Anime has always be a popular form of entertainment for teenagers and young adults, but do we think those teenagers and young adults will stick to their enjoyment of this genre? It is not uncommon for people to outgrow certain things, but I am starting to think many adults will be inclined to continue to enjoy anime and all that comes with it.
Anime has a much farther reaching influence and personal inspiration for people than typical cartoons do. There are certain similar aspects to both with the more comedic or simplistic animes. But I've had friends who told me that anime changed their lives, it helped make them stronger and better people when they grew up. So I feel less certain about certain people "outgrowing" it. But, realistically, even I have found myself turning away from certain things that I used to think were important to me, and yet I'm also finding where other things are still firmly cemented. The way I look at it, anime is not something so small that you can just toss it all aside because it doesn't relate to you anymore. There are so many sub-genres, styles, stories, and levels of maturity, that I treat each anime the same way I treat anything else: on a case-by-case basis. Maybe one day I'll decide to stop looking out for new animes, or watching anime tv series the same way I have (which honestly have never been all that frequent), but the shows and films that I have watched, and have greatly enjoyed in very recent years, I don't see myself ever turning a blind eye to. They are very engaging, very well crafted, and they deserve my patronage and viewership for a very long time. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
As someone who read/watched a lot of manga/anime when I was younger but fell out of the habit of it as I grew older the thing that brings me back to the mediums is something unique and genuine. I found myself growing increasingly impatient with agressively 'anime' tropes and genre conventions.
I find myself rarely bothering to even attempt watching high-school anime because I feel like the premise has been so overdone. Likewise there have been a number of anime whose description I read and interested me until it said "in a high school". Maybe that's just my own preference but I think the main reason I've fallen out of watching anime for the most part is from what I precieve as stagnation. While I grew up and developed more sophisticated tastes the anime industry seems to be committed in large to putting out the same 'cute girls doing cute things in a school' ad naseum. – MattHotaling9 years ago
I have met many adults who have returned to anime and animation. Many adults even discover it when they are older. In Japan, at least, many animes are aimed at adults, and contain content that would certainly not be appropriate for younger viewers. Even in the US, where most animation is aimed at children, there are some animes that have gained an adult audience (most notably the classic Hayao Miyazaki movies). Perhaps it is the youth-culture aspect of anime that prompts adults to lose interest, or perhaps it is simply because the US doesn't have a good way to market adult-oriented animations? Many of the adults I know who watch and enjoy anime do so from outside the mainstream market, streaming anime from free online sites. Anime is certainly able to attract adult audiences, but perhaps its not as popular because it is a little harder to find. – sophiacatherine9 years ago
The more gritty, edgy, mature series are the ones that are hard to stumble across ("Michiko to Hatchin," "The Woman Called Fujiko Mine," "Black Lagoon," "Hellsing Ultimate," "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," etc.). These shows are also not the ones easily streaming on any major site like Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu. Whereas shows that focus on adventurous teenagers in magical lands, or slice-of-life high-school moments, are the ones that permeate the US market. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
What I don't get is the word 'America' in the title. – T. Palomino2 years ago
What are the best of the best, and the lowest of low? Is there a wrong or right way to go about adapting manga? What are some of the logistical and artistic factors that sometimes lead an anime storyline away from its source material? Can these changes sometimes be for the better? Compare a few studios and their work, see how they vary, and analyze!
I think animes such as dragonball and avatar the last airbender needed to be compared to the casting as well as plot. Along with when it comes to either anime and manga need to be true to their story and plot I think. – cjeacat8 years ago
What are some of the ways that Eastern characters are created differently from Western characters? What are typical strengths of anime characters, and what are typical of Western animations? Weaknesses? Consider other design elements, such as coloration, body style, and so on.
Anime characters usually expression their emotions more passionately, both in terms of facial expressions and actions. – RadosianStar8 years ago
I'm actually doing a presentation on this for class. A good way to show the difference is by focusing on one piece of the character in. Both styles and comparing and contrasting. By this I mean you can talk about head shapes and explain hey arnold and family guys football shaped heads even phineas and ferb. Then you can talk about eye shapes. This topic has infinitely possibilities in comparisons because America alone has so many differences in animation. – tinydetective8 years ago
It could also be helpful to examine western characters whose designs were influenced by eastern characters, and vice versa. Explore how these influences affect the presentation of these characters and make them stand out from animations which are either characteristically eastern or characteristically western. – Abby8 years ago
The term "Itasha" 痛車 most literally translates to "painful car." It can be interpreted as "painfully embarrassing" or "painful for the wallet." It's the act of decorating the bodies of cars with fictional characters of anime, manga, or video games. Though where did it start and why? What is its current scene or standpoint in the car scene (most notably, JDM and stance life).
For western audiences, the notion of suicide is often met with abhorrence; however, for eastern audience, such as the Japanese, the theme of suicide has a distinct and intrinsic connection with tradition. In anime, the theme of suicide is discussed openly. That being said, it is still a topic none too well covered in literature. By engaging the topic of suicide in anime in terms of Japanese tradition, among other lenses, compare and contrast the theme of suicide in anime such as Welcome to NHK and the more recent anime Orange.
I feel it might be somewhat limiting to approach this topic from just the perspective of Japanese tradition. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and I think it's important to address that there are likely social factors of this day and age, not just cultural ones. – fiorenze8 years ago
Hi Fiorenze, Japan has the third highest suicide rate in the world. While, yes, there are societal factors associated with suicide, for example, the Asian Financial criss (1998) and the World Financial Crisis ten years later, lack of suicide prevention training among medical professional that demonstrate a spike in suicide related deaths (and those should be discussed under the current thesis), there is still a much longer cultural history in Japan of suicide. The question is: how does anime deal with the topic of suicide and why. Whether the dealing is cultural or societal will determine entirely on the narrative of the anime. – chrishepburn8 years ago
OMG, Orange... That anime had me filled with feels on the first episode. Anyways, Japanese society, besides cultural ideologies, have great impacts on the suicide rates. Its not like in the ancient days where samurai did Bushido to die in honor. We live in new times and new societies. Expectations and presumptions on youth, adults, families in japan have definitely covered the topic of suicide, but it is just as sad for one to kill themselves in any time and place. – BlueBirdKiah8 years ago
Popular animes Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) and Full Metal Alchemist take place in settings reminiscent of WWII-era Germany, with characters sporting German names and wearing German-inspired costume. From a Western perspective, what can we tell about how the Japanese view their Axis counterparts (or themselves) in regards to the WWII-era through the stories told in these animes?
The German influence in Japanese anime has less to do with WWII cooperation than it would seem. Germany and Japan fought the majority of their battles independently, and there were threads of mistrust between the two nations underneath the public declarations of support. Neither was WWII a great time to spread culture off the battlefield. Rather, a lot of the German influence seems to come from before the Second World War when Japan underwent several revolutionary changes in its government, public systems, and technologies. Many of the changes were influenced by German engineers, scientists, and public servants, some changes which remain to this day. Even then, I don't believe that specific cultural exchange is what's influencing anime. Aside from the aforementioned series, there isn't a serious investment in Germanic culture. There isn't enough significant evidence to concretely say that any other anime has strong ties to Germany for culture-specific reasons. German names just mesh well with the Japanese phonetic system to create exotic sounds. – Austin8 years ago
Sometimes, filler is dreaded. It's a time when an Anime fills in a gap with unneeded material, usually to give it's source material time to give them more material, and fans start letting out a groan of frustration. But it's not always bad. Sometimes, it's good. This article would explore when filler is actually good, and by good, we define it as something that, in a way, adds something to the fictional world or plot of the show.
I have been actually thinking about doing an article like this! Once it gets approved, I would love to write this! – Kevin Mohammed9 years ago
Nice idea! Yeah, I feel the same. I honestly don't mind filler if I feel it adds to the story in some dimension. It's only annoying if it seems like there is no point in having it. It reminds me of the trend of splitting the finales of book-to-film adaptions into parts or extending small books into long, saga-like movies. I didn't mind it in the case of the Harry Potter films, but there are other cases where it felt like just an obvious cash grab. – aprosaicpintofpisces8 years ago
I find that a filler episode is helpful when the show gives us something to contemplate, it helps explore the evidence through the characters' perspective and maybe offer a little extra insight. I've been watching an anime called Endride which has a filler episode, based on how the show presents its evidence on the issues of the show, I think its rather useful in that sense, but that's just my opinion. – RadosianStar8 years ago
Fantastic idea! You can also take into consideration what lines up with the manga (if one is available) and if said filler is actually filler since it's in the manga. – OldxSoul8 years ago
I think filler can be fun in more action oriented, or serious type anime. The filler episodes are when more silly or daily slice type of behavior can be seen from our heros/heroines. Example: protagonist usually in battle or tough situations casually goes to an all you can eat buffet. – bluishcatbag8 years ago
Filler is definitely important, and I think you can make the structural argument that filler can at times sign post the end of a dramatic arc or plot development and signal the beginning of a new one. Kind of like a space between two important arcs or as a signal of a turning point? What immediately comes to mind is the school festival in the first season of Code Geass - it serves as a break between "things going comparatively alright" and "things falling apart" and also signals the cause of the transition – phaasch8 years ago
Naruto: Shippuden comes to mind. Sure, probably 90% wasn't needed, but there were episodes that provided the backstories for various characters (including Kakashi and Itachi) that were important to the main narrative. Also, Season 5 is worth watching just to see Deidara and Tobi capture Three-Tails (if you feel like you have the time, that is). – OkaNaimo08195 years ago
While essentially escapist in nature, entertainment (especially fiction) has often been defended by its writers as having further intrinsic value.
What draws people to anime? What is Western TV doing to emulate it? What gives anime its unique value as a genre? Or is it merely entertainment and has no worth beyond the superficial distraction of fan service?
Edit 9/8/16 for grammar
What I find interesting in most anime is that there is a layer of abstraction to the characters as well as the general story. Each character seems to have their own philosophy which develops and changes as the characters do, these various philosophy the characters exude are different parts of a general ideal that makes up the atmosphere of the anime. It's this trait that separates anime from other forms of entertainment, it gives people something to reflect on. Philosophy is a very abstract concept and anime helps people understand it better by breaking it down and trying to develop on it. – RadosianStar8 years ago
Most people who are interested in anime have had interest in it from a young age. While most of Western TV is childish and comic, anime comes in many forms and genres. Majority of people are introduced to anime from one of the major series, whether it was a Miyazaki movie, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, etc. There's now an even larger anime industry to follow that which is introducing new people to the world of anime. Particularly, I like to watch anime for its story line but also the graphics. People of the western world want to meet up at conventions, do cosplays (costume play), just get together and buy merchandise from their favorite show or from someone who does something different with a similar style, see Shiroiroom, qinni, and yuumei for examples. For some it is entertainment and a way to wind down after a long day, for others it's so much more, sometimes, it can get pretty cringe-worthy. – dreamlikediana8 years ago
I think that people are drawn to anime because it's so much more genuine than American cartoons. The characters are complex, the voice acting is AMAZING, and the story lines are so special to a lot of people. For example, I know that I've felt more emotions towards animes than I have from cartoons on Cartoon Network (minus Toonami and the exception of a few others). – Breeedo8 years ago
