Anime & Japanese Culture in Recent Years

[Noriko Takaya]

Anime has been and will always be my passion, no matter how many idiots there are out there who suddenly find themselves infatuated with it, then suddenly grow bored with it. It is just a fad with these people, and we true fans who actually enjoy the artform will continue to enjoy it until we drop dead of old age.

Now, you can begin to question me on "What the hell is he blabbering about?"

[Radd]

Anybody else remember when America had this huge infatuation with Australia, back in the 80's?

[EXO]

the question is, with the influx is there an equal amount of quality anime coming out.  I don't belive so.  There's a glutton of mediocre anime and the percentage of great anime doesn't really add up the golden age, IMO.

I also wish that Japan, would have stepped up their live action/CG production.  No I don't want live action versions of any anime that was already produced, but would love to see some new and origianl live action mech battles, maybe with Final Fantasy:Movie type characters, and not real life actors.  But it looks like we're still maybe a decade away from such things.  Especially after the FF movie bust.  I guess we'll find out after the EVA movie.

By the way, congrats with the VEX contest. My thoughts exactly on your first opinion.

On your second opinion, are some directors just doing that to be in the the craze?

Thanks

I don't mean that I wish Hollywood would get on the bandwagon, I just wish Japan's anime surge would have helped their live action productions become huge also. Remember Gunhed??? It seems like the only way we would see realistic mechs would be if Hollywood lended them a hand. <_>

And Radd, what are you talking about, mate? Put another shrimp on the barby for me!!! G'day!

Edited January 4, 2004 by >EXO<

[Druna Skass]

I was at a Japanese restauraunt in Santa Barbara the other day with a friend of mine and I said that if it wasn't for my brother (who introduced me to anime, then I introduced my friend to Macross) we'd be very diffrent people and we probably wouldn't have gone to that restautant (and I probably wouldn't have spent $30 on one f*cking meal) and known about how good Japanese food is, sushi and deserts especialy.

[gnollman]

Heh... if you only spent 30 bucks on a sushi dinner, you got off cheap.

It usually costs me over fifty for a good sushi outing.... `bout the same I paid in Japan, but got much more food in Japan for that cost....

[Isamu Atreides 86]

Anybody else remember when America had this huge infatuation with Australia, back in the 80's?

for those who remember...

Traveling in a fried-out combie

On a hippie trail, head full of zombie

I met a strange lady, she made me nervous

She took me in and gave me breakfast

And she said,

Do you come from a land down under?

Where women glow and men plunder?

Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?

You better run, you better take cover.

Buying bread from a man in brussels

He was six foot four and full of muscles

I said, do you speak-a my language?

He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich

And he said,

I come from a land down under

Where beer does flow and men chunder

Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?

You better run, you better take cover.

Lying in a den in bombay

With a slack jaw, and not much to say

I said to the man, are you trying to tempt me

Because I come from the land of plenty?

And he said,

Oh! do you come from a land down under? (oh yeah yeah)

Where women glow and men plunder?

Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?

You better run, you better take cover.

[Drad]

I remember.

[gnollman]

Heh heh... I try not to....

[KingNor]

some japanise stuff is really cool.

some is really REALLY anoying. (j-pop)

its all good, just a diffrent culture, kinda like the australian thing in the 80's

[bsu legato]

Anime going mainstream has gotten me the restored SDF Macorss & Mospeada sets (ie, not Robotech). That alone makes it all worthwhile to me. Otherwise, I'm just glad I can buy R1 anime at almost reasonable prices without having to search high and low for it, although the internet would have largely solved that by now regardless. I've never been turned off by a hobby of mine getting popular, since I'm long past the age where I'd feel compelled to fit in with the "cool" crowd, nor do am I driven to spend my time on something "unique" or "obscure." Anime and Japanese culture is just the flavour of the month for North Americans right now, and when it quiets down again we can go back to lurking in the shadows. At least we won't have to do it crappy fansubs any longer.

[Apollo Leader]

Because of the mainstreaming of anime, we all have a better choice of what we can buy here domestically and at lower prices. Using Gundam as an example, who would have thought 3 or 4 years ago that many of the Gundam toys and models that were exclusively in Japan and Asia would be sitting on the store shelves of places like Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart, etc?

This is definitely a unique time in our hobby's history so I say enjoy it while it lasts.

[zeus the zentran]

I have to say on the good side of the double edged sword more of the uncensored classics like mospeda and macross have come to the us.i saw my youth in arcadia on dvd at fye yesterday.i gotta get that even though ihave it on vhs already.now if this new found popularity of anime gets animes like harlock,galaxy express,megazone,and doraemon over here.

[Jemstone]

I just wish there was a way to keep the Cartoon Network generation of anime fans "informed" about Japan itself.  Not just the animation that comes from there.

There's no need to inform them about Japan, they just need to know that they know nothing about Japan.

That doesn't exactly worry me, as much as seeing a bunch of idiots who just got into anime, and who bitch and moan about how animes should be targeted towards them and not the average japanese viewer.

I prefer not to even get into that. I have to say I've come to enjoy walking into comci book shops or mainstream shops like Newbury Comics and just listening to the stuff some of them say. Here's a short convo I overheard at the Newbury Comics by Gov't Center ove rthe X-mas break.

"Kid A: I should get the Ronin Warriors on DVD. Pretty cheap for a series.

Kid B: I don't think I'll like that show. It looks really old.

Kid A: It's actually alright I guess if you life samurai team fighting and crap.

Kid B: Nah, I'll stick to the newer stuff life Gundam. It's too bad that didn't last for too long. Amuro's a bitch boy tho. "

I first thought he meant GundamW when he said Gundam because Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers is the older show but I nearly broke out laughing when he said Amuro. I've heard worse but that was the most recent. Otherwise it's cute stuff like when a little kid gets confused why some characters like Sailor Moon are supposed to be Japanese but look white. I think that's so adorable.

[Jemstone]

Anybody else remember when America had this huge infatuation with Australia, back in the 80's?

"Yahoo Serious Convention". Summed it up nicely in the Simpsons. It's too bad Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman's popularity started a mini revival that prompted that stupid Crocodile Dundee in Los Angelos to be made. Poor Paul Hogan.

[zeus the zentran]

thanks angel's fury for quoting and agreeing with me.i have to say heat guy j has great character designs.it's done by the same artist as escaflowne right?it definitely has unique style.kyoko on heat guy j is sexy as hell.i love short haired women.and don't forget hitomi from escaflowne.