Wow...
alright, well that was incredibly academic QED - I wasn't expecting that (in a good way)
You guys are giving me feedback I'd expect from my thesis professor BUT you guys know exactly what I am referring to concerning anime... which makes this all amazing for me.
How do I respond?
I understand your points concerning the reactionary element to what is consider contemporary Japanese traditions; however, these qualities are also deeply rooted in Japanese history, which goes far beyond government instated "cultural encouragement"
BUT, you are clearly well versed on this topic - much more so than I am, so I may be digging myself into a hole here...
I think at the end of the day, though, I would have to disagree with the claim that Western culture and Japanese culture are fundamentally rather similar. I am of the opinion, that, despite Japan's embrace of western culture and western emulation, they do so through a remarkably thick and evident "Japanese filter"
On a different note, I personally feel that the slice of life genre highlights key differences between western culture and Japanese culture... or perhaps "sensibility" is a better word than "culture"
I find that the pacing and tonality of something like lucky star wouldn't fly in the US in anything remotely approaching mainstream media, am I right?
I find that much of anime in the US has become popular not because of cultural similarities, but because of kickass action, giant robots, hot chicks, and various other "cool" uses of animation (naruto stuff, I don't know) not that I'm judging this variety, its just not what I'm pin pointing with my concept...
The whole point of this piece is to give something to the western anime fan who
specifically identifies with anime, which relates Japanese lifestyles and Japanese cultural properties such as Lucky Star, Ichigo Mashimaro, My Neighbors the Yamada's, GA Geijutsuka, etc...
The sentiment I'm attempting to investigate is the
dissatisfaction the western anime fan feels upon sympathizing, relating, or appreciating properties of these animations, which, at the same time, leave the viewer lacking or missing something from western culture...
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I believe the less dramatic differences between Japanese culture and Western culture can prove pretty compelling.
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I'm with you on this one... I don't know how much drama I'm actually going for. I'd like to emulate slice of life and place a western in this world... looking for some kind of catharsis, maybe.
Also, I plan on doing this through a magical event, so there is a bit of allegory or fantasy involved in the premise