From "Is it Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon?" to "Campione!" and the famous "fate/" series. There have been various anime that have drawn inspiration from ancient mythologies from around the world. To what extent has ancient mythologies, specifically non-Japanese ones, influenced the production of various anime and manga? Out of the thousands of anime and manga out there, how many have taken influence from these stories. There have even been common rehashings of creatures from legends remade into broad categories or representations of creatures. The first of which comes to mind is the use of "Chimera" to describe various hybrid creatures across shows and very notably in the Fullmetal Alchemist" manga and anime. Exactly how much has modern storytelling taken from stories of millennium past?
The famous "journey to the west" story pops up everywhere in anime. – LaRose9 years ago
As anime matures over the years, so do the characters. There is always that so called "villain," and the protagonist. However, one character that seems to always be changing is the collection of females. They are becoming more flamboyant, more showy, more lude. Though, there remains stereotypes between them; lolitas, the brutes, the fake red heads, the petite, quiet ones, etc. What do these character creations, that are seemingly apparent in most animes nowadays, say about our society and the way we are evolving as people?
How does a music score affect the overall feel and quality of Anime? Looking at Anime series that place a heavy emphasis on music, such as Nodame Cantabile, Kids on the Slope, and the works of Jun Maeda (who is both an Anime writer and music composer), can we say that a greater emphasis on music contributes to the greater overall quality of the Anime? Does the ability of an Anime series or film to incorporate music make it a superior medium to manga?
Some of the best music I've seen in anime is definitely the scores for Miyazaki's films. – enizzari9 years ago
Imagine this scenario: you get a crowd of girls falling in love with a guy. She can be the girl-next-door, the high school cheerleader, the student council president, the foreign exchange student, or even the teacher! Do note that the harem genre does not restrict itself to a school setting, as the environment can range from exotic islands to vast galaxies. So what makes this guy so special that he has girls gravitating towards him? He doesn't exactly match the criteria of the perfect guy. In fact, he is so bland as a vanilla that the only characterization given to him that he's just a nice guy. That's your harem protagonist in a nutshell.
See, if you are anything like the harem protagonist, all you have to do is be nice to the girls that you encounter, and suddenly they fall heads over heels for you. In real life, you'll be even lucky if the girl you like even knows you exist in the first place. So the only question you have to ask is, how is that harem protagonist not in the dreaded friendzone?
I think the Harem protagonist is often left as vanilla as possible because any sort of characterisation means it's harder for consumers to live vicariously through him, as he is supposed to act as a blank slate for us to project ourselves onto. – salparadise969 years ago
Discuss the relativity between American superhero culture and the concept of heroes in anime series such as My Hero Academia, One-Punch Man, Tiger and Bunny, and other series.
There is the potential of outlining a history between the two, and specifically focussing on how it has moulded shonen and seinen (since most of the other genres haven't been impacted by American comic culture). – Chesarka9 years ago
One thing that Arc V's success is banking off of is its ability to not only venture into dimension (one for each summoning), but to also bring back characters from the previous season (GX, 5Ds, Zexal).
This creates the possibility of having the protagonist, Sakaki Yuya face off against various duelist that have been known to be the best (Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, Kite) and draws upon the appeal and nostalgia factor of the viewers while also giving an interesting story in which the characters are introduced into a different type of environment.
Explore the various discourses with in the Pokemon series (and there is enough information in the Indigo League seasons for this) on issues regarding animals in captivity. If Pokemon creatures are seen as pets, trained animals in captivity, or beasts of burden, what are some examples of the ways that the series treated different philosophies and consequences of humans keeping control of highly "evolved" creatures?
I haven't seen the black & white seasons but in the game team Plasma focused on liberating pokemon, yet they were still the bad guys. It would be good to take a look at their actions/mission and how it interacts with how pokemon are seen/treated. – LaRose9 years ago
I just re-watched the first few episodes and it is mentioned that "wild pokemon are jealous of captured pokemon" and therefor act aggressively towards them. I found this an odd explanation but it kind of answers why pokemon also resist capture, they want to play hard to get and be with the best possible trainer; it's not because they don't want to be captured. However I find this dangerously supportive of a "no means yes" mentality... – Slaidey9 years ago
One thing we need to be careful of when looking at Pokemon is reading them as animals too eagerly. From an exclusively Western perspective, this is certainly the case, as many look like animals, and humans cannot understand their speech. In the anime, they are shown to have a language (not spoken by humans) but in the games, they seem only capable of the roars, cries and sounds we associate with the concept of "animal." But a reading of Pokemon in its original, Japanese context reveals a more complicated relationship. One thing to understand is the concept (not unique to Japan) of "discipleship." Basically, a common trope of Japanese and other Asian fiction is of a martial arts master who encounters an attacker while in the wilderness. The two fight, but the master bests his assailant. After being beaten, the would-be-attacker asks to join and learn from the master. Anyone who has caught a pokemon in-game can attest to this narrative being built into the game mechanics. The wild pokemon always initiates the encounter, often in the wilderness. The player has the option to flee, but only in rare exceptions will the wild, aggressor pokemon do so. Catching a pokemon, in most cases, requires a demonstration of the trainer's superiority via lowering its HP. Now, without knowing this context, the situation does look pretty bad, and it's understandable why people react with discomfort at witnessing what they see as forced animal combat. But not only does pokemon draw its ideas from cultural tropes which have nothing to do with animals, many pokemon have no animal characteristics. Some look like plants or snowflakes, and even garbage bags and ice cream cones. In Pokemon's in-game discourse, pokemon are never framed as animals. Instead, they are seen as partners, working alongside their human counterparts, reflecting an image of positivity. Children and adults alike playing pokemon are encouraged to forge bonds and strife for their goals alongside partners who may not look like them, but share their outlook and ambitions nonetheless. – magicmark9 years ago
I would like to clarify that the topic specifically mentions the tv series (not the games) and the indigo league to narrow it down. – Christen Mandracchia9 years ago
Ok, I can see the pokemon-as-animals argument more in the Indigo League arc for sure. But don't you feel the focus of that is a bit narrow? It's like saying (only example i could think of off the top of my head) that Star Trek Next Generation has Natasha Yar as its protagonist, and only using Season 1 as an example. I think narrowing focus is a good idea for the sake of keeping an article manageable, but I don't think the rest of the series outside of Indigo bears the argument out. – magicmark9 years ago
The Indigo League has 82 episodes which counts as several seasons in a normally syndicated tv series. Since the Indigo League was the first installment and covers a complete arc from beginning to end, it is quite sufficient especially since subsequent seasons follow the same format. If following seasons refute the animals in captivity argument that Indigo makes, and the author would like to comment on this phenomenon, I would suggest that the bulk of the article focus on Indigo with a brief paragraph or two summarizing how future seasons have remained consistent or have strayed from the ethics of the first installment. – Christen Mandracchia9 years ago
That's a really good idea - comparing the seasons to see how the discourse changes. I like it! – magicmark9 years ago
