Topic: Anime

[Critter]

Whatever I'm sick of this argument. I know that animation isn't a genre and that's good enough for me.

[richierich]

Animations are not a strictly-defined genre category, but rather a film technique, although they often contain genre-like elements

Theres the middle ground, now kiss and make-up 

(Sorry, couldn't resist that, I will put myself in the corner now) 

[goodguy]

... but the thing I appreciate about Miyazaki is the stuff I barely understand; the intricate detail relating to Japanese history and culture. All the weird demons and creatures are authentic folk tales.

I haven't seen any of his films. I know that Roger Ebert freqently raves about him, but still...

I have seen Ghost In the Shell (don't remember Akira, though) and a few episodes of various Anime series, and based on that, I tend to lump everything together that fits the Anime label and associate it with a certain style of animation that just doesn't appeal to me. The most obvious one is were the animation isn't really animated at all, just a camera pan over a still image.

Could be that I just don't get (modern) Asian cinema at all, be it Anime or otherwise. Stuff like Oldboy, for example, puts me to sleep.

That might be entirely my fault, but given that there are enough other movies out there that do interest me, I probably won't do anything about it.

[Achim]

That might be entirely my fault, but given that there are enough other movies out there that do interest me, I probably won't do anything about it.

Of course, why would you want to do any different? I also will not condition myself to bear films I actually don't like. Those hours are better spent we actually enjoy.

You, Matthias, just like Jimmy, have very much a taste of your own on this forum. And that is good that way, as this creates discussion and we all get to see different opinions; if we all enjoyed the same set of films, where'd be the fun in that?

[Najemikon]

Blimey, things have warmed up around here, haven't they?

Well said, Achim. I wouldn't want this forum without Matthias and Jimmy. Or any of the others that have shown clear interest in certain areas. I think I've mentioned before that I did a couple of film studies and film production courses, but it really means little because film is art and art should be moving whether you understand it's technicalities or not. I hate it when people hide behind a certificate because films are intended for everyone and you can only truly understand it when you hear all interpretations, "educated" or not. That goes for filmmakers too. My favourite story about Hitchcock is when he tried to help his granddaughter with a study of one of his films for school and she got a "C"! He just shrugged and said, "well, that's what I thought it meant"... 

But damn! People get in such knots over genre. It is a misunderstood term and one of my favourite subjects in film. In its purest original French meaning, it refers to themes and recurring patterns within the narrative. Therefore Animation cannot be such a thing because the narrative isn't limited by medium. Snow White is a Fantasy Musical. End of.

But, over the years, genre became harder to define (remember Film Noir was purely American, but only named so by the French after the fact; Hollywood were just making fancy thrillers!). So it is used in film studies sometimes to mean genus or category. In that sense, Animation can be called such.

Personally, I very much prefer the former meaning and try to stick to using "Category" or "Medium" for the latter. The problem is something like Cinema Verite, which is both a genre movement and a genre medium. I wish DVD Profiler would separate the two because it's so confusing and causes awful arguments, as we've seen here.

I suppose Anime could be a true genre itself because the cheap stuff all use that horrible static background Matthias mentioned!

[northbloke]

Blimey, things have warmed up around here, haven't they?

I'll say, I thought I was getting Invelos flashbacks for a moment there!

This thread is a perfect example of what happens when you try to start pigeon-holing stuff - everyone has their own opinions of what means what, in the end you'll never be able to get everyone to agree on something that just hasn't been clearly defined.
It's especially true for something like Anime, where the term has been adopted by a variety of western cultures to all mean slightly different things, the only thing they have in common are the fact that they all refer to Japanese animations.
For example, when I was at college that's when Anime started coming over to this country en masse, largely because of the commercial success of Akira, so at that time many people used Anime to refer to that specific kind of animation: adult stories usually with a sci-fi twist.
So before you started arguing about whether animation is a genre or not, you should have agreed what genre meant.
So I agree with Rich and Jon, in one sense of the word, that a genre is a grouping of films/books/music etc. that contain similar themes, subject matter and so on, animation is not one - animation is a technique or medium, pure and simple.
However in the other sense of the word, that a genre is a categorisation of film, animation is one, just as silent, or black & white would be - it's simply a category, a means of grouping films together. Hell, with that definition even Sandra Bullock films could be classed as a genre!

But to stay on topic, my first experience of anime was Akira, and I loved it. I bought it on VHS, on DVD, and now on blu-ray and I still love it. It's just the roundedness of the characters, the film-makers have taken their time to create believable people with flaws and personality traits, along with a complicated story that rewards multiple viewings.
But other than that I haven't had much exposure to it, I've seen Ghost in the Shell and enjoyed it, but it was only a rental so haven't seen it again recently.
I'm also a huge fan of Spirited Away, but haven't been too much of a fan of the rest of Ghibli's output - although I've certainly enjoyed a few of them (Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle for example).

I've heard great things about Cowboy Bebop but never seen any, and unfortunately I tend to find anime is too expensive to risk blind-buys.

Oh, and I think it's still anime, but I really enjoyed Afro Samurai too.

Anyway now that you have brought out my dark side which I was hoping wouldn't be revealed in this forum I will say that I will permenantly leave if you and other members wish me too.

Obviously I can't speak for everyone but I certainly have no desire to see the back of you. I have seen much darker, ruder and just plain nastier comments than anything you've said here. I would say your's is more of a dusk side than a dark side. 

[Jimmy]

Anyway now that you have brought out my dark side which I was hoping wouldn't be revealed in this forum I will say that I will permenantly leave if you and other members wish me too.

Don't worry we have all our little thing that make us more combative. It's perfectly normal between friends to have argument, in the past we had got in real fight in my friend circle because of sport argument... Of course in those time we were usually drunk  

[Critter]

I'm sorry guys I just tend to get overly defensive about animation. The last time I got this mad on the internet was when I was arguing with some idiot that insisted that insects weren't animals. Now THAT was an intense argument. I tell ya what it's a good thing physical pain can't be delt over the internet becuase I was ready to pummel that person.

[RossRoy]

I was arguing with some idiot that insisted that insects weren't animals. Now THAT was an intense argument.

Insects are animals? That's new! I thought they were only parasites! 

Kidding aside, like Jimmy, we all have those little things that make us go crazy and blurt out things we later regret. As long as you man up, apologize if need be, all is fine!

That's what were here for anyway, to expose our diverging opinions!

You just have to accept that I'm right, and you're not 

Or, XKCD sums it up best:
http://xkcd.com/386/

[Critter]

Or, XKCD sums it up best:
http://xkcd.com/386/

Haha that is the best image ever.
I was just like this - for 20 minutes after seeing it.