Comments on: Anime is Deep, Right? …Right?

By: RHO

RHO — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:14:37 +0000

wow, Eternal, i had a kick out of reading your stuff.
I think it’s interesting how you clearly like anime but don’t overrate its value; I’d say the same.
I don’t really know how much of this post was intentionally in jest or not, but I more or less agreed with a lot you had to say.
Anime has a lot of potential – you could pretty much do a lot of things you couldn’t with live action. That being said, many series out there who try to push the envelope epically fail.
You’re also right when you say that anime is just a medium; really it’s nothing more than that. The stereotypes of flying robots, ridiculous fanservice, and over-the-top silliness are indeed reinforced by many titles, but that has little to do with the medium itself (cartoons).
In the end Anime is low-brow entertainment for the masses (of otaku) out there. Yes, we can all deeply analyze certain things in some series, but in the end, we could be seeing things that were never intended by the creators. And some things are perhaps understandable, but simply not that deep. Some things intended to be deep are even rather clumsily expressed (like the religious symbolism in Evangelion; Adam on the cross? spear of Longinus? this stuff is crazy!)
If someone makes something that is truly genius, then I think it’s perfectly fine to praise it. But a few good series don’t make everything in the anime medium worship-worthy. I don’t love art in general because I like Andy Warhol’s stuff…I don’t worship food in general because I like udon…
I think it’s important not to take anime too seriously – sure some stuff is great, but nothing’s perfect. Everything looks good from far away; when you take a closer look, it’s not that profound. And if anybody gets a little too obsessed in the analysis of anime, they should probably step back and watch some K-ON.

By: ETERNAL

ETERNAL — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:38:08 +0000

@ M12: Well, like all other media, there are good examples and bad examples. Certainly, there are many bad anime out there, but I'm sure there are quite a few bad books and movies as well. I guess it just comes down to the fact that you can never label an entire medium to be one thing, good or bad.

By: Where The Cliched And Simple Is Still Awesome: Basquash! « Grand Punk Railroad

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:38:33 +0000

[...] is the fact that it’s simple. I haven’t got anything against deep anime (because anime IS deep) or complex/subtle messages, but every now and again I just want to sit back and get swept up into [...]

By: M12

M12 — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:48:05 +0000

A nice post. Well, the examples you listed are all arguably deep, indeed. However, there are tons of titles that exist just to make a buck. In fact, most of them are nowadays. Maybe that's why some people assume anime is crappy? I just want to mention another random thing as well. I grew up watching some Japanese shows for kids, like Kamen Rider. Although they're for children, they have some themes that adults can appreciate. At least, I reckon so. They made attempts to make you sympathise for the villains, etc. It's not always the case, but it does happen. So yeah! M12s last blog post..On the Rail - Audio drama - Stop 1

By: moritheil

moritheil — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:00:28 +0000

I mean, your definitive proof is above (we didn’t settle the issue.)

By: moritheil

moritheil — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:00:03 +0000

At last, definitive proof that anime is not art, and not not-art! PS - It would be funny if the Twilight anime were to be better than the live action movie. In fact that would pretty much be the ultimate triumph of anime, since Twilight started as a non-anime genre work.

By: ETERNAL

ETERNAL — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:33:06 +0000

@ tj han: When considering all of Western anime fandom, then sadly, I have to agree with you. The "n00bs", for lack of a better word, have a bad habit of making anime sound like the greatest medium of entertainment ever invented, and they praise it using the stupidest of reasoning. It's definitely a problem, and it's people like that - who often make up the majority - that give anime fandom such a negative image over here. On the other hand, that doesn't change what anime is. Of course, having seen more anime than the average person, we've taken note of the cliches and have come to realize that most shows really are shallow. Stuff that sounded revolutionary years ago, like the ambiguous morals in Naruto, look like nothing when compared to other anime and other forms of entertainment in general. That said, the point that I really want to argue (argue is the wrong word since this is April Fools to begin with!) is that anime can be deep. Many people, sometimes including fans, insist that anime is shallow and that cartoons can never be as good as other forms of media - and as far as I'm concerned, this is just as ignorant as the amateur anime fans that think that their medium is better than all others. At the end of the day, I believe in the post by bateszi that I linked to: like any other medium, anime is capable of both genius and...well, garbage. It's just that it's a controversial medium in the sense that people often love it or hate it, and both extremes often make ridiculous claims that deserve to be spoofed. @ digitalboy: I guess it's all about the extremes again. I think most of us have come to accept that anime isn't all brilliant like we first thought, but most of us (myself included) still get excited about new anime just like we would for a new Zelda game or James Bond movie, even though we know it'll be more or less the same as the last one. That said, I have trouble understanding the "burned out" anime fans as well, because at the moment, I can't really relate to someone who doesn't find the medium interesting. It's reasonable to accept that all anime isn't necessarily good, but like you said, the people that claim that there's nothing worth watching in an entire season puzzle me just the same. @ lelangir: I believe that is the only correct response. A WINNER IS YOU! @ afatcow: Y'know, Twilight would make so much more sense as an anime! I'm saying this without having read any of the books nor seen many bishounen anime, but whenever someone mentions Twilight to me, I always think of Vampire Knight. I think it would really work... ...Sadly >_<

By: VZ

VZ — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:36:06 +0000

http://vzartanime.blogspot.com/2009/03/anime-is-so-deep-man.html

I joked about this notion on my blog. Take a look to see what I mean.

VZs last blog post..Not what you expected.

By: tai

tai — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:57:31 +0000

totally ignoring the fact that it's April Fools'...... media is whatever you make of it. If it's for kids, it's for kids. If it's deep, it's deep. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong. ...that otaku image really does make me wonder though... tais last blog post..Clannad TV Explained: The Foolproof Plan to Happiness

By: afatcow

afatcow — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:54:50 +0000

Talking about Twilight…