tirkaro
Smash Champion
Link to original post: [drupal=3112]Herpderp, Anime Drama[/drupal]
(Note that when I say "Anime", I also include Manga as well, just for simplicity's sake)
I come back to Smash blogs, and now there seems to be Animu drama in the first 2 topics I read. What the hell.
I'll just say it outright: Saying you like or hate Anime is a really ballsy statement. I mean, REALLY ballsy. Balls-off-the-walls ballsy. Why? Because having any opinion on "Anime" as a whole is just plain stupid. Saying "I think Anime is ____" means you're grouping
this, with
this, with
this, with
this, with
this, with
this, with
this,with
this, with
this, with
this.
Do you see what I'm getting at? Now have I at least opened your eyes to just how F*cking ******** it is to group "Anime" in one single genre? No? Well let me fix that:
TO ALL THE ANIME LOVERS/FANBOYS:
Chances are, you don't really like Anime. Anime is not a single franchise, made by a single company, all within a single demographic. Anime is a Medium. For example, I like a whole lot of different Japanese works. But I hate Naruto. There, now I don't like Anime anymore. See how that works? I can't ever be an Anime fan because "Anime" is just too broad a scope to judge as a whole. It's like saying you like every person in the world. OF COURSE YOU DON'T! Arseholes are pretty much everywhere, you can't possibly make such a bold statement unless you can somehow say that every person who ever lived has a shred of good in them, and that's all that matters. Chances are you don't think this way, so why go out of your way to say that Anime is the best thing since sex, when you probably don't like all of it?
Now I know what you're thinking: "BUT TIRK! NOW YOU JUST WANT US TO OVER COMPLICATE OUR SENTENCES BY SAYING JAPANESE ANIMATION OR SOMETHING"
Well first of all, saying "I love Japanese Animation" is just as bad, but the real problem I have is that I don't want "Anime" to be classified in one group. Even though I'll still use Anime/Manga as a term for simplicity's sake, one thing really bothers me: Anime and Manga are pretty much Buzzwords in the west. You know what the average market for Anime/Manga is in America? Teenagers. A rather specific group of teenagers at that. Basically, terms like Anime and Manga are just to attract that specific group of consumers. While the intentions were pure, here's the problem: we're now leaving out just about everyone else. For example, why the hell aren't I seeing Naoki Urasawa's Monster on NBC or something? It's certainly better than anything I've ever watched there, that's for sure, but why aren't I seeing it? Because of the "Anime" Buzzword. If any Anime, no matter what the subject matter, ever gets aired on TV, chances are it would just be grouped in a Block with other Anime. No exceptions. The biggest offense to this is the "Manga" section in a bookstore.
See this? This is all the manga currently published in this certain Bookstore in America, all confined to one location, next to a bunch of stupid Narutards. I can literally see GANTZ and Megaman NT Warrior sitting on the same shelf. I can see Fist of the North Star and Pokemon Adventures, resting comfortably together. And this, frankly, is BULLSH*T. Putting all Manga in this location means only a certain demographic will ever bother to look at it. Manga, as a whole, covers a VERY WIDE range of subject matter. Some are very kid-friendly, while some are MOST DEFINITELY NOT for kids. To put this in perspective, say I went to a Bookstore in, I dunno, Germany or something, and they had every American book confined to a single section. That means I could see "Sesame Street Stories" right next to "A Time to Kill." All this, just because you decided to make "Anime" a buzzword. Well, you and ADV, the b*astards. In 10 years, I want to see Naoki Urasawa's Monster in the "Suspense and Horror" section, and not sitting next to Sumomomo Momomo.
TO ANIME HATERS:
The exact same thing I wrote above applies to you as well, but increase my RAAAEEEEG by 300%. In a sense, I can't tell whether you're the product of the above or a cause of Anime Fanboys to be Fanboys, but no matter what, you're DEFINITELY part of the problem.
Let's just face it: the REAL reason why you dislike anime is because of the fans, in some way. In a way, I don't blame you, but in another way, that's still f*cking stupid. There's idiots in this world, and you're going to have to deal with that. If I let idiots change my opinion, I wouldn't even be on Smashboards at all. Now stop being anal and give Animation that actually *GASP!* doesn't come from America a chance already.
As for the rest of you who hate anime just....because... well, you're just stupid. This is like if I said I hate Books because all I read was Harry Potter and Twilight. There will be some Anime you'll like, as well as dislike. Saying you HAET Anime as a whole reeks of either
1. Ignorance or
2. Inherent Racism
This all reminds me of one f*cking ******** critic on some hackjob-yet-still-professional-enough-to-get-on-Rotten-Tomatoes site, who did a review of "Ponyo", who's the exact kind of person I'm talking about. He barely ever touched upon the Movie itself, and just went on about how Anime characters don't look Japanese (PROTIP: They do. It's just that Japanese aren't the minority in Japan, so they aren't drawn with stereotypical features.) and constantly described "Japanese Animation" as a "Genre", and overall reeked of "DURRHURR, THIS CARTOON ISN'T AMERICAN AND DOESN'T HAVE A TALKING DONKEY, SO IT'S TOTALLY INFERIOR." I never RAAAEEEEG'd so hard in my life, but luckily, the comments did that for me.
Basically, here's the Bottom line: I want Anime to be mainstream. I don't want to constantly see it grouped as one thing. I want to see certain Animes on Primetime TV, since I've certainly seen MUCH better Anime than anything I've seen on Primetime tv combined. Both Anime Haters and Lovers need to stop getting their panties in a bunch, and just realize that Anime BARELY even counts as a medium. Different Animes should be marketed towards different consumer groups. Maybe one day, I'll finally be able to see a movie like Summer Wars on my Local Theater. Maybe one day, I'll be able to read Manga in Public without some guy saying "YO DAWG, WHY YOU READIN' THAT JAPANESE ****, LEMME SEE, WTF, WHYZ IT ALL BACKWARDS."
Maybe, just maybe, all Anime related flamewars will just boil down to "Certain Anime" vs "Certain Anime" and not "LOLANIMESUCKS" vs "NO,ANIMEROX"
Oh, and adding to the "Haters" section, a common complaint seems to be "OMG, ALL ANIME LOOKS THE SAME." To which I reply:
1- If you bother to look, a lot of Western designs tend to look very similar as well. For example, I can't tell a Mass Effect from a Halo from a Gears of War from a Duke Nukem Forever at all. Neither can I with DnD from a Wizardry from a Lord of the Rings from a Harry Potter from a Elder Scrolls. Hell to me, all CG animated films being shown in theaters (Y'know, instead of actually good animated films like Summer Wars should be) all look exactly the same from another. However, I won't say that because....
2- You're wrong. Look at the above images.
3- If you still can't swallow that down, there's a reason why the standard "Anime" look is so popular. Because it works. It exaggerates the features most appealing to the human eye. Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder said it best when he said, "[Anime] is the closest you can get to live-action while still being a Cartoon" It's the exact same reason why a lot of Western products either stay live action or stick with a realistic look.
4- In the end, American and Japanese animation aren't too different.
"[Western Animators] often ask me why Anime character's eyes are so big, but when looking at western characters, I see no difference"
-Some Japanese Animator who's actual quote I can't find at the moment.
(Also, don't mind if what I typed sounds like gibberish at times, I'm typing this at 2AM and about t- ZZZzzzzzz)
(Note that when I say "Anime", I also include Manga as well, just for simplicity's sake)
I come back to Smash blogs, and now there seems to be Animu drama in the first 2 topics I read. What the hell.
I'll just say it outright: Saying you like or hate Anime is a really ballsy statement. I mean, REALLY ballsy. Balls-off-the-walls ballsy. Why? Because having any opinion on "Anime" as a whole is just plain stupid. Saying "I think Anime is ____" means you're grouping
this, with
this, with
this, with
this, with
this, with
this, with
this,with
this, with
this, with
this.
Do you see what I'm getting at? Now have I at least opened your eyes to just how F*cking ******** it is to group "Anime" in one single genre? No? Well let me fix that:
TO ALL THE ANIME LOVERS/FANBOYS:
Chances are, you don't really like Anime. Anime is not a single franchise, made by a single company, all within a single demographic. Anime is a Medium. For example, I like a whole lot of different Japanese works. But I hate Naruto. There, now I don't like Anime anymore. See how that works? I can't ever be an Anime fan because "Anime" is just too broad a scope to judge as a whole. It's like saying you like every person in the world. OF COURSE YOU DON'T! Arseholes are pretty much everywhere, you can't possibly make such a bold statement unless you can somehow say that every person who ever lived has a shred of good in them, and that's all that matters. Chances are you don't think this way, so why go out of your way to say that Anime is the best thing since sex, when you probably don't like all of it?
Now I know what you're thinking: "BUT TIRK! NOW YOU JUST WANT US TO OVER COMPLICATE OUR SENTENCES BY SAYING JAPANESE ANIMATION OR SOMETHING"
Well first of all, saying "I love Japanese Animation" is just as bad, but the real problem I have is that I don't want "Anime" to be classified in one group. Even though I'll still use Anime/Manga as a term for simplicity's sake, one thing really bothers me: Anime and Manga are pretty much Buzzwords in the west. You know what the average market for Anime/Manga is in America? Teenagers. A rather specific group of teenagers at that. Basically, terms like Anime and Manga are just to attract that specific group of consumers. While the intentions were pure, here's the problem: we're now leaving out just about everyone else. For example, why the hell aren't I seeing Naoki Urasawa's Monster on NBC or something? It's certainly better than anything I've ever watched there, that's for sure, but why aren't I seeing it? Because of the "Anime" Buzzword. If any Anime, no matter what the subject matter, ever gets aired on TV, chances are it would just be grouped in a Block with other Anime. No exceptions. The biggest offense to this is the "Manga" section in a bookstore.
See this? This is all the manga currently published in this certain Bookstore in America, all confined to one location, next to a bunch of stupid Narutards. I can literally see GANTZ and Megaman NT Warrior sitting on the same shelf. I can see Fist of the North Star and Pokemon Adventures, resting comfortably together. And this, frankly, is BULLSH*T. Putting all Manga in this location means only a certain demographic will ever bother to look at it. Manga, as a whole, covers a VERY WIDE range of subject matter. Some are very kid-friendly, while some are MOST DEFINITELY NOT for kids. To put this in perspective, say I went to a Bookstore in, I dunno, Germany or something, and they had every American book confined to a single section. That means I could see "Sesame Street Stories" right next to "A Time to Kill." All this, just because you decided to make "Anime" a buzzword. Well, you and ADV, the b*astards. In 10 years, I want to see Naoki Urasawa's Monster in the "Suspense and Horror" section, and not sitting next to Sumomomo Momomo.
TO ANIME HATERS:
The exact same thing I wrote above applies to you as well, but increase my RAAAEEEEG by 300%. In a sense, I can't tell whether you're the product of the above or a cause of Anime Fanboys to be Fanboys, but no matter what, you're DEFINITELY part of the problem.
Let's just face it: the REAL reason why you dislike anime is because of the fans, in some way. In a way, I don't blame you, but in another way, that's still f*cking stupid. There's idiots in this world, and you're going to have to deal with that. If I let idiots change my opinion, I wouldn't even be on Smashboards at all. Now stop being anal and give Animation that actually *GASP!* doesn't come from America a chance already.
As for the rest of you who hate anime just....because... well, you're just stupid. This is like if I said I hate Books because all I read was Harry Potter and Twilight. There will be some Anime you'll like, as well as dislike. Saying you HAET Anime as a whole reeks of either
1. Ignorance or
2. Inherent Racism
This all reminds me of one f*cking ******** critic on some hackjob-yet-still-professional-enough-to-get-on-Rotten-Tomatoes site, who did a review of "Ponyo", who's the exact kind of person I'm talking about. He barely ever touched upon the Movie itself, and just went on about how Anime characters don't look Japanese (PROTIP: They do. It's just that Japanese aren't the minority in Japan, so they aren't drawn with stereotypical features.) and constantly described "Japanese Animation" as a "Genre", and overall reeked of "DURRHURR, THIS CARTOON ISN'T AMERICAN AND DOESN'T HAVE A TALKING DONKEY, SO IT'S TOTALLY INFERIOR." I never RAAAEEEEG'd so hard in my life, but luckily, the comments did that for me.
Basically, here's the Bottom line: I want Anime to be mainstream. I don't want to constantly see it grouped as one thing. I want to see certain Animes on Primetime TV, since I've certainly seen MUCH better Anime than anything I've seen on Primetime tv combined. Both Anime Haters and Lovers need to stop getting their panties in a bunch, and just realize that Anime BARELY even counts as a medium. Different Animes should be marketed towards different consumer groups. Maybe one day, I'll finally be able to see a movie like Summer Wars on my Local Theater. Maybe one day, I'll be able to read Manga in Public without some guy saying "YO DAWG, WHY YOU READIN' THAT JAPANESE ****, LEMME SEE, WTF, WHYZ IT ALL BACKWARDS."
Maybe, just maybe, all Anime related flamewars will just boil down to "Certain Anime" vs "Certain Anime" and not "LOLANIMESUCKS" vs "NO,ANIMEROX"
Oh, and adding to the "Haters" section, a common complaint seems to be "OMG, ALL ANIME LOOKS THE SAME." To which I reply:
1- If you bother to look, a lot of Western designs tend to look very similar as well. For example, I can't tell a Mass Effect from a Halo from a Gears of War from a Duke Nukem Forever at all. Neither can I with DnD from a Wizardry from a Lord of the Rings from a Harry Potter from a Elder Scrolls. Hell to me, all CG animated films being shown in theaters (Y'know, instead of actually good animated films like Summer Wars should be) all look exactly the same from another. However, I won't say that because....
2- You're wrong. Look at the above images.
3- If you still can't swallow that down, there's a reason why the standard "Anime" look is so popular. Because it works. It exaggerates the features most appealing to the human eye. Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder said it best when he said, "[Anime] is the closest you can get to live-action while still being a Cartoon" It's the exact same reason why a lot of Western products either stay live action or stick with a realistic look.
4- In the end, American and Japanese animation aren't too different.
"[Western Animators] often ask me why Anime character's eyes are so big, but when looking at western characters, I see no difference"
-Some Japanese Animator who's actual quote I can't find at the moment.
(Also, don't mind if what I typed sounds like gibberish at times, I'm typing this at 2AM and about t- ZZZzzzzzz)
