Manga/Anime? what you guys into?

[Junkenstein]

from what i know otakus are all employees or students in their lives.

the difference between them and nerds is that they function pretty regularly and thats how they afford their obesssion.

[fluxquanta]

Originally Posted by Junkenstein

from what i know otakus are all employees or students in their lives.

the difference between them and nerds is that they function pretty regularly and thats how they afford their obesssion.

I think you have it wrong. "Normal" people who like anime don't call themselves "otakus". 15 year olds that "glomp" each other while wearing their Naruto headbands call themselves "otakus".

And that's why I won't go to another anime convention ever again (unless I sneak in a lot of booze).

[Junkenstein]

i need to learn more about the phenomenon.

any decent docu about it? (possibly not done by one of them, trying to justify themselves)

[benjita]

Ooh boy, rant time.

For those of you who are haters, do you like American Idol? Okay, if you said yes, then you have no right to call this shit.

That being said, there is something about Animé that I find is almost nonexistent in American culture today: original story. Okay, so maybe some of it is borrowed, and there are overall genres, and there are obviously complete ripoffs (see: Wedding Peach). However, the amount of original product coming out of a country the size of California far exceeds the amount I'm seeing on American television.

I haven't given up on America, though. I like Dexter, Fringe, House and V, but if you look at most popular programming, how much more has descended from the likes of The Real World, Survivor and American Idol? Way the fuck too much for me. I don't even want it. Fuck reality. Fuck contestant shows. Fuck "bunch of fucked up people living together". Fuck "let's give something fucking awesome to some downtrodden people". And Fuck "How many worms are you willing to eat and people to fuck over for you to win a million dollars?".

Animé ranges from really fucking boring romantic bullshit (see: Ai Yori Aoshi) to action packed, love it, awesome characters (see: Cowboy Bebop). A lot of shows base themselves on Japanese culture (surprise, surprise), so when you don't get the humor of a houkkimouri (see: Welcome to the NHK), then it's not for you. However, some humor is universal, like accidental boob grabs followed by rocket punches to the moon (see: Love Hina), or an unconventional fighting move involving blows to private parts (see: Naruto- secret art 1000 years of death).

Part of what most Americans don't understand about Animé is that there is no set rules. You don't have to have action to be animated. You don't have to be kid-oriented to be animated. Hell, damn near all Animé stories can be performed by actual human beings nowadays. Some have no real special effects or powers, it's based solely off what could be human contact. Others use it as a canvas for beauty. Flowing cherry blossoms that just don't really blow that beautifully in real life. Brilliantly designed temples that probably have a cracked foundation in real life. And angles that only an artist can get just right.

As for subbed vs. dubbed, I try both. Sometimes the American/Canadian voices just don't work. Or the words don't match. Subtitles give you a more direct translation of the real story, while dubs sometimes miss some of the subtle things that are important. Personally, I'm used to subtitles because I have kids. Screaming kids cause the tv to be drowned out, so I got the hang of it.

Needless to say, I don't need your approval. This is America, I do what I want. And if that's liking Animé, Manga and bad British shows, then fuck you.

[benjita]

On to my recommendations, which is what this was supposed to be about, right?

Overall best Animé for a non-animé lover: Cowboy Bebop
Very culture neutral here. Spaceships, bounty hunters, heroes that don't have the money to really do anything and a closed story. One season, that's it. No chance for a sequel. The art is fantastic and the characters are real and deep. It lasts for one season and is done, with a very unpopular but real type of ending. And the music is varied and excellent with jazzy backgrounds that aren't dated and many genres for other background. Overall one of my favorite short animés.

Overall best anime for girls: Sailor Moon
Teenage klutz becomes unexpected superheroine. Each episode is a separate story, with a season story that is built up to, which makes for good casual viewing. Also enjoy the fact that the main character still remains a klutz crybaby even when in super form, which offers a good laugh almost every episode. Downside for adults is that it's horribly repetitive. Makes for a great drinking game, though. Between this and Powerpuff Girls, I have babysitting set.

Overall best thriller: Deathnote
If you like Dexter, you'll love this. If you like the idea of Keith's Justice, this animé's for you. The hero kills criminals that slip through the justice system, and you have trouble not loving his archenemy. This one was made into a live action movie, which was awesomely done and has the Iron Chef master as Dad. By far a fan favorite, you don't really have to know Japan to like this, but if you don't like watching animation that doesn't NEED to be animated, this one's not for you. But for me, it's top 10 easily.

Best craziness: One Piece
Stretch Armstrong, a guy that uses a sword in his mouth, a money-grubbing hottie, a womanizing cook and a compulsive liar. What's more to love? Oh yeah, a blue-nosed reindeer, a cyborg engineer, a singing skeleton and an archaeologist that could theoretically fill the room with tits. This one got the shaft on dubbing, due to major cuts and edits, so it really never got off the ground in America. But for originality and fun, this one tops my list.

Overall best epic: Dragonball
Dragonball is a fun animé that stars a pure hearted fool. His obiliviousness is one of the major humor devices throughout the series. Grown up in the middle of nowhere, Goku doesn't know why a girl doesn't have a tail, why he can't bathe with her, marriage isn't a food. But when it's time to protect his family and friends, he's a force to be reckoned with. The characters are all lovable, from the bossy, but loving wife Chi Chi to the elitest, but proud of his heritage Vegeta. This epic spans over 500 episodes across three series, and even though GT is one big filler, it still works pretty well. The only downside is if you can't stand stories that last twenty episodes, stay away from certain parts. And the constant question of "if they're going to stand there for five minutes powering up, why doesn't anyone just punch them?". But it's one of the first ones I watched for a long span, so it's always up there for me.

Personally, I like Bleach more, but the problem with that one is they keep interrupting the storyline for fillers that take place nowhere near the main storyline. It's very offputting. Naruto, too, where the end of the first arc took a 50-episode "filler hell", where the storyline progressed none at all. I still haven't watched half of it, didn't need to. However with Dragonball, the filler arc is only a handful of episodes and only at storyline breaks, and doesn't take place in a weird place or include characters that should be missing or dead.

Other favorites are Love Hina, Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha, Bleach, Naruto, Tsubasa, xxxHolic and Negima.

[FletchLives]

so benjita, you like anime because it does things live action can't do?
apples to oranges buddy. you're generalizing so much it's toddler-esque.

[naberdy]

I never really got into anime but lately I've been watching a fair bit. Some of my favorites were: Darker Than Black, Blood+, Claymore, Gunslinger Girl, Jigoku Shoujo, Blassreiter, and Soul Eater.

[benjita]

Originally Posted by FletchLives

so benjita, you like anime because it does things live action can't do?
apples to oranges buddy. you're generalizing so much it's toddler-esque.

Nope, didn't say that, I said "Hell, damn near all Animé stories can be performed by actual human beings nowadays."

You're right, it is apples and oranges. Personally, I like anything that's entertaining to me. Which covers damn near everything that's not this reality bullshit. I'll try anything once, and most shows that are "written" will get at least one episode from me animated or not. Granted there are some whose premise will be so unappealing that I'll decide on not even giving it a try, like any movie that's basically "Pretty Woman".

As for generalizing, that's just it. There is no specific genre to animé, that's what I was trying to convey. It's like blowing off all American TV because you don't like "The Real World". Personally, I don't like the Giant Robot genre, so I don't watch any new Gundam series that comes out. The only one I got into was Martian Successor Nadesico, because it was basically a parody. But there are as many genres of animé as there are regular TV shows. Sci-fi, fantasy, romance, romantic comedies, children's, thrillers, you name it.

About the only thing that you can't recreate in real life is the original artist's depictions. It's the same in America. What's closer to the X-Men comic book, the X-Men animated series in the early '90s or the movies? In Japan, their Animé is usually a direct translation of the manga. Pretty much word for word. If no other reason for it being animated, it's staying true to the story angles, facial features and all. Find me a live action series that is 100% true to the story down to each and every word, angle and action. Even The Pelican Brief was slightly off, and that's about the closest thing to the book I've ever seen.

I'm not saying Animé's better. I'm saying that I've found more Animé series that I liked than live action American series.

[Junkenstein]

ah the old school katgers and their ability to argue. this is so missed in these forums. no irony.

see newbies? thats how you do it. not with one line answers that contain a mispelling of the word "nerd".

thank you benjita.

[benjita]

Ah, the good old days. I don't think these newbies could take a full-fledged Spooky rant, especially not from the days of Spooky vs. Michael G.