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Post by Vendaval Este on Aug 28, 2010 11:32:46 GMT -5
I GREATLY anticipate Redline.
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Post by camanchi on Aug 31, 2010 12:47:08 GMT -5
Can someone help me set my terms straight? I think there's a Japanese term and/or terms to describe anime directed towards young girls, anime directed towards young boys, etc. When someone brought up in IRC that "girly" anime were devoid an any intellectual stimulating content, I thought that was a little unfair. I don't like magic girl anime, or anything directed towards young girls, but I still think there are plenty of good ones out there that aren't mindless drivel.
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Post by thethird on Aug 31, 2010 16:27:38 GMT -5
Well, from what I understand, there's shonen anime/manga, which is for young guys primarily (so, Dragonball, I guess). And then there's shojo, which is for young girls (so, Fruits Basket, for example. I guess?). And then there's seinen, which is stuff for older guys (young adults and above) and josei, which is for older girls (young adults and above).
I could be wrong and/or hilariously out of date, though.
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Post by Atma on Aug 31, 2010 18:19:21 GMT -5
You're on the right track but it's a bit more complicated than that.
Shonen is aimed at preteens and teens and usually has strong action/bonding/humor themes and lessons about how teamwork and friendship are awesome.
Shoujo is aimed at the same age group as shonen but is more focused on things like interpersonal relationships, love, emotions, mushy stuff.
Seinen is shonen amped up on all its themes with harsher stories and graphic content and usually aimed at people 18+. It doesn't mean it's porn, it just means it's not for kids.
Josei is like Seinen in that it's amped up shoujo for adults. It's usually stuff like stories about average women or more realistic relationships than anything fantastical, though it can go into that realm.
All of these genres have long since lost their target demographics as more and more women profess their love for shonen and seinen and more and more guys come out and say they enjoy shoujo and josei. They've also long since lost their target age groups as everyone reads a mixture of it now regardless of age. They more exist now as a basic categorization of what kind of content to expect when you read it.
Myself? I'll always be a major consumer of shonen and seinen, with an occasional side dish of shoujo and josei. There's good and bad to be found in all four, and all four can have a ride range of genres and topics, so it's extremely diverse, but there will eventually be something you'll find that you'll like.
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Post by camanchi on Aug 31, 2010 19:19:05 GMT -5
Okay, I think I'm starting to get the differences in my head now that I have names for the categories. I hear those terms tossed around a lot, but never know which is meant to mean what what most of the time.
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Post by Wildcat on Sept 7, 2010 20:50:23 GMT -5
I like anime a far deal myself. I find that I am an old-school anime fan. Well, maybe not quite old-school, as that implies I was watching Akira and Vampire Hunter D back in the 80′s, with Gatchaman and Gundam wallscrolls on my walls as a wee 6 year old. XD I didn’t have much of a clue about anime until the early 2000′s. The first anime I watched was definitely retro, though – Speed Racer and G-Force, the Americanized Gatchaman, back in the mid-1990′s. At the time, though, beyond noticing how fast the characters talked (man, did you have to pay attention watching Speed Racer XD ) and a definite style difference, it didn’t really dawn upon me that I was watching anything different from my usual cartoon fodder.
When I got my PC in 2001, I decided to dive into the world of anime proper, inspired by Toonami’s anime blocks. I admit to watching more Dragon Ball Z than I should have, and also really liked Gundam Wing, despite the incredibly unemotional dub. However, it took Outlaw Star to convert me. And, after some research and discovery, it took Princess Mononoke to completely win me over. Outlaw Star’s Toonami airings removed 98% of the coarse language and the perverted side of Gene Starwind’s character (which was a shock upon rewatching the uncut DVD’s to discover), but I just really got into the plotline and characterization. Looking back, I can see it’s not Sunrise’s shining moment (that would go to Cowboy Bebop in my opinion), but it’s still a solid anime series with interesting ideas and a good tale to weave. And the Caster still rocks.
Princess Mononoke was what cemented my love for anime, though. I’ve never, EVER been so overwhelmed by a movie’s beauty until I watched Mononoke. The talented animators of Studio Ghibli really outdid themselves with this gorgeous, emotional film. Everything I watched since, real or animated, has to compare to this film. It’s my benchmark. The casting was excellent (I for one don’t mind Billy Bob), the plot was incredible, and the music splendid. I will always love this movie.
Thanks to Mononoke, I’ve become a massive Ghibli fan, and would easily consider them the finest in the business. I’ve adored every other film I’ve watched of theirs, save one – Castle in the Sky. The movie itself was fine, but the dub was just awful. I mean, James van der Beek? Why?!? Not even switching the language could erase the connection. Augh. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is my second favorite, with Spirited Away not too far behind. I’ve also heavily enjoyed The Cat Returns, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Whisper from the Heart, Ponyo, Porco Russo, and Howl’s Moving Castle. I enjoyed Grave of the Fireflies, but I seriously doubt I could put myself through the emotional ringer once more to watch it again. That was a hard, hard movie to take.
To return to my introductory sentence, I find myself to be pseudo old-school because I tend to really like anime that was released in the US during its most popular time, 2001 – 2004. That’s when I bought the most, and the majority of my purchases I haven’t regretted. Here’s some of what I’ve loved:
Rurouni Kenshin – Kenshin Himura is my favorite cartoon character of all time. He is just an amazingly well-designed character. He comes across as a real, flawed human being, one that repents his past, and does everything in his power to protect the Japan he helped create. He can be a sweet, loving, sensitive person, or he can be one of the most awesome badass heroes in all of anime. He has flaws – his tendency to lump his friend’s problems onto his own shoulders to solve, the occasional lapse into his dark past; these are counterbalanced by his compassion for peace and his strength, both of mind and body. It was the original anime TV series that won me over, especially the second arc that nearly replicated the Shishio section of the manga to perfection. But the first arc, even its silly original subplots that were merely filler for the more dynamic manga chapters, manages to be mostly excellent. I suppose now is as good a time as any to reveal that I am one of those bizarre people who prefer to watch anime with English dubs, unless it’s absolutely terrible or lacking that option. I find that the Kenshin dub was cast well (I carried those voices to the manga), particularly Richard Cansino as Kenshin, who captures all of Kenshin’s various personas and emotions very well. The script has its hokey moments, to be sure (a Japanese Sword? Was Katana too hard to shove into the lip sync?…just an example), but all and all, it’s likable enough for me to enjoy. Samurai X is a thing of beauty to watch, with exquisite animation, but the tone is radically different from the TV series, highlighting Kenshin’s past in all its gory glory. Trust and Betrayal are the highpoints here, while the others are not all that pleasurable to watch for one reason or another, truth be told. And I’ve never watched the third arc from the TV series, as I’ve heard more than one Kenshin fan recommend skipping it to not lose respect for the show, so I’ve done exactly that.
Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, FLCL, Fruits Basket, Wolf’s Rain, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, the original Tenchi Muyo, Code Geass, Le Chevalier d’Eon, and Serial Experiments Lain are some of my other favorite TV series.
Movie-wise, I love Ghibli (as I’ve already mentioned), and I also dig Steamboy, Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, Akira (animation moreso than anything else), Tokyo Godfathers, Battle Angel, and others I’m sure I’m forgetting. XD
I figured an introduction into what I like would be appropriate before I start rambling about things here. As I said, I tend to mostly be stuck in the early 2000's, but I'm trying to use our library system to catch up on the more recent stuff. Recently I've been watching Kodacha, which I like a lot so far (up to Episode 9).
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Post by Haz on Oct 1, 2010 13:33:04 GMT -5
Super Robot Wars OG2: The Inspectors' first episode (at least the part what I watched of a stream of the raw, not subbed yet) is bitchin'. That is all.
Obari, you fucking rock.
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Post by theallseeingmole on Oct 2, 2010 11:21:04 GMT -5
I've watched the first episode of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, the new anime from Gainax.All I can say for now is,this is gonna be either the most epic anime of the decade or a spectacular fiasco.
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Post by muteKi on Oct 2, 2010 12:38:12 GMT -5
I'm interested in it. Sounds like a slightly-even-more messed up variant on the sorts of ideas in Dead Leaves.
(It IS directed by the same guy, not surprisingly.)
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Post by Haz on Oct 2, 2010 14:48:25 GMT -5
P&S looks hilarious. I'll have a little trouble bringing myself to watch it, though.
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Post by Mr. Faptastic on Oct 2, 2010 20:07:44 GMT -5
With every new Gainax property it gets harder to believe that they're the same company who put out Gurren Lagann three years ago.
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Post by derkasan on Oct 14, 2010 18:37:45 GMT -5
P&S looks hilarious. I'll have a little trouble bringing myself to watch it, though. It is. We're talking FLCL levels of randomness though.
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Post by Atma on Oct 15, 2010 3:10:30 GMT -5
With every new Gainax property it gets harder to believe that they're the same company who put out Gurren Lagann three years ago. Pretty much this. P+S looks like the most pandering crap to come along in ages. I may eventually watch it but I have a feeling it will make me feel dead inside on every level. My theory is that Gainax needs to take a dump in the form of a terrible show once every few shows to get it out of their systems. Honestly this just makes me want to finally get around to watching Gunbuster and Diebuster more than anything else. Been re-watching all of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei so my girlfriend can see it and we're watching Black Lagoon together as well (but that's currently been delayed by SZS so we're not far into it.) We're really enjoying both for what they are. We should be done with all seasons of SZS and the OVAs of it by Saturday sometime at the latest. SZS is a very odd thing to describe, and I've recommended it here before, and I'm going to again. If you like really black/offensive humor and bizarre animation with random animation tricks and rockin' music, it is king. It is, however, very rooted in its Japanese-ness so it may put a lot of people off. It exists as a critique of Japanese society and its views and facets though so if you want to see a show that doesn't glorify Japan (I know some people are like that now) then you should also be watching it. The fansubs available for it translate a lot of the on screen text (there are tons) and explain the jokes behind everyone's name and such (as they're all puns and whatnot) so it wouldn't be too hard for a newcomer to get into it. It's been licensed here, as is the manga (which is wonderfully localized with plenty of explanations so we're not lost) but I don't know if it's out yet or how well it's been handled. However, if suicide jokes offend you, don't watch it ever. Just don't.
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Post by derkasan on Oct 15, 2010 3:25:19 GMT -5
SZS is a very odd thing to describe, and I've recommended it here before, and I'm going to again. If you like really black/offensive humor and bizarre animation with random animation tricks and rockin' music, it is king. It is, however, very rooted in its Japanese-ness so it may put a lot of people off. It exists as a critique of Japanese society and its views and facets though so if you want to see a show that doesn't glorify Japan (I know some people are like that now) then you should also be watching it. However, if suicide jokes offend you, don't watch it ever. Just don't. It is. Have you watched all three (regular, Zoku, and Zan)? It feels like each of them has a different feel to it. The first one is full of witty puns on the characters names, but by the time you get up to Zan, it's got some weird Godzilla parody with each of the characters. It's great stuff, but kinda different from the days of stalker-chans and hikikomoris.
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Post by Atma on Oct 15, 2010 3:33:49 GMT -5
Yeah, I've seen it all before, but I don't mind re-watching stuff I really like so others can get into it. Seeing their reactions to it is always quite amusing. We only have a few episodes of Zan and then its OVA left and we're through. Kaere and Maria for life. (Though everyone is awesome in their own way.)
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