American Culture and Anime
- Barnwellknight
- Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:30 am
- Location: South Carolina
I'm an American from South Carolina. I watch Anime. I think the reason why many people dislike the US when it comes to anime, is that they don't understand our way of thinking. Anime, like anything else in the world, has its good side and bad side. Anime on one hand features such things as sexual situations, foul language, violence, and other things that one would find in movies that are rated PG to R. However, anime also features such important lessons like that friends and loved ones are more valuable than power and wealth and that in the end, good will always trimuph over evil. The reason why anime is sometimes edited when aired in the States is that the media is worried about angry parents and others who would be outraged if certain anime shows were not edited. Another reason to why people, especially Japanese, dislike American versions of anime is that the majority of Americans (those who are not of Asian descent) do not understand Japanese or Chinese. Therefore, anime that is shown in the United States has English-speaking voices. This is probably the only way that Americans can enjoy watching anime. I hope that clears up some things.
I have not yet begun to adventure!
- aesling
- Mad Scientist
- Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:55 pm
- Status: Human McNugget
- Location: Wall Rose
I am not sure if you were replying to me specifically, but I thought I would clarify something. I'm an American, too, so I really understand where you're coming from, but just because I am part of the system doesn't mean that I have to like it.Barnwellknight wrote:I'm an American from South Carolina. I watch Anime. I think the reason why many people dislike the US when it comes to anime, is that they don't understand our way of thinking.
I agree that censorship is a big issue and that to a lot of parents it is a legitimate concern. However, I think that with anime it gets taken too far. For example, good ol' American rap music has some of the most extremely dirty content in terms of swearing, sex, and violence, but it does not get censored or edited nearly as much as anime does. Yes, rap is censored and a lot of people complain about it but it still gets away with a lot more than anime does (I'm not trying to bash on rap or anything, it is just an example). I think this really says something about how well we accept outside viewpoints.
- Rorschach
- Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2002 11:05 pm
I agree mainly with Otohiko on this point: in America, "You pays you money and you takes you choice." It's not just anime that American TV censors; I recall hearing on the commentary track for the Back To The Future trilogy DVDs how one channel cut some of the footage from the first movie because the broadcast company was afraid it would offend some Lebanese people in its viewing area.
Cultural differences do affect some of our broadcasts as well: in Australia, the media company that bought the rights to Back To The Future insisted that Michael J. Fox do a brief message warning the viewers that the skateboarding stunts portrayed in the movies were professional stunts and kids should not try them at home. (My theory concerning this request is that maybe skateboarding was becoming very popular in Australia around this time, and there was a very real danger that kids would try those stunts for themselves.)
Where anime's concerned, one of my favorite examples of how cultural incompatibility causes distortions is the Sailor Moon anime: when it came to America, the censors cut out the parts that involved homosexuality and lesbianism (among other stuff less than friendly to children) because the show was being shown to kids and parents would scream if TV started showing their kids that stuff. Then, when the anime went to Sweden, the censors there simply redubbed the American version because they didn't want to offend lesbians and homosexuals with the decidedly negative or ambiguous portrayals of said characters in the original Japanese episodes!
Something that's generally understood here in America, though, is that if you're selling something instead of broadcasting it (or publishing it in a newspaper), the only limit on what you can put in it is a question of what the market will bear. If you don't care about the market, you can publish the item yourself and put whatever you like in it. Hence, if you buy anime on a DVD, you get whatever the company selling you the DVD thought its customers would be willing to buy, which is usually a lot more than anyone can show on TV.
And, of course, if there's something so offensive in it that the anime never gets licensed over here at all, you can always download an uncut version from its small-but-enthusiastic band of local fans over the internet. How much of the original content you get depends on how much you're willing to pay or how deep you're willing to dig for it.
To those who complain about America's tacky commercialism, I reply: you have no more cause to complain about Wal-Mart invading your country than any of us have to complain about anime invading ours. I mean come on, since when is cultural invasion a bad thing? My country lived through the British Invasion in the 1960s, and I rather liked the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, and Petula Clark. Given how tepid American animation had been getting lately, this recent Anime Invasion may be just what the doctor ordered.
Cultural differences do affect some of our broadcasts as well: in Australia, the media company that bought the rights to Back To The Future insisted that Michael J. Fox do a brief message warning the viewers that the skateboarding stunts portrayed in the movies were professional stunts and kids should not try them at home. (My theory concerning this request is that maybe skateboarding was becoming very popular in Australia around this time, and there was a very real danger that kids would try those stunts for themselves.)
Where anime's concerned, one of my favorite examples of how cultural incompatibility causes distortions is the Sailor Moon anime: when it came to America, the censors cut out the parts that involved homosexuality and lesbianism (among other stuff less than friendly to children) because the show was being shown to kids and parents would scream if TV started showing their kids that stuff. Then, when the anime went to Sweden, the censors there simply redubbed the American version because they didn't want to offend lesbians and homosexuals with the decidedly negative or ambiguous portrayals of said characters in the original Japanese episodes!
Something that's generally understood here in America, though, is that if you're selling something instead of broadcasting it (or publishing it in a newspaper), the only limit on what you can put in it is a question of what the market will bear. If you don't care about the market, you can publish the item yourself and put whatever you like in it. Hence, if you buy anime on a DVD, you get whatever the company selling you the DVD thought its customers would be willing to buy, which is usually a lot more than anyone can show on TV.
And, of course, if there's something so offensive in it that the anime never gets licensed over here at all, you can always download an uncut version from its small-but-enthusiastic band of local fans over the internet. How much of the original content you get depends on how much you're willing to pay or how deep you're willing to dig for it.
To those who complain about America's tacky commercialism, I reply: you have no more cause to complain about Wal-Mart invading your country than any of us have to complain about anime invading ours. I mean come on, since when is cultural invasion a bad thing? My country lived through the British Invasion in the 1960s, and I rather liked the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, and Petula Clark. Given how tepid American animation had been getting lately, this recent Anime Invasion may be just what the doctor ordered.
- hobogenesis
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 8:34 pm
- Location: Davis
- Contact:
I don't think anime is invading, from previous incidents of invasion the fad gained massive popularity, in anime's case it seems to be more of a slow migration.Rorschach wrote: I mean come on, since when is cultural invasion a bad thing? My country lived through the British Invasion in the 1960s, and I rather liked the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, and Petula Clark. Given how tepid American animation had been getting lately, this recent Anime Invasion may be just what the doctor ordered.
"There are two kinds of people: those with loaded guns, (click) and those who dig."
- Shun
- Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 8:04 pm
- Location: Decatur, IL
Anime is a medium for story telling, just like anything else. There will always be people who dislike it simply for being shown in a cartoon format. Which IMO, is simply there loss, but also their choice. I simly enjoy anime because its different. Things can be animated that can't be shown in traditional movies(or if attempted, more then likely look cheesey). It's just a differnt way of showing things, nothing more or less.
- hobogenesis
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 8:34 pm
- Location: Davis
- Contact:
- hobogenesis
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 8:34 pm
- Location: Davis
- Contact:
- Bardiel13
- Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:56 pm
- Location: The Land of Awesome
So... there is shoujo-ai in Sailor Moon! I KNEW IT!Rorschach wrote:Where anime's concerned, one of my favorite examples of how cultural incompatibility causes distortions is the Sailor Moon anime: when it came to America, the censors cut out the parts that involved homosexuality and lesbianism (among other stuff less than friendly to children) because the show was being shown to kids and parents would scream if TV started showing their kids that stuff. Then, when the anime went to Sweden, the censors there simply redubbed the American version because they didn't want to offend lesbians and homosexuals with the decidedly negative or ambiguous portrayals of said characters in the original Japanese episodes!
FMA Roxxorz the big one111
Be non-conformist! (Everyone's doing it!)
I guess Max Payne isn't much of a yaoi fan...
I guess Max Payne isn't much of a yaoi fan...
Kita1304 wrote: this is my topic and you shouldn't be cridisizing!
- OtakuMan22
- Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:27 pm
- Location: Rochester, NY
OH YOU GUYS ARE SO GETTING SCHOOLED!!! :)
Engaging lecture mode...
lecture mode engaged...
OH MAN! This is going to be good. I have SO much to say that you guys better sit down for this one. Sitting? Good!
So what have we got as far as bad parts for American Culture in relationship to anime, sticking to U.S.A. since I'm sure Canada and the rest of the world have VERY different policies:
Censorship
Commercialization
Localization
Availability
Understanding amongst adults
What America has to offer animation wise
Topic 1: Censorship
On the topic of censorship, it's going to happen whenever anime comes to TV. Note I said TV, and not the U.S.A.! When you broadcast content like Akira on TV, you are going to have some edits to avoid brief nudity and maybe some foul language. (Remember, fifteening is just as bad as reducing natually foul language) Most kid friendly stuff, Pokemon for example, will go msotly uncensored because, pfft... IT'S A KID'S SHOW!!! If there is anything that is going to be censored in it, then it's going to be the stuff that will bewilder American kids, but go over fine in Japan because of the CULTURAL DIVIDE!!! Japanese kids can take a male character wearing fake boobs, or even understand boob envy amongst Japanese girls.
What? You don't think boob envy exists in Japan? See Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Ep. 2!
Now on the flip side, stuff that's broad cast will be edited, sure. How MUCH of the editing depends on the people who pick it up. Take Adult Swim for example... Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist, and Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and FLCL!!! These anime, as far as I can tell, are BARELY touched as far as editing is concerned! They rock, they're dubbed in English, and believe it or not, there are adults you may not even know watch this stuff! More on that later!
How much censorship you get is dependent on who picks it up. Even people like 4Kids who pick up anime and edit it for kids are wising up and releasing UNCUT versions of anime like Shaman King, One Piece, and even YU-GI-OH on DVD! That satisfied the younguns and the hardcore anime fans alike! SMART THINKING! Back in the early days, if it was cut, THAT WAS IT!
These days are good times for fans of old school anime that was hack and slashed. Sailor Moon now has uncut versions available on DVD, and they are even going back to old episodes to try and re-release them with uncut versions. (At least I think so... One I KNOW so is DBZ!) When Pioneer was originall distributing the first two seasons of DBZ, they only made a cut version through the Ocean Group recording studios. Now, Funimation is going back and RE-DOING those first two seasons with UNCUT versions using the current voice actors. ANOTHER smart move!
So there's the direct to DVD and the broadcast which, while cut, is now coming in both cut and uncut flavors to satisfy both worlds.
Good times to be had by all!
Topic 2: Commercialization
Okay, so Pokemon has come, almost gone, and Yu-Gi-Oh is going to keep young boys and girls going for a while to come. SO? Same thing is happening in Japan too! Although I'm betting they are already over Yu-Gi-Oh and moving onto the next thing. The reason shows like them are so commercialized here is because they were so hyped in Japan AS WELL!!! Popular shows in Japan will have butt loads of merchandise, and if the same hits in the US, then why not milk the cash cow for even more money!? It's good business sense, and it's the same here as it is there.
Now some shows... you are NOT going to get this to work. Rave Master tried becoming something it wasn't and it FLOPPED! NOBODY is going to want or recognize the Rave Master action figures sold at a Toys R Us. I'm really hoping that whoever ported that gets a clue and has an uncut version on DVD.
Wait... it was TOKYOPOP!!! Oh those... first they change the names of the guys in Initial D and now THIS!? BOOOO!! And Tokyopop has a lot of good manga translations out. I really wish they'd stop trying to commercialize stuff that REALLY shouldn't. There is no way they are going to get Toyota to sponsor Initial D so STOP TRYING!! (I think by now they have) To think, they brought to great translation of the Sailor Moon manga stateside. Tsk Tsk... How can they hit AND miss so good and badly!?
Anyway, aside from whatever Tokyopop tries to do, the commercialization here stateside is not that bad compared to how it originally goes in Japan. I mean Shaman King and One Piece toys I can understand. Those are Shonen Jump titles! Shonen Jump is THE most popular manga magazine in Japan! EVERYBODY loves their stuff!
Hmm, think I've said enough about that... now then...
Topic 3: Localization
Okay, this one's tricky. Some things in Japan you just CAN NOT translate well into English unless you have some foot-notes or cheat sheets or a bachelors in the Japanese language handy while watching. Azumanga Daioh has Osaka making very unique Japanese word puns that are REALLY hard to put into English. I've seen the dub, and sometimes it comes out really good and other times you got to go with the flow. They try, and they do the best they can.
Some anime are really easy to localize. Hell, I bet Sonic X was even originally intended for an American market. Of course, it was quite interesting to see Sonic say S**T in the original Japanese. Apparently it's not as bad a word as KUSOYAROU!!!! Sonic X had English names for the people, and everyone already knows Sonic, Knuckles... who would WANT to change their names?!?! Yes, his name was Chris in the Japanese version too! It was NOT a name change for the American version!
Trigun and Cowboy Bebop are two other examples of easy to bring over anime. Fantasy and Sci-Fi settings that MAKE UP their own culture are EASY to bring over because they assume the viewer is not familiar with how the MADE UP culture does things.
So forgive that which is lost in translation. They try! Really! The dubbers try to make it as easy a transition as they can! Even Pokemon called a Rice Ball a RICE BALL and not a donut (eventually)! Of course, if you try and make it so that characters are NOT from Japan when they CLEARLY are... well that's just STUPID!! Thank goodness most companies have gotten over that. (Just imagine what would have happened if they DID change the name from Tokyo Mew Mew to HOLLYWOOD Mew Mew!?)
Topic 4: Availability
MAN!!! Anime and manga fans these days are SPOILED ROTTEN! 10 years ago, more than half of what is out now was only available through cons, clubs, and fansubber rings. Now there is a SECTION in Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Waldenbooks for manga!!! They even sell anime merchandise designed for fans and NOT the mainstream audience!!! (Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh fans for example) Not long ago, manga was mixed in with the rest of the "Graphic novels" including Marvel and DC comic collections, indy comic collections, and other books you may not have heard of.
You may have seen manga sitting next to Harvey Pekar's American Splendor! Which by the way, you should read and if not, then see the movie which can be found at your local video store under documentaries! SERIOUSLY!! WATCH IT!! I got friends in that movie!
There is an anime section at Best Buy and Media Play now! Before, they were in the "Special Interest" section next to porn and work out tapes!!! REALLY! Now there are HUNDREDS of titles available, and Media Play even has "Anime Clubs" to sell more manga, anime, and to gather people together in the store to watch titles like Full Metal Alchemist and MORE!
DUDE!!! Where was this 5 years ago!? NOWHERE!!! American anime fans should be thankful that stores are recognizing the demand for the anime shows we all know and love and NOT stick them next to copies of Barney in the kids section or next to the porn in the "Special Interest" section!
Topic 5: Understanding amonst adults
This may surprise many people, but there are a number of middle aged adults, people who are not anime fans, that like anime and watch it when they can!
How do I know this? One evening, my fiancee and I went to a company Christmas party at a nearby bowling alley (dinner and bowling! I'm in!). During dinner, my fiancee and I started talking about Wolf's Rain, Trigun, and the umpteenth repeat of Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim.
Now keep this in mind, she works for a company that does telephone fundraising for non-profit organizations like schools, colleges, and hospitals. A telemarketing company that does GOOD work and not try to sell you crap! Note, my fiancee is not a caller! She works in the office!
Anyway, we're eating dinner, talking anime amongst each other, and one guy, in his 40's I'm guessin', overheard us and started talking about how much he enjoyed watching Wolf's Rain and Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. We were SHOCKED!!! We had no idea that this guy was an anime fan just by looking at him. You would have just thought he was an average joe working to pay the bills and make a living! Yet, there he was keeping up with story and character discussion about what was on Adult Swim!! HE KNEW THIS STUFF!! We made suggestions about what shows were good, and he listened.
Even more surprising, OTHER people there, guys and gals alike, started joining in about the anime they watched and how they liked it!! Apparently, anime is becoming more and more widespead amongst adults these days AS WELL as kids!
Who knew?!
FINAL TOPIC: What America has to offer animation wise.
Saturday morning cartoons are now primarily owned by anime these days. The remaining 3 providers of Saturday morning cartoons, ABC Family, 4Kids TV, and Kids WB, now carry anime in large amounts! The stuff America had to offer has SUCKED! BIG TIME!!!
Examples:
Mucha Lucha!
The Cramp Twins
Winx Club
and I'm sure there are others that are just as bad if not worse.
Mucha Lucha and The Cramp Twins both look TERRIBLE!! The animation style that de-humanizes the characters are just.... BAD!! They look like crap and for all appearances have no redeeming values at all! Mucha Lucha even looks like a jab at whatever foothold Kinnikuman 2 had on Fox Box (before it became 4Kids).
Winx Club is still on 4Kids, and I HATE IT WITH A PASSION!! All the girls are ditzy stick figure twits that represent some sort of retarded stereotypical ideal that all girls want to be bubbly cheerleaders and that "witches are bad!" Fairies!? WHO COMES UP WITH THIS CRAP!? And even though I haven't really watched it (Why would I WANT to?!), I swear that from the commercials I've seen, if they sign and/or dance in that show, then BOOM! Proof it's crap!
And on a final rant, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! Who thought THAT up? I remember the good days of Nickelodeon when the marketing was reasonable and there was intelligence in the shows. Spongebob has yet to prove to me that it has any redeeming value other than mind numbing fluff. And the marketing...
THERE ARE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS PANTIES BEING SOLD IN THE USA!!! YES! This is TRUE! My fiancee took me clothes shopping, and one a display in the little girl's clothes section of a Fashion Bug store, were PANTIES! BRIGHT... YELLOW... PANTIES! I swear, Spongebob's face should not be placed over a little girl's.... MOVING ON!!!
Now not all American animation is bad! The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is actually REALLY GOOD! It follows the original comic by Eastman and Laird SO well that it's scary! The art style and stories are well written, well acted, and make this a show DEFINITLY worth watching!
Also, stuff on Cartoon Network like Megas XLR and Teen Titans are ALSO really good and worth the watch. They are INTELLIGENT and don't insult me like shows such as Winx Club do!
PHEW! That has to be one of my longest rants ever! SEE WHAT YOU PEOPLE DID!
I hope you all learned something... so there!
~Otaku-Man
lecture mode engaged...
OH MAN! This is going to be good. I have SO much to say that you guys better sit down for this one. Sitting? Good!
So what have we got as far as bad parts for American Culture in relationship to anime, sticking to U.S.A. since I'm sure Canada and the rest of the world have VERY different policies:
Censorship
Commercialization
Localization
Availability
Understanding amongst adults
What America has to offer animation wise
Topic 1: Censorship
On the topic of censorship, it's going to happen whenever anime comes to TV. Note I said TV, and not the U.S.A.! When you broadcast content like Akira on TV, you are going to have some edits to avoid brief nudity and maybe some foul language. (Remember, fifteening is just as bad as reducing natually foul language) Most kid friendly stuff, Pokemon for example, will go msotly uncensored because, pfft... IT'S A KID'S SHOW!!! If there is anything that is going to be censored in it, then it's going to be the stuff that will bewilder American kids, but go over fine in Japan because of the CULTURAL DIVIDE!!! Japanese kids can take a male character wearing fake boobs, or even understand boob envy amongst Japanese girls.
What? You don't think boob envy exists in Japan? See Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi Ep. 2!
Now on the flip side, stuff that's broad cast will be edited, sure. How MUCH of the editing depends on the people who pick it up. Take Adult Swim for example... Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist, and Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and FLCL!!! These anime, as far as I can tell, are BARELY touched as far as editing is concerned! They rock, they're dubbed in English, and believe it or not, there are adults you may not even know watch this stuff! More on that later!
How much censorship you get is dependent on who picks it up. Even people like 4Kids who pick up anime and edit it for kids are wising up and releasing UNCUT versions of anime like Shaman King, One Piece, and even YU-GI-OH on DVD! That satisfied the younguns and the hardcore anime fans alike! SMART THINKING! Back in the early days, if it was cut, THAT WAS IT!
These days are good times for fans of old school anime that was hack and slashed. Sailor Moon now has uncut versions available on DVD, and they are even going back to old episodes to try and re-release them with uncut versions. (At least I think so... One I KNOW so is DBZ!) When Pioneer was originall distributing the first two seasons of DBZ, they only made a cut version through the Ocean Group recording studios. Now, Funimation is going back and RE-DOING those first two seasons with UNCUT versions using the current voice actors. ANOTHER smart move!
So there's the direct to DVD and the broadcast which, while cut, is now coming in both cut and uncut flavors to satisfy both worlds.
Good times to be had by all!
Topic 2: Commercialization
Okay, so Pokemon has come, almost gone, and Yu-Gi-Oh is going to keep young boys and girls going for a while to come. SO? Same thing is happening in Japan too! Although I'm betting they are already over Yu-Gi-Oh and moving onto the next thing. The reason shows like them are so commercialized here is because they were so hyped in Japan AS WELL!!! Popular shows in Japan will have butt loads of merchandise, and if the same hits in the US, then why not milk the cash cow for even more money!? It's good business sense, and it's the same here as it is there.
Now some shows... you are NOT going to get this to work. Rave Master tried becoming something it wasn't and it FLOPPED! NOBODY is going to want or recognize the Rave Master action figures sold at a Toys R Us. I'm really hoping that whoever ported that gets a clue and has an uncut version on DVD.
Wait... it was TOKYOPOP!!! Oh those... first they change the names of the guys in Initial D and now THIS!? BOOOO!! And Tokyopop has a lot of good manga translations out. I really wish they'd stop trying to commercialize stuff that REALLY shouldn't. There is no way they are going to get Toyota to sponsor Initial D so STOP TRYING!! (I think by now they have) To think, they brought to great translation of the Sailor Moon manga stateside. Tsk Tsk... How can they hit AND miss so good and badly!?
Anyway, aside from whatever Tokyopop tries to do, the commercialization here stateside is not that bad compared to how it originally goes in Japan. I mean Shaman King and One Piece toys I can understand. Those are Shonen Jump titles! Shonen Jump is THE most popular manga magazine in Japan! EVERYBODY loves their stuff!
Hmm, think I've said enough about that... now then...
Topic 3: Localization
Okay, this one's tricky. Some things in Japan you just CAN NOT translate well into English unless you have some foot-notes or cheat sheets or a bachelors in the Japanese language handy while watching. Azumanga Daioh has Osaka making very unique Japanese word puns that are REALLY hard to put into English. I've seen the dub, and sometimes it comes out really good and other times you got to go with the flow. They try, and they do the best they can.
Some anime are really easy to localize. Hell, I bet Sonic X was even originally intended for an American market. Of course, it was quite interesting to see Sonic say S**T in the original Japanese. Apparently it's not as bad a word as KUSOYAROU!!!! Sonic X had English names for the people, and everyone already knows Sonic, Knuckles... who would WANT to change their names?!?! Yes, his name was Chris in the Japanese version too! It was NOT a name change for the American version!
Trigun and Cowboy Bebop are two other examples of easy to bring over anime. Fantasy and Sci-Fi settings that MAKE UP their own culture are EASY to bring over because they assume the viewer is not familiar with how the MADE UP culture does things.
So forgive that which is lost in translation. They try! Really! The dubbers try to make it as easy a transition as they can! Even Pokemon called a Rice Ball a RICE BALL and not a donut (eventually)! Of course, if you try and make it so that characters are NOT from Japan when they CLEARLY are... well that's just STUPID!! Thank goodness most companies have gotten over that. (Just imagine what would have happened if they DID change the name from Tokyo Mew Mew to HOLLYWOOD Mew Mew!?)
Topic 4: Availability
MAN!!! Anime and manga fans these days are SPOILED ROTTEN! 10 years ago, more than half of what is out now was only available through cons, clubs, and fansubber rings. Now there is a SECTION in Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Waldenbooks for manga!!! They even sell anime merchandise designed for fans and NOT the mainstream audience!!! (Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh fans for example) Not long ago, manga was mixed in with the rest of the "Graphic novels" including Marvel and DC comic collections, indy comic collections, and other books you may not have heard of.
You may have seen manga sitting next to Harvey Pekar's American Splendor! Which by the way, you should read and if not, then see the movie which can be found at your local video store under documentaries! SERIOUSLY!! WATCH IT!! I got friends in that movie!
There is an anime section at Best Buy and Media Play now! Before, they were in the "Special Interest" section next to porn and work out tapes!!! REALLY! Now there are HUNDREDS of titles available, and Media Play even has "Anime Clubs" to sell more manga, anime, and to gather people together in the store to watch titles like Full Metal Alchemist and MORE!
DUDE!!! Where was this 5 years ago!? NOWHERE!!! American anime fans should be thankful that stores are recognizing the demand for the anime shows we all know and love and NOT stick them next to copies of Barney in the kids section or next to the porn in the "Special Interest" section!
Topic 5: Understanding amonst adults
This may surprise many people, but there are a number of middle aged adults, people who are not anime fans, that like anime and watch it when they can!
How do I know this? One evening, my fiancee and I went to a company Christmas party at a nearby bowling alley (dinner and bowling! I'm in!). During dinner, my fiancee and I started talking about Wolf's Rain, Trigun, and the umpteenth repeat of Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim.
Now keep this in mind, she works for a company that does telephone fundraising for non-profit organizations like schools, colleges, and hospitals. A telemarketing company that does GOOD work and not try to sell you crap! Note, my fiancee is not a caller! She works in the office!
Anyway, we're eating dinner, talking anime amongst each other, and one guy, in his 40's I'm guessin', overheard us and started talking about how much he enjoyed watching Wolf's Rain and Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. We were SHOCKED!!! We had no idea that this guy was an anime fan just by looking at him. You would have just thought he was an average joe working to pay the bills and make a living! Yet, there he was keeping up with story and character discussion about what was on Adult Swim!! HE KNEW THIS STUFF!! We made suggestions about what shows were good, and he listened.
Even more surprising, OTHER people there, guys and gals alike, started joining in about the anime they watched and how they liked it!! Apparently, anime is becoming more and more widespead amongst adults these days AS WELL as kids!
Who knew?!
FINAL TOPIC: What America has to offer animation wise.
Saturday morning cartoons are now primarily owned by anime these days. The remaining 3 providers of Saturday morning cartoons, ABC Family, 4Kids TV, and Kids WB, now carry anime in large amounts! The stuff America had to offer has SUCKED! BIG TIME!!!
Examples:
Mucha Lucha!
The Cramp Twins
Winx Club
and I'm sure there are others that are just as bad if not worse.
Mucha Lucha and The Cramp Twins both look TERRIBLE!! The animation style that de-humanizes the characters are just.... BAD!! They look like crap and for all appearances have no redeeming values at all! Mucha Lucha even looks like a jab at whatever foothold Kinnikuman 2 had on Fox Box (before it became 4Kids).
Winx Club is still on 4Kids, and I HATE IT WITH A PASSION!! All the girls are ditzy stick figure twits that represent some sort of retarded stereotypical ideal that all girls want to be bubbly cheerleaders and that "witches are bad!" Fairies!? WHO COMES UP WITH THIS CRAP!? And even though I haven't really watched it (Why would I WANT to?!), I swear that from the commercials I've seen, if they sign and/or dance in that show, then BOOM! Proof it's crap!
And on a final rant, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! Who thought THAT up? I remember the good days of Nickelodeon when the marketing was reasonable and there was intelligence in the shows. Spongebob has yet to prove to me that it has any redeeming value other than mind numbing fluff. And the marketing...
THERE ARE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS PANTIES BEING SOLD IN THE USA!!! YES! This is TRUE! My fiancee took me clothes shopping, and one a display in the little girl's clothes section of a Fashion Bug store, were PANTIES! BRIGHT... YELLOW... PANTIES! I swear, Spongebob's face should not be placed over a little girl's.... MOVING ON!!!
Now not all American animation is bad! The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is actually REALLY GOOD! It follows the original comic by Eastman and Laird SO well that it's scary! The art style and stories are well written, well acted, and make this a show DEFINITLY worth watching!
Also, stuff on Cartoon Network like Megas XLR and Teen Titans are ALSO really good and worth the watch. They are INTELLIGENT and don't insult me like shows such as Winx Club do!
PHEW! That has to be one of my longest rants ever! SEE WHAT YOU PEOPLE DID!
I hope you all learned something... so there!
~Otaku-Man
- Melina-chan
- Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 8:01 pm
- Location: Québec,Canada
*offtopic*
First of all use the "America" therm is not that's not good because "America" is a continent,not a country.I it is not the center of the world.So I prefer when you're saying "USA".lol!(I hate this snobbish >_>)
*end offtopic*
Well actualy,in my opinion,everything americans touch became awful!
Just look at the dubs....Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr very uglies! the problem with americans it is they "adapt" beside to content to only "translate" the animes(ex: change the songs/ost).So that's make really disgusting results.French dubs're also very not very that good but we have to admet they respect the original version.
So anyway,watch always subtitles with the original version! You will never be disapointed!!!
First of all use the "America" therm is not that's not good because "America" is a continent,not a country.I it is not the center of the world.So I prefer when you're saying "USA".lol!(I hate this snobbish >_>)
*end offtopic*
Well actualy,in my opinion,everything americans touch became awful!
Just look at the dubs....Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr very uglies! the problem with americans it is they "adapt" beside to content to only "translate" the animes(ex: change the songs/ost).So that's make really disgusting results.French dubs're also very not very that good but we have to admet they respect the original version.
So anyway,watch always subtitles with the original version! You will never be disapointed!!!