Watching anime is immature?

[Vince]

I only like those actually have a good story line. I only hate myself when I get upset and uneasy -- for days at a time, after reading/watching any touching development. I am a fully grown softie.

[myk]

Who the frak cares about what other people think about what you do with your time. As long as you aren't killing anyone, molesting children or setting women on fire you should be left to your own devices. Besides, there isn't one single extra-curricular activity that couldn't be regarded as being immature from some certain point of relativity.

[MechaVegeta]

I only have a few things to say: 1) I'm 35 and love anime, though I sometimes watch actual "kiddy" cartoons with my daughter and enjoy them as well.

2) Even in "children's" shows like Spongebob, many of the humor and pop-culture references are aimed at the adults (I've caught references to Pink Floyd and Talking Heads in some Cartoon Network shows).

3) 22,000 people of all ages attended Otakon this year in Baltimore. They had to cap it there because the number has grown steadily each year. 'Nuff said.

[Guest Bromgrev]

Damn! I'm still vainly hoping for someone to post that they are older than me ... 

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33 does that work for you bromgrev ?

325731[/snapback]

Close, but no cigar. In fact, not even that close, really.

Hell, look at Miyazaki - I hope nobody ever convinces him that he's too old for anime! Hehe, Moving Castle this weekend ...

[Mechmaster]

Close, but no cigar. In fact, not even that close, really.

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I'm 41, is that closer?

I still watch anime and I my house simply bulges with anime models. I have encountered people who think that watching "cartoons" or collecting "toy robots" is immature but I never really cared what other people think about me. I'm happy being like this. To my way of thinking the opposite of immature is old and I'm in no hurry to go there.

[Noyhauser]

Actually DH, I think your post shows a clear lack of knowledge about Anime. You've painted anime as being only made up of the stereotypes when it HAS been groundbreaking and dealing with very deep issues in many cases. There is just so much that is possible with anime that really isn't in film. One OAV I particularly liked was Blackjack, about a brilliant disfigured doctor, who was disgraced in his profession. His gift was that he could cure anybody, at a price though. It brought up many questions of medical ethics to the fore. Unfortunately most of the films that are brought over to north america are in the stereotypical model and not the ones that are really thought provoking, because people won't buy them. This is even more true of manga, which in its cheap, disposable format has been even more able to examine controversial issues than anime has.

Edited September 25, 2005 by Noyhauser

[Kin]

You can see it another way... like the psychological, artistic and creative side of anime.

... I've never seen a teenager make an anime movie, do you?

[Gideon Krieg]

I'm in the 30's crowd and love all types of anime (yes even M7, except for Basara and the Soundforce/autobots ). Its appeal is universal.

I have found that many American adults view it in the same way they view video games and other media not traditionally thought of as "for adults." Therefore they are prejudice against those of us who enjoy this type of entertainment. They automatically look down on us as childish or immature.

Which of course is complete hog-wash. Many of us lead what is considered a normal adult life by most standards (I hope ).

DeathHammer, I love your suggestions. I too would like to see anime "go where no man has gone before" and break new ground in entertainment.

I would like to see a very dark and as realistic as possible, space epic. Not a Macross or Gundam type, more like Starship Troopers. With the anime focusing on the life of a soldier in the heat of a desperate interstellar conflict.

An anime that centers around an Antediluvian world according to the Hebrew/biblical version of it would be neat. With the Nephalim in all their evil Half-angelic wickedness against an all but helpless mankind.

Any of the western mythological epics would suffice.

Anything by H.P. Lovecraft made into anime would be sweet.

Alternate/fictional histories would also be interesting. Like what if the Axis won WW2? How would Japan fair?

[Noyhauser]

I didn't say all anime was full of big breasted European looking 12 year olds, transforming robots and weird colored hair. I said Graveyard Of The Fireflies didn't. However it would be amiss to not point out that big breasted European looking 12 year olds , transforming robots and weird colored hair sells well partially because its packaged and marketed well . Folks look at stereotypes in a negative way, being associated with something isn't always a bad thing. And often stereotypes have some basis in truth.

Thats not what you said originally. You said that Anime hasn't attempted edgier films, which i've pointed out is not the case. There have many titles that have attempted to break the mold, in the very precise ways you've outlined, especially during the 1980s and early 1990s. Its been done in Japan, its just likely you haven't seen them because they aren't brought over here. What people take for classic anime are usually the stereotypes that don't cover the whole range of anime.

Also, you're not likely to see many films about World War 2 from Japan, just like in Germany you won't see many films about Nazi Germany. These are VERY taboo subjects, because of these countries wartime history, (especially in Japan due to warcrimes, as recent events with China and the protests in Asia have shown.) Hotaru no Haka was an exception, but there was no depiction of actual forces, just civillians under hardship. Few japanese film makers are willing to touch it. Its the same in Germany. Last year "Downfall" (based on the last days of the third Reich) was greeted with much controversy when it was released. It would be even more so in Japan if a war film was released. Thats why there is a big gap in the historiography of anime between the pre-Meiji period, and then the current era. People don't like to look at the past, and probably why science fiction (That still deals with major social issues like death) are more mainstays of anime.

Edited September 26, 2005 by Noyhauser

[Noyhauser]

I would like to see a very dark and as realistic as possible, space epic.  Not a Macross or Gundam type, more like Starship Troopers.  With the anime focusing on the life of a soldier in the heat of a desperate interstellar conflict.

Uhh you just described, Legend of the Galactic Heroes... I don't know how many times myself and others have to say it on this board before people actually go and watch it (other than the people who are on here and agree with me.) One of the greatest animes of all time, that will likely never get released in North America, because it is so deep, long, and well done. There have also been many animes based on Japanese gods or fictional ones, because of their familiarity with writers.

Alternate/fictional histories would also be interesting.  Like what if the Axis won WW2?  How would Japan fair?

Again, nothing about WW2 will ever come out of japan, especially about what would happen in Japan won. Look at the film Tojo, that was incredibly contraversial in Japan, on the verge of people calls for its censorship because of its whitewash of warcrimes. Films are instantly politicized, so its not an area that ANY part of society will want to discuss, least of all animators...

[Final Vegeta]

why everyone on StarGate looks human and speaks English

It happens in anime too, all aliens speak Japanese

What I wished modern anime would do now is take a few more risks. I didn't like Graveyard of The Fireflies very much, but for all intents and purposes it was a risky project. No transforming robots, no big breasted European looking 12 year olds, no funny colored hair. And it was a WW2 tragedy that didn't try to manipulate its audience.

Kenji's Spring by Kawamori was a risky project too. I couldn't understand all the references to Miyazawa, though.

I've never felt like anime has exploited its ability to tell riskier stories

Japanese compensated this with mass-slaughter

I'd love to see a film about people living with mental health issues.

By the way, these are the Japanese specific mental illnesses

FV

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

The thing is with animation it doesn't necesarily need to aimed specifically to adults to be enjoyed by adults. If they wanted to avoid making the animation too realistic, they could wrap the story in a fantasy setting and still be mature. An analogy would be how lord of the rings is with the fantasy world but the real world situations that characters are involved in, can still mirror situation that can or will often happen in real life. (could you trust a schizophrenic gollum-like character enough to not kill him? Or given that there are aspects of that person in everyone, make you want to pity it? Like real life people are not good or evil and the fantasy world can still reflect the real world without needing to be "realistic")

It is a good example of where you can have people who are serious fans getting into it, but also people of all ages can apreciate what is in there for other reasons and it would be a story children would be encrouaged to read, analyse and think about. Something that they can take with them to thier adult age and enjoy it multigenerationally. There could be things put in there for commercial reasons (say the 12 year old eurpean with big titties, the tentacled monster, the violence of having people get beheaded in gruesome ways) but it wouldn't just be there for the sake of entertainment only.

The story can be based around the idea of war (wasn't that one of the reasons that influenced tolkien to write it? Because of the feeling the world was becoming more evil and from experiences in war?) without needing to get too close to the real world or name actual things or blame actual people or make particular people angry.

Edited September 26, 2005 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[valkyrietestpilot]

let's also bring up the fact that unlike here,animated tv shows and movies made in japan have a larger demographic of an adult target audience.yes,some are also targeted at kids & teens,but the U.S. is really the only country that largely markets animated shows & movies towards a mostly youth audience(simpsons,family guy,etc being the exceptions).since this has been the norm here for many decades,society's view as a whole on animation is falsley pre-programmed to catagorize it for kids.as a result,you get these yahoo's that rib ya for watching kiddie toons & the real joke is their unquestioning submission to poor & mishandled animation market brainwash.smart folks would realize you can't pick on a guy for watching anime cause it's childish,when it was made for adults by the original artist in it's country of origin.you can't re-classify a work from adult to children when it's exported to other parts of the world.that's just dumb.

[Gideon Krieg]

Uhh you just described, Legend of the Galactic Heroes...

Thank you Noyhauser, I'll have to try and find a copy.

I find it interesting that many of the people I know who criticize anime as being childish also enjoy "prime time" sitcoms and dramas. Other than being animated, how are the stories in anime any different. Other than being more for a general audience.

Then there is the selective or semi-anime fans who will actually go so far as to belittle someone for watching certain types of anime. For example; my girlfriend loves Inuyasha, and hates Macross. She keeps trying to convince me Macross is for little kids. After seeing a few episodes of M7, she thinks Macross is completely stupid. Anybody else here deal with this kind of thing?

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Show her the episode where Mylene is sedated, striped naked and about to get raped by that chic. Childish my ass. They probably had a whole dramatic sex scene where she was being taken advantage of and the cut this out. I think that behind the scenes there is a lot going on that we don't get to see. Notice the pictures of basara and gamlin shirtless? WTF? What was that taken from? Did those two try to make an amateur porno with Mylene in some threesome they were having and it got stolen and released on the internet pamela/paris hilton style? (possibly a tasteless publicity stunt to get them attention and in the spotlight as a last resort, similar to the minmay and Kaifun incest scandal of having them go into the hotel together) It's no coincidence she is naked on the credits screen.

Edited September 27, 2005 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Gui]

why everyone on StarGate looks human and speaks English

It happens in anime too, all aliens speak Japanese

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This also reduces the cost of heavy make-up and/or SPFX

[Jedi Knight]

Show them some hentai and then ask them if it is for kids.

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LOL - No kidding, eh?!