Dragon Ball Super contains a numerous amount of scenes where the Z fighters are maintaining their fitness levels. The belief that a Saiyan has no limits seems to be true as Goku and Vegeta constantly go beyond their limits that were set for them. This is also true with humans and the human limit, correct? No one believed a man could ever climb Mt. Everest or break four minutes for the mile. Well both of those were obtained by humans… multiple times. Is their Saiyan pride deep down in every human?
This will be a great article if you could incorporate the phenomenon of "hysterical strength" which I believe will tie-in nicely with a saiyan going beyond his limits. – Joestar6 years ago
A common argument I see regarding certain anime is that "people love to hate" popular anime. I've seen this geared towards Your Name., Sword Art Online, Haikyuu, and many more. On one hand, I can see this as a way for people to be playing devil's advocate so that people don't blindly jump into a show without being aware of its faults. This is especially true of Sword Art Online. I can't say I'm a fan of the show at all, but I can see why people are drawn to it, and the same things that I may dislike, other people might not mind. However, I'm sure there are people who label an anime as overrated and boring simply because the show is popular. What are everyone else's thoughts on the argument that people like to hate popular anime? Why do you think that is people try to tout this particular argument?
There are quite a few topic suggestions already concerning anime at The Artifice, so perhaps it would be worth combining a few of these into an overall analysis regarding the pros and cons of anime and what, in particular, people find displeasing or enjoyable. I think a lot of the hatred boils down to personal taste and that eternally ridiculous question of what's the 'best' or 'greatest'; highly subjective at best, which I've made comments about regarding another anime topic suggestion. Having said that, perhaps the simple fact that a popular anime series or film is just that, i.e. 'popular' automatically triggers the hate response in those who feel a burning need to hate popular culture, for whatever reason. Going slightly off topic a moment, but still (sort of) relevant, being a loyal fan of the original Sherlock Holmes stories I resisted the new BBC 'Sherlock' series because I didn't think it would work in a modern day setting...and how wrong I was! Hmph, lesson learned. Regarding anime, we also have to consider the blind preconceptions many in the West still have about 'cartoon' entertainment being only for children, but I'm in danger of repeating myself here so I'll stop. Anyway, a good topic suggestion in my opinion and you get my vote. – Amyus7 years ago
Often times, when an anime is dubbed people, will say the dubbed version is inherently inferior to the original Japanese. Which in the case of many early 80's to mid 90's I would agree with to an extent. Often times the voice acting is poorly directed and cheaply done with amateur actors, but I believe that changed largely due to Dragon Ball Z. The massive popularity of Dragon Ball Z brought more money into the localization process of many Japanese products when they were brought over to the west and this can be seen in how the dubbing of Dragon Ball Z. Despite these improvements why do people continue to believe that dubbed anime is inherently inferior to the subbed version? Both types of localization have their own strength and weakness, so why does the western anime community hate over the other?
Being a keen fan of anime I can certainly agree with the points you've raised in this topic suggestion although I generally prefer to watch anime subtitled and hear the original language, but that's my personal preference. I have seen some dubbed anime in which the voice actors did a splendid job - Crispin Freeman's voicing of the Kyon character in 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' series and film (2006 - 2009) is a good example, but in direct contrast to this is Emily Hirst, whose whiny, nasal drawl was not at all in keeping with the character Makoto Konno from 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' (2006) and annoyed me intensely. One of the problems with dubbing (and subbing) is transference of cultural idioms and references. Simply switching these from one language to another, e.g. Japanese to American English doesn't always work and (no offence intended towards Americans) it shouldn't automatically be assumed that everyone in the English speaking world will necessarily understand the American reference or idiom. One size doesn't always fit all! Whilst professional subtitlers will sometimes, by necessity, have to be linguistically creative with translations and transference of idioms and cultural references, any competent translator will never balk at translating a difficult turn of phrase - which can't be said for some fan 'subbers' I could mention - so will try to keep as close to the original as possible whilst still creating text that can be easily understood by non-Japanese speakers. This doesn't make subtitling superior to dubbing as the two approaches to translation are completely different, as any professional voice artist will confirm. There is, admittedly, some 'snob bias' from some who prefer subtitling and there always will be; it's just the way of the anime community. Coincidentally I'm presently preparing an article about the history of subtitling in which I also cover anime fan subbing - both its good and bad points, so it would be interesting to see someone take up your topic suggestion and write about the development of dubbing; I have some fascinating source material I could suggest for anyone interested. – Amyus7 years ago
I tend to prefer subbed anime over its dubbed counterpart. My main reason for this being that I feel the original Japanese voice actors are able to capture concepts and convey them more effectively than an American voice actor. Abstract concepts that are unique to Japan like the red string of fate or even the various ways to say "I love you" may be things an English-speaking voice actor might not completely understand and will therefore not be able to capture the subtle nuances associated with the idea. However, that's not to say English dubs don't have their merits. There are a number of anime in which I actually prefer the English dub. FMAB, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, etc. Possibly the reason why some people in Western audiences hate dubbed anime is a matter of superiority and originality. The Japanese dub came from Japan where anime was born and is thriving. Because anime is still a relatively foreign concept for Western audiences, it may take a while before the idea of something belonging to one country can successfully bridge the gap across cultures. – ceekim7 years ago
Anime is mainstream, there is no question about that. Yet, why is there such a lack of intensity of discussion about Japanese movies that aren't animated, with the exception of Akira Kurosawa's films, especially Seven Samurai and Rashomon? Any thoughts on what is causing this? Feel free to add any information on Japanese cinema and animations' reception internationally as well.
I'd remove the commentary, it removes some of the professionalism from your topic. Maybe phrase it more as why are more mainstream works the only ones we as American's value instead of here are these things, they're good but not good enough. Maybe move focus to why are these pieces mainstream, why have they gained this popularity, as opposed to these are popular do you agree. – alexpaulsen7 years ago
Based off what I've seen at the youtube channel censoredgaming the only reason western audience really follow anime now is due to the fact that it was easy to turn a profit off them. In the early nineties when networks had the Saturday morning cartoon blocks many channels would fill them with censored and poorly translated animes because they could pay the (at the time) rookie voice actors very little. So all they really had to do was pay for the licensing fees. This lead to a boom in the popularity of anime (which before that was more a subculture thing). I would say that is the main reason for the people not watching Japanese film. – Blackcat1307 years ago
I think another important aspect to add onto Blackcat130's critique) is whether or not this helped influence Japan being more recognized for its animated media? For instance, despite Japanese films being unpopular, you could look at Studio Ghibli and how internatinally renowed and respected the company is. – Mela7 years ago
I actually have an issue with designating anime as "mainstream." Certainly, some titles have wide reception (Pokemon, DBZ, Attack on Titan, etc.) but these (arguably) successful examples don't mean that the anime medium as a whole has become "mainstream." Anime is as much of a niche market today as it was during the boom in the 1990s. While it does enjoy increased consumption throughout the world and more appreciation even back at home in Japan, there is still a slight stigma towards those who enjoy anime, due to many reasons (pedophilia, violence, and occultism for example). So yes, anime may have a slightly more positive reception and appreciation among a wide audience but the designation of "mainstream" implies mass public approval, which the medium surely has not obtained. – Ma-kun7 years ago
Generally, foreign culture (and language) outside USA's Hollywood is something that doesn't matter and should be seen as exotic or odd. The real question is: Why is anime mainstream despite this cultural deafness? Or, is anime really mainstream in the USA or is it just an impression media gives to people? – T. Palomino2 years ago
I have only fairly recently discovered that Netflix now streams anime, many of which is produced by Netflix themselves. Netflix delving into anime gives me mixed feelings: does it spell the end of 'real', 'pure' anime – anime being a Japanese invention, there seems to be an unspoken rule that it can borrow as much references from the outside world without stop being 'anime' yet if another country attempts to create an animated work inspired by anime, such as Avatar the Last Airbender, it is not considered anime. Herein lies the confusion. Netflix is an American company yet their Original anime series seem undoubtedly 'anime' – looking, sounding, and feeling like anime. In this topic, I have quite a few questions: does Netflix creating, producing, and distributing anime spell the end of Anime being 'pure' or does it mean that Anime has finally progressed even further upon its path of global, nay, universal domination? At what point , or how much foreign involvement is needed before anime stops being anime? As many 'Japanese' anime outsources work from other countries especially China or Korea for in-betweening, does this mean that as long as the creative force behind the work is Japanese, the resulting work is Anime?
Anime is an art form. The way I it looks is what makes it anime, much-like how one recognized looney tunes. They way they are drawn, scenes, and dialogue are all key components of these animations. Netflix creates another convenient outlet to view and enjoy them. – TeddyJ7 years ago
Well, after witnessing the recent crunchyroll anime awards and laughing spectacularly how much loss potential that the award show was, I started questioning what makes a show great, let alone to be the best. Does it have to be a show that's critically acclaimed by not only critiques but the general audience? A show with great animation, story and music, or something that is just dumb fun to watch and yet interesting not to get bored after a few episodes? I'm curious to hear your opinions on this topic.
One of the problems a topic such as this will inevitably face is the perennial 'Best versus Favourite' debate. All anime fans have their favourite films and/or series, so by its very nature favouritism is subjective and the same applies to what is 'great' or 'the best'. We can probably all name at least half a dozen websites and countless You Tube videos that list 'The Ten Greatest Anime Shows' or similar, but those are rarely, if at all, objective in their lists. Critics and critiques alike are no different - just take a look at the variance in reviews and critiques that appear on Rotten Tomatoes; what one critic will applaud another will pan and having a degree in 'Filmology' (sic) doesn't guarantee that critic has 'good taste'. Even popularity is no guarantee of quality so perhaps the only way to truly judge a show's worth is the test of time and how our opinions about it may (or may not) change over the intervening years. Do we perceive the show differently after 10 years have passed? Does it still seem fresh or even relevant or is it so hackneyed that we cringe at thinking how we once enjoyed it so much? That's just my two-penneth worth, but I'm sure others will have equally valid opinions; still, I'm going to add my approval and I'd be interested in others' comments. – Amyus7 years ago
With the release of Devilman: Crybaby, many anime fans in the west were exposed to the shocking story of Devilman saga. While Devilman was known to be the classic that inspired many dark-themed manga and anime works, the series was mostly unavailable for the wider audience. Those who knew about the original story felt the same shock in different style, but many new fans were exposed to the brutal scenes and plots of Devilman.
It would be worthwhile to examine the impact of Devilman on the popular works and how they shaped the genres dealing with dark and grotesque fantasies.
In anime there are many stereotypes which deviate from Western views. For instance, the boy in school with glasses and straight A's may be worshipped in Japan but oppressed in Western nations. I would love it if someone could research the value of these stereotypes in different cultures!
Sugata and Tomoki from Heaven's Lost Property would be good to compare and contrast with a similar duo from American culture because of how respected Sugata is compared to Tomoki despite having similar intentions and for lack of better word interests. – alexpaulsen7 years ago
Rei from Free! and Iida from My Hero Academia. Just some suggestions. – OkaNaimo08195 years ago
