Japanese anime culture, course work project Options

[*Starr*]

Hey guys long time right ? Talk about me being a lazy one lol anyways, i was wondering if you alls could help me out.
For my final year project/thesis, i am doing research on the Japanse anime culture and its popularity especially within the youth sub cultures... so I was hoping to start an open ended discussion with everyone.
The projected is geared towards Trinidad specifically but to be more thorough i am hoping to take snapshots of its effects across other areas as well. sorta like a comparison.
Basically to start things off i would appreciate it if you all could just tell me why you all like anime. It can be how long or how short an explanation lol and you can probably say the types preferred an examples. lol it is open ended so feel free to just give your opinions but i would need to know your location like country or state or something...and probably which age group you belong too...thanks alot for your help

[DARK_SABER]

Well ill start, I think to help things out it would be important to start from the beginning.


I would have to say I first saw anime at a friends house when I was maybe six or seven. I didn’t know what it was at the time other than it was a cartoon (about a few years ago I found out the anime in question was actually Dirty Pair: Project EDEN) with a completely different look then what I was used to. That was that until a year or so later when UPN started a Sunday morning cartoon block, which one of the cartoons was Teknoman (the really, really chopped up version, Blade was Slade, Dagger was Gunner and they only showed one season). I really looked forward to that show every week when I was young and perhaps because my parents didn’t approve of the violence in it (they were really main stream conservative Christians back then) I wanted to watch it even more.

Anyway eventually they took Teknoman off the air and that was that until I saw Gundam Wing. At that point I was maybe fourteen or so and had access to the internet and was determined to find out what it was. At that point I learned what anime was and started searching for other examples. I found eva, gundam wing, and a bunch of others online available though kazzaa (when it was free and not teeming with virus traps). Around this time, ironically, I met up with the guys here when one day I decided to see if anyone on the web knew about Teknoman (I was really surprised at all the old websites floating around about it and its sequal).

Anyway I would have to say my initial interest in anime came from the fact that I only had a few tastes of it for several years and never knew what it was until later. I naturally enjoy animation and find the mature stories typically found in most anime refreshing. There are other things, such as the characters don’t take their acting seriously (as obviously their drawn and cant over act). Things like the characters aren’t attached to actors and thus are not bound to stupid things like an acting contract that says they have to stay with the show for X amount of time before being able to be killed off and what not. Anime to me is perhaps everything that most shows on tv aren’t.

USA, Illinois. Age 23

[TeknomanFan]

Since D_S made a nice contribution, i'll put my 2cents in too.

First anime i ever saw were Saint Seiya and DBZ on Club Dorothée when I was 5. It was all in French, didn't understand a word what was being said but I still remember the first eps of DBZ i saw, it was Dende's Demise. After that, i watched rather lot of anime (not knowing it was anime at that time) such as Dommel, Alfred J. Kwak and mevrouwtje theelepel and Candy Candy.

A couple of years later, must've been 12 or 13 or so, a show called Teknoman started to get aired here (international version with a few adjustements). For some reason, i really liked that story. Perhaps because Blade was a bit of a loner like me. I watched the series and when the reruns were shown, i even taped it on VHS.

Again, a couple of years passed, I was 16 or so and during summer holiday i got a bit bored. I still had the VHS tapes of teknoman and since i once liked the show, i decided to rewatch it again. Much to my surprise, i still liked the show very much. Since we had internet then, i started searching the internet to see if i could find info about the show. I found a lot of sites and learned of the existence of TB II, the fact that Teknoman was an edited form of Tekkaman Blade which was 6 eps longer, and eventually found tekno-mania (in its crude and rudementary form). And from that point on, i learned about other anime series and that got the anime-ball going for me.

age: 24 (almost 25)
location: Belgium (Europe)

Star, I hope this has been a bit useful to you. Good luck with your thesis, I know from experience what a pain something like that can be . Keep us posted on the results of your thesis and perhaps you can even let us read it and stay in touch

EDIT: forgot to mention why i like anime.
I watched a lot of cartoons when i was little so i suppose it became a bit of a habit but that is not the main reason. Anime just has a wider variety of stories than classic cartoons.
An advantage that anime has over real-life shows is that it are drawn images. A lot of different settings are possible without becoming ridiculous. If some anime where played by real-life actors, a lot of things would look really ridiculous or would be nearly impossible to do.

Reason for edit: forgot something

[Tekno-Crystal]

Since the ball is already rolling, I guess I can attempt to help.

I honestly can't remember how old I was when I saw my first piece of anime, but I believe it was very early 90's, so I was about 5 or 6. Also, like the others, I didn't know what anime was. The first thing I saw was a movie called Warriors of the Wind (the cut up version of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 風の谷のナウシカ), which I enjoyed, but really didn't think anything of, other then it being another cartoon movie. Growing up with my brother we both had an interest in cartoons and comics, so when Teknoman was aired on TV on UPN Sunday mornings, again, we didn't really think much of it other then it being another cool cartoon. However, when the show was pulled from the air and the story cut off, I wanted to know what happened, but I had no real way to find out how.

A few years passed, and eventually I can access to the Internet, and one day I just remembered the show and figured I'd look it up. That search brought me to this site which eventually lead to downloads of the show (oh the days of Real Player and DOS FTP downloading in parts), which also lead to further discovery of anime culture and the wide array of anime out there. This essentially opened the flood gates for me, I discovered other websites, other sources of downloading and away I went. I continued to watch Ghost in the Shell, Gundam Wing, etc. eventually leading to where we are now, at almost a non stop pace.

As for why I like anime, I believe it stemmed from my general interest in cartoons and comics, combined with my interest in Japan. Even before I knew much about anime, I had a strong interest in Japan. The rich history and culture of this country, as well as the rapid growth of technology in the more recent years is something that always had my attention. However, there was also something a bit more about anime itself, how the story, characters and animation just seemed overall at a higher level then the North American counterparts. Not only that, there was anime which was targeted at a more mature audience so the themes and content weren't always childish and simple (I'm looking at you, Ghost in the Shell!). Something like that was very rare and hard to find in North America.

Also, my personal preference in anime is just about anything. I like a good mix. For example, I'm currently watching Fullmetal Alchemist, To Aru Kagyaku no RAILGUN, Bakemonogatari, Fairy Tail, Inuyasha Kanketsuhen and Minami-ke. In the past I've also enjoyed shows such as Clannad, Fate/stay night, Hayate no Gotoku, CardCaptor Sakura, Ah! My Goddess, and many many more.

Age: 23
Location: Canada (currently living in Japan)

[*Starr*]

wow!! I guess all of us had more or less the same type discovery of anime. My first encounter was actually Teknoman and I was hooked since then. lol
Well thank you for your info, what i am curious about now is how influential Japanese anime/manga is in your lives and those of the youths in your respective locations. What do you think from your own personal experiences? Tekno- Crystal, maybe you can tell me more about your first hand experiences in Japan especially culture wise and anime wise?
Thanks

[TeknomanFan]

effects on youth: since anime isn't widely spread here, i'd say virtually none

[DARK_SABER]

Anime's impact on my life would likely be the same as star treks, I enjoy it and its inspired me to explore things I might not have otherwise considered but beyond that thats about it. I dont attend ComicCon dressed as Alucard, dont get bent out of shape when the dubbed of an anime or manga uses diffrent phrases or names. When I was young I didnt run around the house shouting "tekno-power" and so forth. Anime was, and in many respects still is, simply something I just really enjoy and draw insperation from.

[Tekno-Crystal]

The thing about Japanese anime/manga here is that it influences everyone. I've seen people young and old (I'm talking 50-60 years old) on trains and subways reading weekly manga magazines. Also, most people I talk to in the company I work for (mid 20's to about 60 years old) know of, and enjoy anime/manga in some regard. There are those who get really excited to talk about it, and those who shy away from the subject but still admit to enjoying it. And obviously, anime and manga is very influential here, there are shopping districts with tons of merchandise dedicated to it (there's even a store in Osaka dedicated purely to Gundam simply called Osaka Gundam), book stores have floors and floors of manga, the doujinshi manga sells very well, etc. However, it still seems to be a touchy subject for some due to the lingering of the old otaku culture. I wish I could provide you with more information, but I haven't really had the chance to discover more yet (damn work!).

As for my life itself, anime was an off-shoot of my general interest in Japan, but it just further developed that interest, which eventually lead me to study the language and culture. Those studies eventually lead me to where I am today, working and living in Japan (temporarily mind you, I wish I could stay longer, but this country has some strict immigration laws). When I return to Canada I will continue my studies of the language and intend to visit back as often as I can. So, I suppose anime has played a part in my learning of another country, in both language and culture, probably something I would not have normally done.

[*Starr*]

well I am learning a lot thanks to you all lol
Just an out there question....what do you see a anime culture?From what you have said so far I see this as the next posibble thing i could ask. Although it may seem really obvious, different views can help to refine it for me.

Also someone I talked to said that ANime is innocent compared to Western Animation. I really doubt that take but what do you think? and do you think that it is as highly commercialised as the Western product?

[VolTekker]

Hello All,

Long time no see, how is everyone???

Anyway....Yes i would have to agree with you Star. The Anime culture in america has been growing since the mid 90's and it continues to grow to this day. I remember going into Sun Coast Video and having to order anime. Now there's a whole wall. I say the 90's but it was really the 80's when anime first started showing itself in america with the introduction of Speed Racer, Transformers, and especially Macross.

God I remember watching those all as a kid in the 80's. Would you have the Anime Conventions that rival numbers of guest at sporting events, if it was for the fact that it seems to have taken root. The thing is and i think Tekno-Crystal said it best Anime influences everyone. But i think there's more then just that. Anime has so many different themes that everyone seems to find something about some aspect of a given anime that they relate with.

The real question is where does the line get drawn in the sand anymore. You have anime style cartoon done completely by american studios, or at least the production wise, but their still drawn in japan, or by artists that have moved over here. So the whole "it's originally from Japan" line kinda doesn't apply.

Do I like the direction Anime is taking right now, totally. Do i miss some of the older series of course. But as long as Anime doesn't turn into the Tella-Tubbies, it's not going anywhere.

Of course this is all my humble opinion.

[Tekno-Crystal]

If the person you talked to was saying something along the lines of Western animation being more mature then Eastern anime then I would have to strongly disagree. Granted there are innocent shows, but all you have to do is watch an anime like Ninja Scroll or Ghost in the Shell to see how mature they can be. Even anime produced for younger audiences has very adult undertones (if you want some examples I can give some).

As for commercialization. Anime and anime products are sold everywhere in every form here. For example, Key Animation (Kanon, Clannad, etc.) even has playing cards for their anime, and thats extremely common. Also, anime on DVD and Blu-Ray is sold very shortly after it airs on TV, each disc has about 3 episodes on it. They want to sell them while the anime is still largely popular, unlike anime sold for Western audiences where DVD's contain 5-6 episodes and quite often releases are far apart. So yes, anime is very commercialized here, key-chains, cell-phone charms, playing cards, you name it, they have it.

[VolTekker]

hell just look at hello kitty, it's from the 70's now its all over the place.

i think you may have missed my point to the difference in western versus eastern anime. i agree fully that shows like ninja scroll and ghost in the shell are of the mature nature. but it seems that the west is following the curve. granted there has been anything out like that from an american company but i think you just might see it soon. though i still enjoy eastern anime more.

and for clearification western is american for me and eastern is....well you get it.

[DARK_SABER]

Western Animation IS coming around however but there is just no contest between Western and Eastern animation. I doubt it will be some time before we something come out of the west with the maturity of GITS or Cowboy Bebop or the gore of Hellsing Ultimate and Elfien Lied, simply due to the view that animation is still predominiately made for kids and that anything moderately violent in such things is contraversial enough for governments to get involved with.

That said though the West excels at things like live action and CG and many would argue the combination of the two is something that the west is mastering, Avatar is a prime example of intergrating live action, the use of actors and CG graphics, another is the upcoming Tron Legacy, and lets not forget Starwars 1-3. It simply boils down to though what art form was the more popular, and thus became the more developed, in that region.

Its rather ironic though when you consider the fact that modern anime owes its existance to the west. If you look back at the earlier examples of anime and compare it to examples from Disney you will many similarities simply because those styles (ie the disporportions such as the big eyes and head) were used as the basis for anime.

@ VolTekker. Thats really the norm in animation at least in the west. You create the story, the key animation frames, then outsource the rest to another group for the filler animation (IE the character simply walking around, having a conversation, etc) unless your Disney or WB, in which case you have an army of animators at your disposal. What alot of people in my opinion fail to realize is that animation is simply an art form, and like any art form it can be done by someone trained enough to do it. If a piece of animation has all the ear marks of anime, the graphics, the sounds, the story, does it really matter if its animator isnt a native of Japan? Are the Japanese inbued with some sort of mystical ability to tell a good story or create unique animation? No, not in the least. It is simply an art style.

[VolTekker]

I see your point, and I agree with it. CG has been a hallmark of Disney for sometime and rightly so. But I would argue Pixar does a better job, and ILM being at the top of the food chain. Look at Transformers. Could you image what the original 1986 movie would look like all done in CG holy crap. I mean there was talk and even some production and CG work on a live action/CG Evangelion movie a couple of years ago. That was going to be a joint venture with Gonzo and I can't remember for sure.

And yes I fell the Japanese have a better sense of telling stories for not just kids but for all ages. Like you said American cartoons are more geared for kids.

An art form it is and always be. Saber you always to bring up the points I seem to miss, thank you.

[*Starr*]

hey guys sorry about not replying for so llong. LOOOOOOOOOOOongggggggggg story lol computer crashes one after the other. borrowed a friends laptop same thing lol so I finally got my own like yesterday