It’s hard to believe that GEN has been around for over a year! We’ve had so many great memories over the past year. We wanted to share some of the very first posts that we made with you in this months series “MEMORIES“.
Watch Anime or Vacate
Posted by: Kannaya 1/02/2008
When you get home from a long day of work and you want to relax, watch some anime. When your young child is bugging you about something, put in some Pokémon and watch some anime. When you get home from school and you want to procrastinate with homework, watch some anime. Ok I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m serious. Do you really know all the different kinds of anime out there and what they have to offer?
Anime is not just a cartoon series. Anime has an on going plot (works its way to an end), character development, and usually has a lesson to teach the viewer. If you look at the cartoons in America, whether it is Family Guy or SpongeBob Square Pants, the series doesn’t have the same underlying plot and each episode is detached from the actual series as a whole. An anime series is the opposite because when one episode ends, the other picks up where the last one left off. Even though the American cartoons are usually funny and witty, there is not much depth to the series as a whole. Anime, for the most part, has in depth plots and keeps you waiting for the next episode to come out (or finish downloading).
Seriously, there is an anime out there for most people. There are action filled animes by the thousand, many of which include large robots (gundams). Some great series for action are Gundam Wing, Samurai 7, and Cowboy Bebop. Hentai is a great for those of you who like to get your groove thing on. Many animes have a good love story that is perfect for those days when you want to feel sappy and fuzzy inside.
I recommend Fruits Baskets or Escaflowne for their good love stories. Of course there are the gory, violent ones that are sometimes just as good as a scary movie when you want to freak yourself out. Check out Hellsing and Elfen Lied for some great gore. I can’t forget about the ones that make you scratch your head at the end of each episode because they are so crazy cool. Sometimes those animes are the most fun because you can watch them over and over again and learn something new. FLCL (fooly cooly) is a great little starter series that will confuse the hell out of you. The great thing about anime, regardless of the genre, is that they almost always manage to put some humor in.
Anime is like a good movie, you lose yourself in it. Even though the characters aren’t real people, a person can feel strong emotions while watching a series. You can really get caught up in the story or just use it as a background noise while you are doing homework (better than commercials). Basically what I am trying to get across in a couple of paragraphs is not all anime is like Sailor Moon or Pokémon. Anime is only getting better graphics and stories as the years go on. Go watch anime now!
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Haha…I don’t know about FLCL as a starter anime. When you borrowed it to me it was so confusing I thought all anime was going to be like it… LOL. It turned out great though!
Also, I just started Fruits Baskets last night! It is so cute! I like the rat….awwwwww!
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:01 pm
i agree, usually try to keep some kind of anime in the background even if im not watching. When i do watch though, i love Samurai champloo, GITS, and Cowboy Bebop.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I admit, when I get home and I am not playing games or reading comics, I pop in an anime DVD and watch it. I love anime because of the reasons you listed. I love that the story continues. I like being immersed in something like that. It is why I like comics and games. You get to follow a story until it’s climax. Some American cartoons are good as well. Yes, I will give them that. But too many seem to be satisfied with being self contained to one episode with a loose continuity holding it all together. And while that is fun for a while, I need more consistency in what I watch. I love series ranging from Excel Saga to Escaflowne to Gravitation because I can follow along with the characters and enjoy a nice piece of story telling … something that I miss in many of anime’s American counterparts.
Ricky
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
How do you get past the voice overs though!? I was watching a Sailor Moon episode once and wanted to rip my eardrums out. Is this a problem in all anime’ or is SM just a crappy one?
January 4th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Most dubbed anime is pretty good. The problem is they try to exaggerate the voices to much. I have found that I would rather watch it in Japanese with subtitles over watching the English dubbed versions.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:27 am
yeah, i totally wanted to rip my ears off when i watched Naruto for the first time a couple of nights ago. Really awful stuff
January 4th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I admit that there is some pretty trashy anime out there and I totally agree with you rjac, I love series like Escaflowne that have a detailed ongoing story and yes Naruto does annoy me, but for some reason people love those mindless fighting series.
I can’t watch anime very often in English, it really can ruin the emotion and quality of an anime.
Thanks for commenting everyone! ^_^
January 4th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I remember Sailor Moon was a starter for me when I was a kid. I didn’t feel like ripping my ears out but somehow when I listened to the Japaneses version for the first time in years I couldn’t stand it. Maybe I didn’t know better back then. I totally agree with rjac, there are few good voice actors that does a really good job on English dubbing.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I just felt the need to add a little here.
While I am all into anime as much as the next person these days (My god has it become furking popular.) I somewhat disagree with the idea that all anime is storytelling at it’s best.
Don’t get me wrong, I have my own faves (Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw star, Haibane Ranmei, Tenchi Muyo to name a few..) I think that some Anime has the habit of outstaying it’s welcome. Rumiko Takahashi comes to mind with several series in which NOTHING ever gets resolved. I understand the fact that unrequited love stories are a valid storyline in the Japanese culture, but for the veiwer I can only stand so many “Kagome, Inuyasha” Moments before I click the off button and move on.
Now please don’t misunderstand me, If you love Inuyasha, that’s fantastic for you, more power to you, you have more patience than me. However a story that remains in the same rut continually does not to me seem to constitute conclusive plot movement and somewhat falls into the “DragonballZ” trap. (also this does not generally apply to manga who seem to move through their stories with a generally wonderful fluidity.)
Also as a side note on American cartoons. There are gems in the rough out there. (I loath the Spongebob. With a burning passion of a thousand suns and am totally with you on most of it.) Recently after much goading from a friend I sat down and watched the first Season of Avatar: The last Airbender. I had avoided it like the plague thinking it was Americans trying to cash in on Anime’s popularity, But ended up pleasantly surprised. Though the plot starts slow it becomes utterly amazing as it progresses. There are villians to hate (Damn to Azula!); Characters to love (Iroh, *sniff*); Even heroes who can become unsure of themselves, doubtful of their destiny. The Plot becomes complex and the characters (OMG) develop growing older and more mature. Though at the moment it is only one jewel in a otherwise worthless quagmire of episodic mindlessness. I hope it’s popularity helps American Cartoon makers shift their focus from the fart jokes and cheap laughs.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Echodreamer,
I do agree with you, but I was explaining the majority of anime. Many out there that you mentioned are never ending and plot-less, but for the most anime has really great story lines. Of course there are those thoughtless animes that have the same sequence over and over of fighting, but I would like to think that anime has progressed hugely in its story telling ability. Don’t get me wrong with American cartoons either. I loved Rocko’s Modern Life, Duck Tales, and Ren & Stimpy. But for all of my youth love of these cartoons, anime still holds higher in my book. The plots, again for the most part, are more sophisticated. While Adult cartoons such as Futurama and Aqua Teen Hunger Force are modern comedic geniuses, they still don’t hold my attention and don’t give me an emotional attachment to the characters like anime.
I love almost all types of cartoons, but anime is my favorite…oh and Metalcolypse! *^_^*
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I grew up watching The Shogun Warriors, Battle of the Planets and Robotech in the 70’s and 80’s. I was drawn more to Anime, because it took animation seriously, as an art form and in the States. It was mostly tied to selling toys to kids. Sadly I don’t really watch too much Anime these days. Gaming and the Internet take up too much of my time. The last Anime I saw was Paprika. Which I absolutely loved! If I to choose my favorite Anime of all time. It would probably be, Castle in the Sky. It’s a magical masterpiece.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
the grew up mostly on American cartoons, but it wasn’t really until about dragonball that I started noticing anime. My favorite as a kid though was definitely the Guyver ova’s and Ninja scroll(not quite sure how I got my parents to let me watch em but oh well).