Random thoughts about 'anime freaks' out there

[DeepFreeze]

All I want to know is, why is it so dangerously easy to become obsessed with anime, but not as much as say more "normal" forms of entertainment like sports, TV, video-games etc.

[Mr. Shabaz]

Originally Posted by DeepFreeze

All I want to know is, why is it so dangerously easy to become obsessed with anime, but not as much as say more "normal" forms of entertainment like sports, TV, video-games etc.

Are you saying anime fans are more obsessed over their hobby than others are with other things? If so, I'd beg to differ. Just watch the crowd on Sunday afternoon football games. TV probably doesn't do justice in showing just how obsessed some of those fans are. And don't even get me started on video games. Let's just say, when I was in college, I knew several people who would spend their entire weekend playing counter strike. Literally.

So yeah, anime can be addicting, but so can alot of other stuff be just as or more addicting than anime.

[NinjaServ]

Originally Posted by WhiteFire21

So first off...anime is NOT cartoons.

Accually....I agree with you on most stuff...but "Anime" IS a cartoon.....it's the japanese word for "Animation" and Cartoon is a nickname for "Animation" here in america....so TECHINCALLY it IS a cartoon.....

[Kyuven]

Originally Posted by NinjaServ

Accually....I agree with you on most stuff...but "Anime" IS a cartoon.....it's the japanese word for "Animation" and Cartoon is a nickname for "Animation" here in america....so TECHINCALLY it IS a cartoon.....

anime and cartoon are words for "animated programs"
however, anime is japanese (thus using the japanese word) and cartoon is american (thus using the nickname) so the two terms are used to differentuate between the two
thus, anime cannot be cartoons and cartoons cannot be anime
just like the italians call their noodles "spaghetti" and japan+other asian contries call it "soba" (or an equivalant term)
spaghetti and soba look and are made differently, and taste differently, but are both noodles

[NinjaServ]

Originally Posted by Kyuven

anime and cartoon are words for "animated programs"
however, anime is japanese (thus using the japanese word) and cartoon is american (thus using the nickname) so the two terms are used to differentuate between the two
thus, anime cannot be cartoons and cartoons cannot be anime
just like the italians call their noodles "spaghetti" and japan+other asian contries call it "soba" (or an equivalant term)
spaghetti and soba look and are made differently, and taste differently, but are both noodles

car·toon ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kär-tn)
n.

1. (a) A drawing depicting a humorous situation, often accompanied by a caption.
(b) A drawing representing current public figures or issues symbolically and often satirically: a political cartoon.
2. A preliminary sketch similar in size to the work, such as a fresco, that is to be copied from it.
3. An animated cartoon.
4. A comic strip.
5. A ridiculously oversimplified or stereotypical representation: criticized the actor's portrayal of Jefferson as a historically inaccurate cartoon.

Ok, I can accept not ALL "Anime" (Japanese Animated Programes) are "Cartoons", but that SURE covers MOST "Anime" right there...(and Manga too)

[The Yellow Dwarf]

Originally Posted by NinjaServ

car·toon ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kär-tn)
n.

1. (a) A drawing depicting a humorous situation, often accompanied by a caption.
(b) A drawing representing current public figures or issues symbolically and often satirically: a political cartoon.
2. A preliminary sketch similar in size to the work, such as a fresco, that is to be copied from it.
3. An animated cartoon.
4. A comic strip.
5. A ridiculously oversimplified or stereotypical representation: criticized the actor's portrayal of Jefferson as a historically inaccurate cartoon.

Ok, I can accept not ALL "Anime" (Japanese Animated Programes) are "Cartoons", but that SURE covers MOST "Anime" right there...(and Manga too)

What are you talking about? Which definition from your quotation justifies Anime being mostly cartoon? Anime is not always solely about a humorous situation, nor is it mostly political satire, nor is it a preliminary sketch to a more finished work, nor is it a comic strip in the most orthodox sense of the word, and neither is anime a caricature. Simply looking at the definitions you gave, where is the anime in it?

Well...for all our sanity, why don't we just call american animated video productions Amerinimation - Animation for short - and Japanese animated video productions Anime (because the Japanese happen to have more sense to use fewer syllables).

The only reasons I like anime above nearly all other genre of motion pictures are: 1. it has nearly unlimited possibilities (theoretically) 2. it has a diverse base of creators 3. I don't have a TV.

I think the most important part that makes anime so addictive is that with only a few simple tools, we can surpass the capabilities of nearly everything live action has to offer.

[NinjaServ]

80% of Anime has Humor/Comedy in it, 99% of which are "Animated" from the comic book (aka Definition 3)... Other than that I agree with most of what you said (sort of) except...

Originally Posted by The Yellow Dwarf

2. it has a diverse base of creators

1. Depends on how you mean for me to interpert the word "diverse" 2. That is true for ANY type of entertainment....

and hell....you may crack on "cartoons" all you want, but "Anime" was inspired by old american cartoons like "Bugs Bunny" and such, so don't hate man

[Mr. Shabaz]

Originally Posted by The Yellow Dwarf

The only reasons I like anime above nearly all other genre of motion pictures are: 1. it has nearly unlimited possibilities (theoretically) 2. it has a diverse base of creators 3. I don't have a TV.

I agree with you. However, I think the limitations on multimedia entertainment, anime included, are due more to television marketing decisions and censorship rather than the imaginations of their creators.

[NinjaServ]

Originally Posted by Mr. Shabaz

I agree with you. However, I think the limitations on multimedia entertainment, anime included, are due more to television marketing decisions and censorship rather than the imaginations of their creators.

This goes under a "Culture Difference" in all reality. In the US, violence and other things are thought of as "monkey see, monkey do" so they censor because of a fear that people will immitate what they see on TV.

[The Yellow Dwarf]

Originally Posted by NinjaServ

80% of Anime has Humor/Comedy in it, 99% of which are "Animated" from the comic book (aka Definition 3)...

Unfortunately definition #3, which is perhaps one of the strongest argument for anime=cartoon, loops back on itself and forces us to look back at every definition excluding #3. I'll even go on a technicality and say that a manga (which you claim to be the original source of anime) is a series of drawings (not a drawing), which do not always depict a humorous situation. Most of the shounen fighting manga contain only about 50% humour at most. Moreover, even American animations such as Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. are having trouble fitting into the dictionary definition of "cartoon" that you presented. "Cartoon" is an outdated term for animated videos that is sometimes needlessly derogatory.

[NinjaServ]

Originally Posted by The Yellow Dwarf

needlessly derogatory.

Why the FUCK does everyone thing "cartoon" is a bad word? It's NOT, techincally a LOT of the use of the word has changed since the definition was formed, by the terms you go by (and hte definition) NOTHING on cartoon network would be a cartoon, words change in meaning, it's usually MANY years before they change the actual definition tho (which DOES happen if many people use a word a certain way, like refering to EVERYTHING on cartoon network or saturday mornings for kids as "cartoons").

The word "Cartoon" has techincally changed over the years and pretty much stands for most animation now, just like the word "Hacker" has come to be accepted instead of the ORIGINAL term "Cracker". With Cartoon tho they have yet to accually modify the definition.

[ubb]

All I can say is, America needs more seinen cartoons like dilbert and king of the hills.

[StoneColdCrazy]

Originally Posted by WhiteFire21

Comments like "anime is getting shallow, women with breasts everywhere, etc etc, I hate it"

Women with breasts! Christ, what a concept.

SCC

[Kyuven]

y'know, english is a funny language anyway, we call movies "Motion Pictures" even though, for all intents and purposes, TV is also pictures in motion...

[kj1980]

...to show how nonsensical this "anime" vs "cartoon" brawl is:

We call Disney animated movies as ディズニーアニメ ("Disney Anime")

GASP!! The horror!! orz

[aerykz]

meanwhile, in Cartoons they have to draw the: black kid, white boy, white girl, kid in the wheelchair, fat kid, asian kid, and hispanic kid or else they get hate mail ^_^

LOL, that was great.

[Mr_Paper]

Originally Posted by kj1980

...to show how nonsensical this "anime" vs "cartoon" brawl is:

We call Disney animated movies as ディズニーアニメ ("Disney Anime")

GASP!! The horror!! orz

Some people want there to be some form of a distinction between the names of Japanese, Korean and North American (or any country for that matter) animations regardless of how absurd it is. I'd wager it is a form of self delusion so they can convince themselves that they're not still watching cartoons, that they've somehow elevated themselves above it and that by giving it a different name they feel slightly more mature and refined about it.

Also, I think it's supposed to be 'teh horrorz!1' but I'll need a "l33t" master to varify this.

[kj1980]

Originally Posted by Mr_Paper

Also, I think it's supposed to be 'teh horrorz!1' but I'll need a "l33t" master to varify this.

I'm not familiar with "l33t" yet - as a matter of fact, I don't even want to grasp it.

The "orz" is supposed to be a smiley(?) where it shows a man bowing down in despair, just like ○|￣|_

http://www.stv.ne.jp/event/lehmbruck/work01/02.html

[Mr_Paper]

Ah, I see it now. It's not one of those intuitively recognized smilies(sp?).

[The Yellow Dwarf]

Originally Posted by kj1980

...to show how nonsensical this "anime" vs "cartoon" brawl is:

We call Disney animated movies as ディズニーアニメ ("Disney Anime")

GASP!! The horror!! orz

Would you also by any chance shorten it to ディズメ　("Dismay")? Please say yes. XD

The short and long of the matter is simply, the word "cartoon" has become something derogatory and demeaning over the years. You can disagree all you want, but I believe it to be true from personal experiences.

Originally Posted by Mr Paper

[...]a form of self delusion so they can convince themselves that they're not still watching cartoons, that they've somehow elevated themselves above it and that by giving it a different name they feel slightly more mature and refined about it.

Exactly what I'm talking about.
NinjaServ is right about one thing: language is how people use it. It's just like some people prefered to be called "African American", and some prefer to be called "black". And let's not even start to bring others such as "queer," "square", "fat," the "n word", etc., etc. The word "cartoon" has come to take on so many facets of meanings that I can say "cartoon" and mean literally any man-made pictures (as shown in the example of the dictionary quotation; Da Vinci's Last Supper for example, is a narrative picture that tells a story, which makes it a cartoon).

Well...if we really want to go on a dictionary adventure, the correct path is to pick definition #4, and from there go to comic strip, which contains an entry that reads: an often humorous narrative consisting of cartoon panels. So close! But the mention of "cartoon panels" brings us again BACK to the definition of cartoon. *Yawn* Conclusion: dictionaries are the most useless tools humans have ever invented.

To be honest, when I started this semantic witchhunt I was simply annoyed by the fact that somebody would have the audacity to just pull out a dictionary quote and say, "look, I've proven this" when in fact nothing is proved (no offense, NinjaServ). But I suppose I actually fell into the same exact laziness when I crapped about "possibilities" and "diverse" creator base without any tangible reasons. Ah, well...

I think one of the biggest strengths for animated videos is simply the ease with which it can achieve a degree of verisimilitude in comparison to live action videos. It's very easy to create in animation a futuristic space battle (Gundam), an adventure into a fantastical realm (Spirited Away), or any such improbable situations that would look ridiculous in live action films unless there's serious money into the special effects department. (Of course, it may simply be due to the fact that I had been conditioned to animated CARTOONS since a very young age and never quite grew out of it, and thus able to dive into animations without having to deal with its own quirks.)

My point about the "diverse creator base" is an uneducated and uninformed guess originated purely out of ... you know... It just seems to me that, anime creators are often amateurs in film productions or drama, as such they tend to have a lot more freedom to create without restriction (which may be a good thing or a bad thing). I also realize that animation, anime in particular (and not so much in American/European animations) contains a lot of rigid formulae in order to market shows to specific target audiences, which is unfortunate.
::"Diverse creator base" argument crashes::

P.S. I wish I could unlearn my knowledge of 1337, but it enters my mind without permission and I can't seem to do anything about it.