Everything You Know about Anime Is Wrong

[FireAza]

Okay, there's been a whole lot of posts since I was last here. There's no way I can address each and every one, so I'll cover a few of the topics that popped up multiple times (I read each of your posts though!)

Anime as the medium of animation/giving anime a special title separate from other animation​

Okay, if you were paying attention, I said multiple times that "anime" is simply animation, just like any other. When I talked about anime as a "medium" I didn't mean that there was a medium called "anime", I was trying to imply it's simply part of the medium of "animation", which means it can look or be about whatever the creators what. If you'd read the second half, I think the idea that people try to classify "anime" and "American Animation" as two completely separate things is foolish.

Why I define "anime" the way that I did​

Think about this for a moment: what terms are you suppose to use to define what is "anime? If you're Japanese, you'd use this word to refer to ALL animation, regardless of country of origin, but shut up!

Do you use the visual aesthetic of a show as an indicator? So, wouldn't that mean that American shows like Avatar and The Boondocks would be classed as "anime" under this definition? Granted, some people might agree with this, but for a lot of fans, they wouldn't.

Okay, so do we use country of origin as an indicator? Well no, since Japan has produced animation for American studios in past (they've worked on Animaniacs and Cinderella to name two), this definition would mean these are "anime" by that definition, and I think most people would agree that they're not.

The tidiest solution? "animation from Japan, made for a Japanese audience" That covers both the previously mentioned problems. It's not perfect, but it will have to do. That's not something I made up, by the way, that's the definition they go by on the aniDB. Another good definition they use? "If something is encouraging me to masturbate, and is giving me the time in which to do so, THEN it's pornography".

The sexualization of young girls in anime​

Okay, the first thing you got to understand is, that in Japan the age of consent is 14. So any sexualization of girls as young as 14 is perfectly legal, at least in Japan. So if the character in question is 14 or slightly above, the problem them becomes a cultural one, since the age of consent is 18 in the States (and 16 here in Australia).

But if you're talking about sexualization of girls younger than 14... Well, that is becoming a bit of a problem. I know what you're talking about, where a character is designed to look like she's 12 years old, but they say she's actually not. The creators then sexualize the hell out of her because they want make lolicon stuff and get away with it. This is a real problem that the Japanese governor is taking steps to try and solve. But for the fan, the answer is simple: don't watch the sort of shows that would try and pull the "legal loli" trick.

What Hanna-Barbara did in the 60s to tarnish the image of animation in the public's eyes​

Okay, it's been while since I read the book that had this information, so this is off the top of my head.

Let me set the scene for you. It's the 1960s, and Hanna-Barbara has just perfected the technique of "limited animation", animation which gives you a good-looking result, but is VASTLY cheaper to produce than traditional animation thanks to a lot of clever shortcuts, such as animating a character's walk cycle once, then continually re-using it. (modern anime uses a lot of these techniques as a point of trivia). At the same time, politicians have cracked down on the content of television programming, animation like what Tex Avery become famous for in the 40s was a big no-no. So, we've got a situation where an animation studio now has the ability to pump out animation cheaply and quickly, but it must be family-friendly. You can see where this going. Hanna-Barbara flooded TV with animation aimed at children, which for the generation who grew up with them forever changed their opinion of animation as "stuff for children"

Pretentiousness

Wow dude.
Words cannot describe the smugness and the vanity with which you so comprehensively managed to write about nothing for several paragraphs, defeating imaginary demographics that don't exist.
Way to go.

The first thing that you did wrong was assume that every holds the points of views you addressed.
Major fucking spoiler ahead.

Spoiler

They don't.

I haven't met anyone who claims that all anime is X. Ever. It doesn't happen.
Nobody is that stupid.

What's even sadder is that you seem to believe that you require

A combination of close to 10 years of watching anime, over 440 different series, and having lived in Japan.

in order to state the obvious.

And finally, you discuss how everyone is wrong about believing that anime is better than western animation.
What.
That's purely opinion based.

No there isn't any physical barrier to good western animation.
No one is saying that animation made on Japanese soil is somehow inherently superior to western animation by virtue of being Japanese.
What's surprising is that you think this realization is some kind of an accomplishment.
What the people you are talking about are saying, is that they generally prefer animation made in Japan to its western counterparts.
I would be inclined to agree with those people you target in the latter part of your tirade.

Say what you like about anime, but the truth is, anime addresses more mature themes than western animations, which tend towards stupid slapstick or preschool material.
No one is saying that these ideas are absolute.
They're just trends and tendencies.
Everyone realizes this.

What you must realize is that when one medium (or genre or whatever the fuck you want to call it, its just semantics) produces good material, we tend to look at that same medium for much of the same.

Please stop congratulating yourself for stating the obvious.

Chill out dude! The arrogant attitude I wrote my OP in? Done for humour and to be attention-grabbing. I take it you don't like The Jimquision either because the guy is such an arrogant prick?

 

[Paragon Fury]

Ha ha, if you're planning on watching the type of show where the creators would put in a watermelon chested women (helloooo Eiken!) then you really shouldn't be surprised when the whole thing turns out to be one big cheese-fest

See also Ikki Tousen, Sekirei, Green Green, Koikoi Seven, Queen's Blade, Cutey Honey etc. etc.

I've seen a lot of anime over the years of all kinds of genres, some good, some bad, some indifferent. The only "genre" of anime that really never worked for me was the live-action versions. I've seen about seven or eight of them and they always come off like hyperactive cosplayers who got their hands on a camera.

As for the "Otaku" thing... Yeah, most of my internet monikers contain that word. I stopped caring about negative conotations years ago. I started watching anime back in the 90's, when being everyone thought anime was either Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Tentacle Rape or Sailor Moon getting tentacle raped by Dragon Ball characters.

Still an awesome show.

 

[FireAza]

Chill out dude! The arrogant attitude I wrote my OP in? Done for humour and to be attention-grabbing. I take it you don't like The Jimquision either because the guy is such an arrogant prick?

On the internet the exact intent of your words aren't obvious.
I generally tend to dislike arrogance.
I've never watched the Jimquisition and from what you've told me it sounds like I shouldn't start any time soon.

I had assumed that I was being so over-the-top that people get the joke, internets or no internets. You're the first one to take issue with just this specific thing.

Also, since your avatar is a angry Asuka, I've been imagining your posts as spoken by Asuka. Just something I thought I mention

 

[DeltaEdge]

This is definitely one of the best articles that I have seen and commented on, in the Escapist forums. I, a moderate anime fan, enjoyed and agreed with pretty much everything you wrote. These are pretty much my exact thoughts on the matter word for word. I used to be way too into anime. I fell in to the "otaku" category of anime watcher from around 11-14/15 (6th-9th grade)(I'm 17 now), but when I started hanging out with some kids who were really into anime, being the self-conscious person that I am, I kind of started to see things from a bit of perspective and eventually backed off and lost that "Japan is great, they are supreme leaders of culture and art, why U no understand anime? I am the sole defender of Japan's(anime's) reputation on American soil!" mentality.
Although what I watch most of the time is still in fact, anime, and I spend a fair amount of time reading manga, I am by no means a Japanophile and/or weabboo. Really, most of these people who become obsessed with Japan are only interested because of the anime. (getting a little off topic there). I once informed one of my weabboo-ish friends that watching anime is frowned upon, unless you are a child, even if it is anime with an adult demographic, and he was completely taken aback by this. From that tone of voice, I could tell that he thought that in Japan it is cool to watch anime and that everyone watches it. I also informed him that otaku is in fact, a slur, and not some kind of accolade or title. It still irritates me a bit when I hear them proudly boast that they are otaku, when an otaku is just a shut-in who spends pretty much all of his/her time at home, generally passing the time with anime, and manga and such. I certainly know that I wouldn't want someone to refer to me as a no-life loser shut-in. Another thing that can irks me is when some obsessive anime fans refuse to accept certain animes as anime because they don't meet their standards. (many of my friends refuse to accept that cartoons such as Pokemon, yugioh, and bakugan are anime. This kind of pisses me off just thinking about it)If it is an animation made in Japan, then it's anime. It doesn't matter what you think that anime is, because it is what it is, not what you think it is.
Now to actually comment more on your actual post, I liked the points you made about how anime isn't a genre, as well as how it has many different artistic styles as well. out of the 5 pics, the first and third had me completely fooled. I would have definitely thought that the first was French, and the third, American, so it just goes to show that not every anime made in Japan features big-eyed, stereo-typical personality, boob-flashing, carbon copy characters that repeat themselves over and over again. It was really quite interesting to see that of the top 9 animations in Japan, none of them really fell into the stereo-typical anime category that we tend to perceive, and that one wasn't even Japanese. Also shows how little many of us anime fans who are so-called Japan experts, know about Japan, or even anime. I personally, am only familiar with Sazae through references in other anime, where they refer to the show for it's non-aging format where the characters never age as time goes on, but didn't really know what it was until today. Also liked how you addressed that annoying perception that many of us anime watchers have that anime is the vastly superior form of animation. That is simply foolish and people who really think that need to go rethink their lives.
In closing, liked the thread quite a bit because it resonated deeply with my own personal feelings about anime, but on the other hand, I don't really think that this kind of post really belongs here on the Escapist. I just mean that I think it's a bit misplaced, as most people here if not everyone, is into video games and the people here seem to be generally much more accepting and open of things like anime, and won't tie you to a stake and burn you for liking anime. I think it would better belong on a different website's forum, where people are either less accepting of anime, or where people are just insane about it and plan to give their kids anime names like "Ichigo Kurosaki Jones" That's just my opinion though, not really necessary here from what I've seen, but still a great thread. Btw, I'm quite tired while writing this because I was out from 7:30 to 9:45 so sorry if my post is too repetitive, or ranty.

 

[FireAza]

This is definitely one of the best articles that I have seen and commented on, in the Escapist forums. I, a moderate anime fan, enjoyed and agreed with pretty much everything you wrote. These are pretty much my exact thoughts on the matter word for word. I used to be way too into anime. I fell in to the "otaku" category of anime watcher from around 11-14/15 (6th-9th grade)(I'm 17 now), but when I started hanging out with some kids who were really into anime, being the self-conscious person that I am, I kind of started to see things from a bit of perspective and eventually backed off and lost that "Japan is great, they are supreme leaders of culture and art, why U no understand anime? I am the sole defender of Japan's(anime's) reputation on American soil!" mentality.
Although what I watch most of the time is still in fact, anime, and I spend a fair amount of time reading manga, I am by no means a Japanophile and/or weabboo. Really, most of these people who become obsessed with Japan are only interested because of the anime. (getting a little off topic there). I once informed one of my weabboo-ish friends that watching anime is frowned upon, unless you are a child, even if it is anime with an adult demographic, and he was completely taken aback by this. From that tone of voice, I could tell that he thought that in Japan it is cool to watch anime and that everyone watches it. I also informed him that otaku is in fact, a slur, and not some kind of accolade or title. It still irritates me a bit when I hear them proudly boast that they are otaku, when an otaku is just a shut-in who spends pretty much all of his/her time at home, generally passing the time with anime, and manga and such. I certainly know that I wouldn't want someone to refer to me as a no-life loser shut-in. Another thing that can irks me is when some obsessive anime fans refuse to accept certain animes as anime because they don't meet their standards. (many of my friends refuse to accept that cartoons such as Pokemon, yugioh, and bakugan are anime. This kind of pisses me off just thinking about it)If it is an animation made in Japan, then it's anime. It doesn't matter what you think that anime is, because it is what it is, not what you think it is.
Now to actually comment more on your actual post, I liked the points you made about how anime isn't a genre, as well as how it has many different artistic styles as well. out of the 5 pics, the first and third had me completely fooled. I would have definitely thought that the first was French, and the third, American, so it just goes to show that not every anime made in Japan features big-eyed, stereo-typical personality, boob-flashing, carbon copy characters that repeat themselves over and over again. It was really quite interesting to see that of the top 9 animations in Japan, none of them really fell into the stereo-typical anime category that we tend to perceive, and that one wasn't even Japanese. Also shows how little many of us anime fans who are so-called Japan experts, know about Japan, or even anime. I personally, am only familiar with Sazae through references in other anime, where they refer to the show for it's non-aging format where the characters never age as time goes on, but didn't really know what it was until today. Also liked how you addressed that annoying perception that many of us anime watchers have that anime is the vastly superior form of animation. That is simply foolish and people who really think that need to go rethink their lives.
In closing, liked the thread quite a bit because it resonated deeply with my own personal feelings about anime, but on the other hand, I don't really think that this kind of post really belongs here on the Escapist. I just mean that I think it's a bit misplaced, as most people here if not everyone, is into video games and the people here seem to be generally much more accepting and open of things like anime, and won't tie you to a stake and burn you for liking anime. I think it would better belong on a different website's forum, where people are either less accepting of anime, or where people are just insane about it and plan to give their kids anime names like "Ichigo Kurosaki Jones" That's just my opinion though, not really necessary here from what I've seen, but still a great thread. Btw, I'm quite tired while writing this because I was out from 7:30 to 9:45 so sorry if my post is too repetitive, or ranty.

Thanks for your write-up, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I'm happy that I managed to fool you in my quiz, I had assumed a lot of people would see the punch-line coming and automatically assume they're all Japanese, leaving the punch-line without, well, punch.

As to why I chose The Escapist to post this one, well, I've seen a number of threads here about anime, full of misconceptions and general ignorance. This seemed like this best place to make this post in the hopes of educating the the Escapists.

 

[Clinky]

Let me say that I really enjoyed reading this, while I admit I already knew some of this some of it did surprise me. I knew that "otakus" weren't as prevalent in Japan as many fans seem to think. But I didn't know that they had that 'less than glimmering' image there.

I am a fan of both eastern and western styles of animation, plus any marriages between the two. Though I haven't been as into eastern stuff lately, mostly because not too many have appealed to me enough for me to set time aside for them. Though several you showed do look pretty cool and sound nice, maybe I can find some time to watch them.

Has anyone mentioned Katanagatari? I haven't seen too much so I can't say anything about the story but the art style looks gorgeous, the very 'graphic design' meets 'Anime' style is pretty unique. Not that I would expect too different from Take. =) Love his illustrations. <3

 

[Sean951]

Western Animation has been following the Simpson's, which chose to be a cartoon at least partially because it was a medium that adults didn't really take seriously, and then it became one long satire of American culture. Family Guy is a satire of The Simpsons, Futurama is another cultural satire, but keeps a coherent plot between episodes while still allowing most episodes to be stand alone.

Japanese Animation probably has that as well, but it seems to me that they were just more accepting of animation as a serious medium for a longer time, so it has branched out far more, similar to sitcoms in America.

I would classify anime as a genre of animation, but in the same way I call metal a genre of music. Both are full of sub genres that go way beyond what most people would think of and only get classified together because of a few tenuous links to each other.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

Y'know I'd probably like this thread more if the OP wasn't on things I more or less already knew. Some of the image choices were new to me, but the general information was all stuff I've picked up on my own.

Ignoring that though, interesting and well though out; kudos. I'll have to have a look at some of these series when I get some free time.

 

[loudestmute]

Well, glad to know there are still some people out there working to fight against the ever-growing tide of ignorance. And yet, I feel like I might not be getting the whole message here, as one of the first thoughts in my head after reading was "So, the way to get American voice actors to take their job seriously is to pay them lower wages?"

 

[FireAza]

Ha ha, make them work for their money! That should make them appreciate it! I like the way you think, my friend

 

[Owlslayer]

Well this really was a very interesting read, thanks for writing it! I don`t read long posts often, cause well, it`s a bit tiresome, since English isn´t my native language. I can speak it fairly well, but still, reading something in a language that isn`t the native one you`re speaking is a bit different. Or at least for me. I gotta focus more, and stuff like that. But this article was on a topic that I´m pretty interested, and the headline was pretty damn provocative indeed, making me click on this thread.
Anyways, it really is sad when someone said something along the lines of "All anime is X", and that it`s just for kids. But what can ya do, some people are like that. Luckily, other people aren`t like that.
This article even made me feel a bit better about myself (a feeling that I`m in dire need of these days), as in: i watch anime pretty often, but the things you wrote in part 2 mostly did not part with the way of thinking I`ve got. At least in my opinion. As in, it didn`t occur to me to think that everyone would watch anime in Japan, and hell, I loved Futurama. And and i don`t really go screaming All hail Glorious Japan! in the streets, either. But then again, maybe i don`t watch that much anime. Not sure what the average rate of anime-watching is...

As a medium, it`s pretty varied, tho it does have quite some cliches, but so does every single other medium out there. I myself like to take a bite out of most the genres out there.Good stuff.
So, yeah. This was interesting, to say the least.
Also, this thread made me want to go wand re-watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Clannad: after story, and a few other of my favourite ones out there.

Also, it has been ages since I´ve written such a long comment, tho i suppose it doesn`t really compare to most long posts out here at the Forums of the Escapist. So that shows you did a good job!

 

[Otaku World Order]

Still an awesome show.

This is true.

Ha ha, make them work for their money! That should make them appreciate it! I like the way you think, my friend

Considering how bad some dub actors are, I'm amazed they get paid at all.

 

[FireAza]

Well this really was a very interesting read, thanks for writing it! I don`t read long posts often, cause well, it`s a bit tiresome, since English isn´t my native language. I can speak it fairly well, but still, reading something in a language that isn`t the native one you`re speaking is a bit different. Or at least for me. I gotta focus more, and stuff like that. But this article was on a topic that I´m pretty interested, and the headline was pretty damn provocative indeed, making me click on this thread.
Anyways, it really is sad when someone said something along the lines of "All anime is X", and that it`s just for kids. But what can ya do, some people are like that. Luckily, other people aren`t like that.
This article even made me feel a bit better about myself (a feeling that I`m in dire need of these days), as in: i watch anime pretty often, but the things you wrote in part 2 mostly did not part with the way of thinking I`ve got. At least in my opinion. As in, it didn`t occur to me to think that everyone would watch anime in Japan, and hell, I loved Futurama. And and i don`t really go screaming All hail Glorious Japan! in the streets, either. But then again, maybe i don`t watch that much anime. Not sure what the average rate of anime-watching is...

As a medium, it`s pretty varied, tho it does have quite some cliches, but so does every single other medium out there. I myself like to take a bite out of most the genres out there.Good stuff.
So, yeah. This was interesting, to say the least.
Also, this thread made me want to go wand re-watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Clannad: after story, and a few other of my favourite ones out there.

Also, it has been ages since I´ve written such a long comment, tho i suppose it doesn`t really compare to most long posts out here at the Forums of the Escapist. So that shows you did a good job!

Thanks for your kind words!

No idea what the average rate it either, sometimes I won't watch any anime for weeks, but then other days, I'll spend hours watching it. Hell, if anything, these days I've been on a "classic cartoons" binge (Yay! Tex Avery!).

What are you watching at the moment? I have a bad habit of starting new seires before I've finished old ones because something new came out that grabbed my attention ("wait, so it's about how Roman culture and Japanese culture both love baths?").

 

[Owlslayer]

Thanks for your kind words!

No idea what the average rate it either, sometimes I won't watch any anime for weeks, but then other days, I'll spend hours watching it. Hell, if anything, these days I've been on a "classic cartoons" binge (Yay! Tex Avery!).

What are you watching at the moment? I have a bad habit of starting new seires before I've finished old ones because something new came out that grabbed my attention ("wait, so it's about how Roman culture and Japanese culture both love baths?").

Currently, i just started watching Steins;Gate since I`ve heard a lot of praise about that one. Just finished watching FLCL, too. Had a superb soundtrack, that one. Monster is currently on hiatus, and so is Eureka 7, since those i watch with my brother, and he`s in the army right now.
Also, recently finished Cowboy Bebop.
All of the above is great stuff.
Tho i gotta admit, my all time number one anime is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, it just blows my mind every time i watch it. I seriously doubt I´ll ever find anything that tops that one for me.

 

[Rinshan Kaihou]

Interesting read. But I will say this.


Anime has "The disapperance of haruhi suzumiya". Therefore, any argument against it is invalid.

 

[A1]

Provocative title got your attention? Good! Read on, dear reader! Don't worry, this isn't a rant, it's an article.

Everything You Know about Anime Is Wrong​

Japanese animation ("anime") and the internet have a strange relationship. There was once a time (late 90s, early 2000s to be precise) where if you liked video games, and hung out on the internet, you generally liked anime too. Now, it seems like anime has somehow replaced furries as the internet's favourite punching bag. But this is a subject for a whole other time, so let's keep moving along shall we?

As tends to happen when people level distaste at something they have little actual experience with, there's a lot of misconceptions that are flat-out wrong. But it's not just the "haters" who are wrong. Oh no, the fans of the thing are very wrong too. So stand to the side over there, my fellow otaku, I'll be putting you guys though the grinder in a moment. What makes me qualified to say I'm right? A combination of close to 10 years of watching anime, over 440 different series, and having lived in Japan. I also read a lot. Feel free to disagree at your peril!

Part One: The Those Who Profess Disgust for Something They Have No Experience With (A.K.A "Haters")​

To be perfectly honest, much of this post will be directed at you guys. You guys who, from the rooftops of the internet cry "anime is for paedophiles!" "anime is weird!" "anime is all !" So let's begin with the very basics.

Chapter I: "Anime is all X!"
Let's get down to brass tacks, the number one accusation people level at anime is that it's all one particular thing. Be it angsty teens with spiky hair and massive swords, pedo bait, schoolgirls with huge eyes or tentacle porn, somehow anime is all the same thing, but that same thing is never the same thing. Well, to begin with: ANIME IS NOT A "GENRE". IT'S A "MEDIUM". For those unfamiliar with the difference, here's the dictionary definition of the two:

Genre: A class or category of artistic endeavour having a particular form, content, technique, or the like

Medium: The category of a work of art, as determined by its materials and methods of production

What makes Japanese animation a "medium" and not a "genre"? Simple! A genre requires the content and themes of a work to be similar, while the content and themes between two anime can be radically different. For example, let's compare Serial Experiments Lain to Victorian Romance Emma

Serial Experiments Lain​

Victorian Romance Emma​

The first is a techno-horror story about the far-reaching power of computers and the internet, and a young girl who rises to god-like status within it. The second is a romance set in Victorian London about the forbidden relationship between the son of a noble family and a maid.

Are the form, content or technique between these two series similar? No? Ah! But there's one area in which they are. The materials and methods of production used. They're both part of the "medium" of animation! Basically, saying that all anime are the same, would be like saying all American movies are about cars and explosions based on the fact you've seen Michael Bay's Transformers. Which is an incredible disservice to all the other films that are not Transformers and are nothing like Transformers.

Anime can be about anything, and often is about anything. Everything from coming-of-age dramas set in art collage (Honey and Clover), philosophy on culture and society (Kino's Journey), comedies about university clubs (Genshiken), immortal mobsters in Prohibition-era America (Baccano!), hard science-fiction about the future of space-based occupations (Planetes) to anime about making anime (Animation Runner Kuromi-chan. "Yo dawg we heard you like anime..."). Even themes that we consider traditional here in the West are represented. Vampires (Hellsing), romantic comedies (Lovely Complex), 80s style action (Gunsmith Cats), zombies (High School of the Dead), war (Grave of the Fireflies) and murder-mystery (Monster) are all here.

Chapter II: "All Anime Look the Same!"
Let's play a quick game shall we? I'm going to post five images from five different animations. I want you to identify which country they're from, (I'm assuming you don't actually recognise them). Ready? GO!

A) America
B) France
C) Japan
E) Eastern Europe

A) America
B) France
C) Japan
E) Eastern Europe

A) America
B) France
C) Japan
E) Eastern Europe

A) America
B) France
C) Japan
E) Eastern Europe

A) America
B) France
C) Japan
E) Eastern Europe


All done? If you answered anything other than "C) Japan", you're wrong. All these images are from Japanese animations (La Maison en Petits Cubes, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, FLAG, Tekkonkinkreet and Sailor Moon respectively). So why does only the last one look like what most people think of as "anime"?

As I've already said, anime isn't a "genre" and this extends to the art too. The director can have whatever kind of art style he wants to use, and so long as it's animation from Japan, made for a Japanese audience, it's still "anime".

However, the vast majority of anime do indeed share a similar art style, owing to a combination of "it provides a good balance between looking good while not being expensive to animate" and "people expect it to look like this". However, the common art style people think of is stuck firmly somewhere in 1993. Here's more what I consider the modern "common" anime style to look like:

K-ON!​

Of note are the realistic hair colors and body proportions (real Japanese girls have short, chubby legs like the K-ON! girls). The eyes, while still larger than real humans (you can thank Disney for this, he found that giving characters larger eyes makes them cuter and more expressive, something which Japanese animators copied) are not as absurdly large as the 90s style. The overall look is also "softer" and not as "harsh" as older anime, probably due to modern anime being done on computers with digital effects instead of on cells.

Even among anime that have a similar look, there will usually be a little something that gives a particular series it's own distinct flair. For example:

House of Five Leaves with it's unique facial designs​

Working!! with it's distinctive "gradient" hair colors​

Bakemonogatari with it's... Everything.​

And these are just a few examples of the many anime out there like this. So anyway, I've talked about you guys long enough, time to give the otaku a good grilling!

Part Two: Tough Love for the Otaku​

Ah, my fellow Japanese animation fan! Did you know that everything you know about anime is wrong? Here's why!

Chapter I: Everyone in Japan Watches and Loves Anime!
Do you know what the top three highest-ranked animated programs in Japan were for December 26th to January 1st were? Doraemon, Tamagotchi! and Shaun the Sheep. All family-oriented shows, one of which isn't even Japanese. Sazae-san usually ranks pretty high up too. "Sazae who?" I hear you say? Sazae-san, it's an animated series that's been airing since 1969 and has over 3000 episodes, surely you've heard of it? No? About the closest thing we have to what fans would call "anime" is Naruto Shippuden all the way in 9th place.

Sazae-san, a popular, long-running "anime"​

You know how people on the interent tease you about being a weird closet paedophile for watching anime? Yeah, that totally happens in Japan too. Here's the thing, while Japan does indeed treat animation much better than the West does [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimationAgeGhetto], the vast majority of it is watched by, and created for, the fans. People who the average person sees represented in the media as fat creeps who take up-skirt photos of strangers and murder and eat little girls [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_Miyazaki]. Also, the word "otaku" has a LOT of negative connotations in Japan, so you really shouldn't identify yourself with it.

In fact, one of the big issues in the Japanese animation industry has been expanding their audience beyond the typical young male demographic. The "noitaminA" (read it backwards ) programming block was created with this very purpose, and airs shows like Hataraki Man, The Tatami Galaxy and Princess Jellyfish, unique shows that they hope will catch a new audience, and pretty much why I love basically everything they air so damned much. Tiger & Bunny was another recent show that was created with the intent of appealing to a new audience. They managed to capture a sizable female audience, but it didn't quite work out as they had planned. Last I heard, they were planning a live-action version, which I expect will be a more successful endeavour.

Princess Jellyfish, an anime that appeared on the "noitaminA" block intended to appeal beyond the typical demographic of young males​

Now, if you're talking about manga (comic books), then yes, nearly everyone in Japan reads and loves manga. It's very common to see old men on the trains reading some kinda manga, and the father of the family I stayed with in Japan was a big fan of "The Golden Rough" a golf manga. Why the big discrepancy between two mediums that are very similar? Well, think back to when video games first hit the scene. They were prominently played by kids right? Adult-orientated titles were very rare. Fast-forward to 2012, and video games have hit the mainstream, thanks to not only titles that have more appeal to a mainstream audience, but also to the gradual acceptance of video games as something that everyone can enjoy. Manga in Japan is like where video games are today, people have grown up reading them, there's plenty of titles that appeal to a mainstream audience, an audience that has also accepted manga as a medium. Anime on the other hand is in the 32-bit era, there's a number of great titles aimed at a mature audience, but society still sees them as "stuff for kids" or "nerd stuff".

Chapter II: Anime Is Better than American Cartoons!
"AH! HA! HA! HA! Oh wait, you're serious? Let me laugh even harder." That's a quote from Futurama in case you avoid all American animation altogether. Actually, I'm not even sure how relevant this point is these days. It used to be that new bloods would go though a "zomg! anime is awesome, American cartoons suck and are for babies!" stage, but with the way that the internet has vilified anime, I suspect there's no new bloods any more. Anyway, let's briefly address it.

American-made animation and Japanese-made animation are just that: animation. There's nothing that restricts how "good" each can be. Granted, the biggest strike against American produced animation is the "Animation Age Ghetto [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimationAgeGhetto]", where animation is perceived as "stuff for kids" by the general public and no one wants to make more "mature" animation. This is largely thanks to what Hanna-Barbera did in the 60s (a story for another time), but the effects are still being felt today. Where's the American answer to Death Note? To Monster? At least, that's the more mainstream stuff I'm talking about here, no disrespect intended towards the wonderfully-talented Don Hertzfeldt.

Thankfully, things are changing, shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad! are changing the perception that animation is just for kids, but at the same time, it's almost like they're moving from one ghetto to another. Notice all these shows are comedies? About the only American animation I can think of with more of a "serious" slant is The Boondocks. And Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder is a fan of anime, did this give him the courage to make an animated show that also dealt with more mature subjects?

The Boondocks, American animation with a Japanese flavour​

In terms of technical merit, it's largely budget-related. Traditional American animation favours a higher framerate for smoother animation, but unless you've got a Disney-size budget, the drawings must be kept simple and dispense with things like shading and intricate character costumes. Even then, this style of animation is still quite expensive, with The Simpsons allegedly costing $2 million per episode. For Japanese animation, even a series with a good budget like Full Metal Alchemist allegedly only cost $5.6 million. FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES. Advertising budget included. Clearly, a Simpsons level budget is out of the question, it needs to get made cheap or not at all. That's where the tactic of more detailed drawings at the expense of a lower framerate comes in. Despite the lower framerate, the show still looks good, thanks to more detailed artwork, and the lower framerate means it's cheaper to produce. But in either case, give an American animation studio a high budget, or give a Japanese animation studio a high budget, and in both cases, you will get high-quality animation.

So in closing, there's a lot people who are wrong when it comes to Japanese animation. People who don't watch it are wrong, people who do watch it are wrong. But in the end, the important thing we must not forget is this: I'm right. Oh, and everyone had misconceptions and you should keep your mind open to the possibility of etc ect ect blah blah blah. Hope you enjoyed the article! And I also hope you learned something from it!

Being an anime fan myself I love it when someone writes an article of this kind. And I greatly appreciate it. I hope you will continue to speak on behalf of anime whenever you get the chance.

I've thought about this kind of thing myself and have come to the conclusion that the most fundamental difference between animation in the west and animation in Japan is application. As far as I can tell in the west animation is usually just used for either children's content or adult comedy. But in Japan animation is used for pretty much everything (although to be sure some genres may be more popular than others). Anime is everything that live-action is and more. In light of this it's a shame when some people simply take a look at one or a few anime titles and think that they've got the jist of it or anything like that. But sadly that seemingly has been the case before. I don't think a lot of people really understand how much variety anime has and that it's a medium and not a genre as you say.

I hope there comes a time when western companies start taking animation seriously as an artistic/creative medium as Japanese companies have been doing for many years.

 

[freaper]

Just wanted to let you know OP that I enjoyed the read, and I even learned some things. I'm an anime fan, but I only watch shows that my friends recommend, since I can't be bothered with most animes that are released recently.

 

[Rinshan Kaihou]

Just wanted to let you know OP that I enjoyed the read, and I even learned some things. I'm an anime fan, but I only watch shows that my friends recommend, since I can't be bothered with most animes that are released recently.

anime-planet.com, they have good recs for shows you've watched on their pages.

 

[JdaS]

Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Great read. Well thought out and with excellent points.

PS. Ringo Mogire Beam will always be a better OP than Kuso Rumba ;D

 

[FireAza]

Interesting read. But I will say this.


Anime has "The disapperance of haruhi suzumiya". Therefore, any argument against it is invalid.

GODDAMN Disappearance was an incredible film. And not just because it made up for the "Endless 8" tripe either, it was just... Incredible. They even managed to give Yuki a bit of personality and screen-time without seeming weird and out-of-place. And who knew that Haruhi worked so well with more of a drama slant? Also, the soundtrack was performed by an Australian orchestra *tearful patriotic salute*

Just wanted to let you know OP that I enjoyed the read, and I even learned some things. I'm an anime fan, but I only watch shows that my friends recommend, since I can't be bothered with most animes that are released recently.

My advice? Pick out something at random from the aniDB that sounds interesting and give a few episodes a shot. I've discovered many awesome anime that originally were just a blip on my radar because the concept was "interesting".

I've thought about this kind of thing myself and have come to the conclusion that the most fundamental difference between animation in the west and animation in Japan is application. As far as I can tell in the west animation is usually just used for either children's content or adult comedy. But in Japan animation is used for pretty much everything (although to be sure some genres may be more popular than others). Anime is everything that live-action is and more. In light of this it's a shame when some people simply take a look at one or a few anime titles and think that they've got the jist of it or anything like that. But sadly that seemingly has been the case before. I don't think a lot of people really understand how much variety anime has and that it's a medium and not a genre as you say.

"the most fundamental difference between animation in the west and animation in Japan is application"... I like that. That's a great way to describe it.