious Aliens".

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Is an appreciation of beauty a function of the human soul?

[Arnold Winkelried]

If anyone wants to see a good example of anime, go see "Princess Mononoke" currently playing in theatres. An excellent story and (for once) a good english translation.

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La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l'on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l'on dit.
H. de Livry

<font face="ocra extended" font size=5> By the way; what other kind of Anime is there besides Japanese? Just asking....</font>
;)

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Is an appreciation of beauty a function of the human soul?

[dfahs]

Why do American superhero comics look the way they do?

Why do Belgian comics look the way they do?

Why does Art Nouveau look the way it does?

Because artists are influenced by their peers. Successful artists spawn imitators. Editors search for artists whose style resembles the current hot properties. Artists copy techniques that they think look cool. Those who forge off in a completely different direction are rare.

(I'm following the herd--see http://fuzzymelon.home.mindspring.com/dfahs )

[Cory]

Who was the first Japanese anime artist? My favorite is Akira Toryama, the creator of DragonBall.

[Mister Armageddon]

Cory, Osamu Tezuka was the creator of the first anime, which was called Astro Boy in the US (Tetsuwon Atom was its original name.) Tezuka, BTW, is revered almost as a god in Japan, sort of like Cecil is on this board. :) Unfortunately, he passed away some time ago, but one of his works is currently being released on video. It's called Black Jack, and I highly recommend it.

Oh, and since Daniel said something about Robotech, I should probably mention that the original Japanese series, Macross (which was the first season of Robotech in the US) will be released on video soon. Since the TV translation was pretty badly done, I can't wait to see it.

[Ophanim]

YAAAAAAYYYY your talking about Anime!!! I've spent half my life watching anime! (ok about eight years, but come on being Otaku at eleven is pretty damned impressive if you ask me.) Your all so knowing of it too, that makes me happy. However, the absolute first Anime was not Tetsuwan Atom, it was the first imported to America though. The problem is that english books are very unclear about which was the actual first. I had a Japanese friend in high school who aleviated this for me. Also, the more simplistic form of animation was widely re-adopted after the success of Yurusai Yatsura, if you look at Starblazers, and 999, along with some others from the seventies and early eighties you'll see this trend. Not all are like this though, just T.V. shows mostly, because they have a low budget. Some are able to circumvent this like Evangelion did. The Gendou hands thing was to save money, along with the production sketches in the end. Here are some terms to stay away from--
Japanimation
Japanese anime
Porn Cartoons
If you say these aloud at conventions, you'll probably be mobbed by greased up fan boys.
Here are some conventions to check out
Katsu-con
A-Kon
Animazement
Maga-con
Icon 18
Anime Central
Otakon
Anime Expo

That's just a few! Anime rules, I hope it stays around forever. It's enough to make me forget about Pearl Harbor, that and the fact that we blew the shit out of them!

GOD BLESS THE OTAKU!!!!!


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Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

[RTA]

It's enough to make me forget about Pearl Harbor, that and the fact that we blew the shit out of them!

Clearly you have developed a tasteful and discreet appreciation for the many vagaries of Japanese history and culture ...

[Ophanim]

Well... We DID blow the shit outta them. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, WE,the U.S.A., seat of worldwide freedom, the world's niceguy, blew the SHIT out of the Japanese just because they bombed a silly port. I'm on the Japanese side here. Couldn't we have scared the Russians by, Idunno... Bombing the damn Russians? However, this is about Japanese animation. I'm sorry for going off topic. Hey, here's a question. Why are the Japanese so interested in pre-pubescent girls? Eeewwww, the only thing I don't like about anime.

She's fourteen huh? Eeeewwww... old stuff!

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Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

[jab1]

Go to www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003476.html (http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003476.html) for another anime thread I started, entitled "They don't LOOK Japanese."

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Fighting my own ignorance since 1957.

[awldune]

Ophanim, what exactly do you mean when you say "the Gendou hands thing"? Was this some sort of merchandising deal or something? I love NGE but have no idea what you are talking about there. Also, have you seen "Otaku no video"? I bet you'd like that, judging by your sig.

[awldune]

oh wait... I was thinking that "GOD BLESS THE OTAKU!!!!!" was your sig

Ophanim--Given your views on WW2, I have some anime/manga titles I think you would love to see.


"Grave Of The Fireflies"

"Barefoot Gen"

Give them a try, & then E-Mail me.

I'd love to hear what you think of them.

All the real anime fans here know what I mean already....

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Is an appreciation of beauty a function of the human soul?

[Ophanim]

Waitaminute?!? Didn't you call me a turkey? That's ok, I blame myself it was a poorly done topic and I shall commence ritual Sepuku at first light. I actually was able to see "Grave" at a Udayton Anime Club meeting, and I very much enjoyed it! Perhaps I shall order it from Anime Nation. Hey, is it just me or does the 30% off sale never end there. Anyway, I've never seen Barefoot Gen or Otaku no Video, but now I will.
Gendou's hands almost never leave his face. This saves money because the same cell can be used over and over. Did you know that in Japan, Otaku is the equivalent of Fanboy here? Read that in Animerica. Hey! Why is Animerica a normal otaku mag, whereas Animerica.com is a filthy hentai site? I guess that Animerica's legal team isn't as hard assed as The Chicago Reader's. Again long live the Otaku.

Who here hasn't seen Macross Plus? Because if you haven't, you really should.

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Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

[EvilGhandi]

I know this is off thread but I will not let this go unchallenged.

Ophanim blithers,

"WE,the U.S.A., seat of worldwide freedom, the world's niceguy, blew the SHIT out of the Japanese just because they bombed a silly port."

American losses, 3,700 US citizens, 349 aircraft and 18 warships. Damage to property and infrastructure was never estimated.

I happen to live within 5 miles of that "silly" port you mention. You think fan boys get riled up when you call it japanimation? Try spewing that crap at a veterans hall around Dec. 7th.

[mikan]

Ophanim, you might want to ask some of your Japanese friends about the meaning of "otaku". (It's usually used as a derogatory term.)

[Ophanim]

Ok,ok, you're right. I get caught up in the moment and start sounding all unpatriotic and cruel. Your right, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a pretty shitty thing to do. I won't disagree with you on that. However, that was a pretty shitty war. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor because it was close. The biggest fucking sneak attack in world history. Who knew the Japs could fight? Anyway, here comes big iron nuts, the U.S.A.. We've just found out that we hold the power of God, let's blow something up. Letsee, we got several uninhabited islands, and naval bases in Kyoto and Kawasaki. Aww hell gentlemen let's just kill some civies and go for Hiroshima, there's a big assed base there, and a average sized metrocomplex. I know that Hiroshima wasn't originally planned but still civilian casualties makes me sick. My grandfather fought in WWII and he believed that both the Japanese and Americans did equal atrocities. To think that we are any less to blame is just blind patriotism.
Mikan, can you read? I wrote "Otaku is the Japanese equivalent to fanboy" are you saying that fanboy isn't a derogatory term here? Also, I like being an Anime fanboy. I wouldn't wanna be any other kind. Long live the Otaku.

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Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

[Nickrz]

The topic is anime, folks. Not Pearl Harbor, not Hiroshima, not bombs and war or any of that crap. Anime. Cartoons. Art. Whatever you call it, stick to it please.