# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 203
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4340 "2025-03-27T17:42:49Z")
Studio Ghibli is fantastic. Shitty imitations of Ghibli by crap-ass AI junk barfers suck festering goat anus. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4341 "2025-03-27T17:43:45Z")
I remember reading, some time back, that Totoro (from the Ghibli film _My Neighbor Totoro_) was as iconic in Japan as Mickey Mouse is in America. I don’t know how true that is, but I think it talks to different cultural perspectives. In any case, there’s very little anime that I enjoy, and almost all of it is Studio Ghibli. Setting aside hipster superciliousness, if you don’t like anime but you have any appreciation for fantasy movies, I encourage folks to check out _Princess Mononoke_, which is IMO one of the best three or four fantasy movies ever made. Warning: not for the younguns. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4342 "2025-03-27T17:44:17Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Studio Ghibli is fantastic. > > Shitty imitations of Ghibli by crap-ass AI junk barfers suck festering goat anus. That, too. I wouldn’t have seen those posts at all, because I avoid shitty AI threads. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4343 "2025-03-27T17:52:22Z")
> [@Open AI's latest wonder: text to video with Sora](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-ais-latest-wonder-text-to-video-with-sora/997648/84): > > I have no idea what Studio Ghibli is, but these pictures are pretty hillarious Wait, you’ve never heard of Studio Ghibli? Do you live under a rock? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4344 "2025-03-27T17:54:38Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Wait, you’ve never heard of Studio Ghibli? Not by name, no. I have seen some of their stuff in memes and such, and have heard some of the movie titles that have been tossed around, but until that thread the name meant nothing to me, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you it’s an anime studio. I don’t think I’ve seen any of their stuff. But like I said, I haven’t watched Anime since there were 151 Pokemon. > [@DemonTree](#): > > Do you live under a rock? No? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4345 "2025-03-27T17:58:23Z")
I’m not even an anime fan. My mostly normie sister introduced me to it. Definitely worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4346 "2025-03-27T17:58:37Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > But like I said, I haven’t watched Anime since there were 151 Pokemon. I’m really curious if you were making the Pokemon reference here (and in the other thread) intentionally or accidentally. > **[Not Really Into Pokemon](https://xkcd.com/178/)** ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4347 "2025-03-27T18:00:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m really curious if you were making the Pokemon reference here (and in the other thread) intentionally or accidentally No, what is XKCD? Just kidding, I know XKCD. And I wasn’t making a reference, I was being literal. The _first_ anime I watched was Digimon, and then I decided Pokemon was cooler, and then Pokemon jumped the shark by adding a bazillion new ones including a lame blue blob that joined the evil team, so I was over it. This would all have been when I was 7 or 8 or something? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4348 "2025-03-27T18:02:21Z")
Did you play Pokémon Go when it was released? My husband just got back into it thanks to two coworkers; I’m resisting this time because I like having a working battery in my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4349 "2025-03-27T18:06:13Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > The _first_ anime I watched was Digimon, and then I decided Pokemon was cooler, and then Pokemon jumped the shark by adding a bazillion new ones including a lame blue blob that joined the evil team, so I was over it. I don’t even remember which anime series out of _Battle of the Planets_, _Tranzor Z_, or _Starblazers_ I watched first as a kid, but whichever it was it would have been in the early 1980s. (I was too late for _Speed Racer_, too early for _Pokemon_.) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4350 "2025-03-27T18:16:46Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > , and then Pokemon jumped the shark by adding a bazillion new ones including a lame blue blob that joined the evil team, so I was over it. This sort of thing is becoming more and more a problem as I decay away into old age. _ **Everything** _ eventually becomes updated, expanded, rebooted, redone in new version with a new take, etc. To the point where there seems to be no way to stay invested in anything because there are no boundaries to a franchise anymore. I gave up on DC Comics somewhere back around Zero Hour for example. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4351 "2025-03-27T18:19:24Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Did you play Pokémon Go when it was released? A tiny bit because of some coworkers. But it was too annoying to play for long. However I did play a bunch of Pokemon Let’s Go on the switch with my wife; she’s a teacher, and we spent one summer break (before we had kids) playing through that and Super Mario Odyssey. We ended up getting all 151 Pokemon including a shiny Ponyta, which was badass. We got one of the mainline Pokemon games that came out after Let’s Go but we couldn’t get into it. What made Let’s Go work was the nostalgia factor, without that we just weren’t as into it. Also, funny story… One of the Dark type moves in that game, that was devastating with our Gengar, is Shadow Ball. That summer, we adopted a stray dog named Shadow, and got him fixed. Which led to the joke… SHADOW forgot SHADOW BALL. And… SHADOW learned CALM! ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4352 "2025-03-27T18:21:05Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > This sort of thing is becoming more and more a problem as I decay away into old age. Well, I had this problem when I was like 8, they added 100 Pokemon almost right away. Today, there are over a thousand. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4353 "2025-03-27T18:33:39Z")
I believe Battle Of The Planets was the first anime series I watched. This was in the late 70’s early 80’s. Voltron (IIRC originally Hiyakujo Go Lion), vehicle Voltron (I forget the original Japanses name) and a few others had the same characters- Brooding handsome lead man Pretty princess in pink Slightly overweight jock Short thin nerdy guy with glasses The orignail Japanese Lion robot show and the Vehicle robot show were unrelated. When combined into Voltron for America, the writers made the nearly identical short, thin, nerdy guys with glasses on the two shows cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4354 "2025-03-27T18:36:21Z")
I’d wondered at the time why there were two different Voltrons but chalked it up to rebooting. Mystery solved. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4355 "2025-03-27T18:45:30Z")
[Technically, three.](https://voltron.fandom.com/wiki/Voltron_Gladiator_Force) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4356 "2025-03-27T18:47:17Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’d wondered at the time why there were two different Voltrons but chalked it up to rebooting. I would have sworn that the three robot Voltron used to be in the episode rotation, too, but apparently I just remember it from the toys. > **[Voltron Gladiator Force](https://voltron.fandom.com/wiki/Voltron_Gladiator_Force)** > > The Voltron Gladiator Force (aka Voltron II and Voltron of the Middle Universe) is the incarnation of Voltron composed of three robots that can combine in a multitude of ways to face its challenges. As Voltron was always marketed as a single series,... (I never had those toys, but did and still do have the five lion and fifteen vehicle ones.) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4357 "2025-03-27T19:10:19Z")
I started out with anime with _Mazinger Z_. In 1972. In Japan. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4358 "2025-03-27T19:22:33Z")
I love Studio Ghibli with almost no reservations. My one reservation is _Howl’s Moving Castle._ It’s mostly an excellent film, but I really disliked how they changed the purpose of the black spot on the dial. In the movie, I thought it was fairly lame. Maybe because it was one of my favorite aspects of the book? In the book, when I found out what the black spot meant, I _loved_ it. Changing that changed the entire meaning of the story for me. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/4359 "2025-03-27T21:48:20Z")
> **[Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/gonebabygone.bsky.social/post/3llelwmelt22i)** Edit: in case it is not showing up, here is the post > [@](#): > > Mr. Miyazaki sir, I love your movies about how capitalism and the destruction of nature are evil, I made a shitty facsimile of them in a computer that drains reservoirs, do you like it [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=202) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=204)