How come critics love japanese animation so much?
- Thread starter c.g._eads
- Start date
spidey
Shogun Assassin
japanese animation is more inventive nd actually have heart in their stories when it comes to their theatrical releases. most animated films us mad before become cgi is the same movies still in CGI. We take cute ideas and keep them cute but try to add theme for everyone. Japanese culture tends to always be out to entertain everyone but have story to back it up. one of the best animatwed films... simple animation by studio ghibli but impactful story was "Grave Of The Fireflies". Critics like because their story telling is so risky but meaningful. where as American animation is so simple and typical.
I mean i dont know how many famous film animation director there are beside disney and Don Bluthe but over there, You got Miyazaki, Shinichiro Watanabe, koji morimoto, Mahrio Maeda, Yoshiaki Kawajiri... hell i throw out Akira Toriyama and Hideo Kojima sinced they created 2 huge series one video game related the other best known anime worldwide (Dragonball etc) just to name a few.
so basically its something about it and i commend japanese artist still doing hand animation for feature using new technology but still depend on old fashion methods. i wish we saw more of that but audience would be turned away.
bah im half asleep...
I mean i dont know how many famous film animation director there are beside disney and Don Bluthe but over there, You got Miyazaki, Shinichiro Watanabe, koji morimoto, Mahrio Maeda, Yoshiaki Kawajiri... hell i throw out Akira Toriyama and Hideo Kojima sinced they created 2 huge series one video game related the other best known anime worldwide (Dragonball etc) just to name a few.
so basically its something about it and i commend japanese artist still doing hand animation for feature using new technology but still depend on old fashion methods. i wish we saw more of that but audience would be turned away.
bah im half asleep...
Last edited:
HorseFilms
Look ma no hands
I don't watch Japanimation because I don't enjoy [SIZE=-1]grand mal seizures.
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Stevens
Member
Thanks, I really like [SIZE=-1]Oyari A s h i t o, it's a great artist, his style is unique [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]synthesis of shojo and moe art-style, one thing very peculiar is that Oyari still got [/SIZE]a *poor* drawing mark typical of doujinshi production, very enhanced by an excellent paint technique. This is very fascinating...!Kholi said:
KingVidiot
Well-known member
Akira started out well and fell apart like most Japanimation.
Check out Ghost in the Shell. Very nice! It sort of has the Aeon Flux (animated) vibe.
Check out Ghost in the Shell. Very nice! It sort of has the Aeon Flux (animated) vibe.
I cant say I am a manga fan by a long shot. But, the more I understand the Japanese language itself the more I can understand the content. Believe me some of the translations are woeful, its not the fault of the translators or anyone else for that matter, there is just no translation for some Japanese and to get the context you actually need to speak the language, so thats a tough one.
morten
Well-known member
DVX-Ben said:
japanese people are insane (except any japanese people who read this of course). That's all the explanation you need.
That said I LOVE anime. I own all of Miyazaki's movies (monroke, spirited, howl, totoro etc etc) and they are simply amazing. I think the reason many non-japanese people don't get it is that they watch the movies with english voice overs. it pretty much ruins everything because you start thinking that these people are from the western world. they are NOT. western and japanese culture are incommensurable. as a westerner you tend to impose your own mythology, world view and understanding on everything you watch and you ignore the fact that everything in japan is completely different. take the living soot balls or the ghosts for instance. these are prominent in japanese mythology but have no true analogue in western society. the same goes for the inclusion of philosophy. Ghost in the Shell is a good example. this movie is so heavily laden with philosophy that a lot of people just get bored. but at it's core it is based on the Brain in a Vat theory The Matrix was rooted in.
Anime is a lot more enjoyable if you don't try to understand but let yourself be carried away by the crazy storylines and interesting plot twists (not to mention the animation which is outstanding).
If you want to watch something that makes sense try a movie called Grave of the Fireflies. A warning tho: This is probably the most depressing movie ever made. it makes Schindler's List look like a comedy.
mor10
*not japanese*
mjjason
Well-known member
morten said:
I agree with that completely. The american voice overs are so lifeless and monotone that they manage to suck the life out of any anime. It is best to get the original japanese language version with subtitles.
That being said, I have never seen the original Japanese version of Akira but I still love it. The voice over work there was pretty good.
Rick Meyer
Veteran
I don't know why anybody would ever choose a voiceover as opposed to subtitles. That makes no sense to me.
KingVidiot
Well-known member
morten said:
I think people still call it "Japanimation" because that covers all of the animation with that same overall look, albeit from completely different tastes. It's easier that saying: "...like in most anime, manga, hentai, etc."
It's just shorthand, just like "Fantasy" is shorthand for the likes of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Titan A.E., The Dark Crystal, The Never Ending Story, and Conan: The Barbarian. All of them are pretty different, but they are fantasy in nature.
morten
Well-known member
KingVidiot said:
except that Star Wars and Titan A.E. are Science Fiction while the others are Fantasy. The difference is that Sci-Fi is in the future while Fantasy tends to have a lot of scantly clad big breasted women and swords.
I'm just picky. and the word "japanimation" is only used in the US and to some degree in Canada.
KingVidiot
Well-known member
Star Wars and Titan are not Sci-Fi. They have elements of technology, space, and aliens but the structure is all fantasy. Star Wars borrows heavily from mythology and hero stories, and is one big adventure. Sci- Fi is generally more cerebral and technical than that.
There is very little "Sci" in either of those pieces, and plenty of "Fi."
Star Trek is Sci-Fi, not Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica (the old, I haven't seen the new one).
I know this will start an interesting argument...
There is very little "Sci" in either of those pieces, and plenty of "Fi."
Star Trek is Sci-Fi, not Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica (the old, I haven't seen the new one).
I know this will start an interesting argument...
morten
Well-known member
KingVidiot said:
I could agree that Star Wars is not sci-fi - especially the books - but Titan is closer to Sci-Fi than Fantasy and the new battlestar is true Sci-Fi (the old one shouldn't even be called television it's so bad).
I think what really differentiates Fantasy and Sci-Fi is that in Fantasy the stories tend to go on and on and on (like 10-book series) where nothing really happens and the story is pure pulp entertainment while Sci-Fi contains a lot of political commentary and views of alternate futures. Isaac Asimov's Foundation series is a good example. Yes it is very long but the whole series is a stinging commentary on both our society and where we are heading. Most Fantasy books are just endless regressions into hero-cults, dragons and badly disguised soft-core p0rn in text form.