Misunderstood Animes

HeavyMetal · Post by **HeavyMetal** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 1:04 am

Hey peaches11 consider this; each bounty is a reflection of one of the characters. I thought of that one day and really got a lot out of the series.

Though the series could have done more with the aliens. Plus after you see the end you wish there was more to it when you watch it again, action or story. The fighting sytle is great though as is the camera action.

I am going to say Ghost in the Shell. The only mention of it I have seen on this site is someone calling it a guns and boobs anime. WTF! It was the foundation of the Matrix.

Heero_Yuy84 · Post by **Heero_Yuy84** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 3:24 am

To be fair, the Matrix copped from a great many animes. A more blatant example of this is in the case of Megazone 23.

Bardiel13 · Post by **Bardiel13** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:12 am

Heero_Yuy84 wrote:To be fair, the Matrix copped from a great many animes. A more blatant example of this is in the case of Megazone 23.

And I'll be damned if they didn't get the "Agents" from X.

peaches11 · Post by **peaches11** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 3:55 am

You have to admit though, the whole jacking in thing is totally ripped off. And the pillar sequence in the lobby is a blatant copy of the scene with the tank. Only difference is that there are henchmen instead of a tank. I guess it's a little different; perhaps the Wachowski brothers were trying to get more people to watch anime (what with their little documentary in the Animatrix).

Also, HeavyMetal. I don't really get what you mean. I mean, are you saying that the mushroom man in Mushroom Hunting was a reflection of anyone? You have a good theory I guess but I don't know if it's really a valid point.

Heero_Yuy84 · Post by **Heero_Yuy84** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 4:15 pm

You also missed the market chase scene (which they openly admitted was a nod to GitS)

That said, while we're listing anime parallels to the Matrix, I'm still convinced Smith's end in the first movie was a nod to Fist of the North Star.

Neo performs a series of elaborate moves before the final 'blow' to his torso...suddenly Smith's body starts to pulsate and writhe, culminating in his head exploding. All that was missing was a voiceover of Keanu Reeves saying "You're already dead!"

SarahtheBoring · Post by **SarahtheBoring** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 9:55 pm

Everything that airs on CN gets crapped on, even if people thought it was awesome before. People... it doesn't change the actual series. The lines, the animation, the story are all the same. If you liked it before, and suddenly change your mind because it's popular, you're an idiot. Get over yourself.

Okay, as I've harangued before, everybody has bad ideas about my favorite series evar. Because they watch the movie, and they think they know everything. But they don't.

Utena is not all hawt lesbian sex all the time. Actually? There's no outright lesbian sex at all. It's implied, but there's nothing onscreen except XXX HAND-HOLDING ACTION!!!. There are glimpses here and there of more hanky-panky, but they're all hetero. The artbooks get suggestive, but the vast majority of that stuff never happens in the series.

Now reread that. Twice.

Also? Over half the cast is essentially bisexual. Including. Yes. Them. Juri is as far up the Kinsey Scale as it gets on this series. And she never gets play. Even though she should, because she rocks.

Also? Totally not about the perving. It's a character drama. Like the series of side-stories in X (TV) that go through everyone's backstories, except with swordfighting instead of saving the world.

It is dull, and long, and nobody gets the second arc, but it is not porn, dammit. I have nothing against porn, mind you, but this. Is. Not. It.

End of story. I feel better now. Sigh. I won't make this speech again.

Tainted_Eden · Post by **Tainted_Eden** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:01 am

Actually, about Matrix, I heard that the first movie was done by some chick and that the W Bros actually ripped the story from her, added some Anime flair, and then made the other two movies.

Which is the reason why teh sequels suck. But the lady had a plot, or an idea I think, and the W Bros just ripped it from her... 'Least that's what I've heard.

Tuplica · Post by **Tuplica** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 9:21 pm

I'm gonna add an odd one- Trigun.

True, everybody who's seen the show knows that there's a point in which the series changes over to seriousness, but I think the often-forgotten depth of the show goes beyond that. Almost all the episodes prior to the 'main plot' that takes over about halfway into it are like character studies of people who've had bad things happen in their lives and how they've reacted to them and how they sometimes surpass them.

The episode previews, especially, are really moving. They're so philosophical and I've often stopped and just thought about what was being said about the character and how it applies to other people I know or the entire world.

HeavyMetal · Post by **HeavyMetal** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 12:37 am

Sorry to post something only slightly relevant. But thought is nice to consider. Because knowledge is power. (enter dorky 80s learning video music.)

Cowboy Beebop. I wasn't saying every bounty, but most are reflections of the characters. Some of the eps are a little too close to fillers for my tastes.

However, the mushrooms give some important clues. Faye drowning in dept and Spike climbing an endless stairway to heaven *cough Led Zeppelin* stuck in one instant of time.

Examples:
red eye guy - Spike (They both have a woman to love and wild streak that ruins it.)

fat guy - Faye (con artists with hearts)

titan war guy - Vicious (confused and abandoned)

Yes, a great many anime contributed to the Matrix and John Woo movies as well.

I would highly doubt the rip off of the Matrix, Tainted_Eden. Maybe the general idea came from someone else, but to tell the truth the concept has been done before just not so damn awesome.

They flow very well into one another. I do not wish to sound insulting but many people get lost on Reload and Revolution for the following reasons:

The first Matrix did not require a philosophical understanding. Action was a enough to make it cool. The contemplating could wait.

The later Matrix movies have even more philosophical and religious references. You have to know some outside info to get the inside of the movie beyond the action. If you want an example consider the name of the last human city, Zion. (Zion is the site of the city of David in the holy land. Or in some cases considered to be the name of heaven itself.)

(Nobody mentioned the connection to Serial Experiments Lain. The suicide episode from the Animatrix is a big clue.)

Ghost in the Shell, I think was the largest influence for its digitization of humanity, plug-ins, infinite ability of cyberspace concept, and even the cyberpunk green color scheme.

Side Note:
There are actually a number of similar themes in movies and shows. The 13th Floor, philosophical books too, and someone told me an episode of Star Trek had a guy in a computer that found out he wasn't real or something. Not to mention the anime form which the Matrix hails.

Personally I liked Reload the best. Morpheus with a sword, plus the line 'would that include a bullet from this gun.'