Forum - View topic"Sophisticated" Comedy
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Dilandau
 Posts: 525 Location: Tea House |
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I myself am a drama junky, so I'm not really familiar with the comedy genre. I'm 'guiding' a friend into otakudom (little does he suspect!) and I have gathered that his favourite genre is comedy - especially along the lines of "Frasier".
For the life of me, I can't think of anything that isn't ridiculous or outright otaku-necessary. Any suggestions? |
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Haiseikoh 1973
 Posts: 1590 Location: Waiting for the Japanese 1000 Gunieas. |
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Paradise Kiss is one I can think of.
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Bees and Flowers and Happy Mania by Moyoko Anno. Sophisticated comedies about the clueless pursuit of love.
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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They may be for the older guy/gal, but ugh...Flowers and Bees is the epitome of ridiculous and Happy Mania just gets annoying. I really can't think of a more "sophisticated" comedy...maybe try Maison Ikkoku? Lupin manga has its moments, but overall I don't think it's that great of a series. Remote is unintentionally funny and it's still a pretty good read. But, yeah, thinking of a series with the same kind of dry humor that Frasier had is tough. |
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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While it may be a sex romp, Dance Till Tommorow does have a certain sophistication that most titles in that genre lack. Maison Ikkoku would probobly also fit into this catigory.
It hasn't been licenced (or even scanned for that matter), but Ohikkoshi is definitally worth checking out. Its very funny, and would definitally be sophisticated in my opinion. Its only one volume, but the characters are exellent, and it has some great drama also. In some ways the comedy elements are second to realistic drama. Plus it helps that the art is amazing (Samura did this about when his art style was fully developed). In addition, the TPB has another short story after Ohikkoshi called "Homeless Shojo Manga-ka". The title is goofy, but its actually a very serious drama. A very good read though. I read both with help of an online translation, and bought it paperback at an online bookstore. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jlynch/Terms/Temp/affective.html |
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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What's your point, Aaron? Because my opinon goes against the majority about these series that I'm unfairly biased? Um, no. Sorry I don't like Flowers and Bees as much as you do, but my opinion matters just as much as anyone else's. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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I have no idea how you got that out of my point. I'm not saying that you're unfairly biased; I'm saying that you're assuming that the nature of a work can be determined by one's emotional response to it, and I'm saying that's wrong. |
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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...and I have no idea how you got that out of my post. I didn't assume anything. I completely get the "nature" of the work, but I also find it annoying and the art styles ugly. I didn't mean to imply that one should derive meaning from a work based solely on emotion. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Finding it annoying has nothing to do with the initial question, "is it sophisticated comedy?" It is sophisticated comedy. "Annoyingness" and "Uglyness" are judgement calls,not inherent aspects of the manga. Broccolli is nutritious regardless of whether I think it's gross or yummy, and Anno's manga is sophisticated comedy regardless of how anyone responds to it.
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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Ok. You have a point there and I understand what you're getting at. However, I think (and when you look at the link you posted and read through your arguments...what I think is irrelavent) that because they are so...in your face...that they're annoying. And when something is so annoying, even if it's geared towards an older audience, the humor is no more sophisticated than that of generic slapstick. Another suggestion for "sophisticated comedy" would be GTO. |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if Dilandau's friend wants to sample sophisticated comedic manga, Anno's work is worth sampling. My liking it or your disliking it has no bearing on the question.
Anno's manga is not annoying. Nor is it un-annoying. "Annoyance" is a matter of a purely personal response to the work, not something inherent in the work. The sophistication of Anno's manga is not based on how you or I respond to it, but on the construction of the work itself. Anno's astute portrayal of the psychology of young love and lust is as sharp, accurate and nuanced as any fictitious case study I've ever seen in comics. That's sophistication. You're free to dislike it, and I'm free to like it, but Dilandau isn't asking us to list manga we find entertaining or annoying; s/he's asking for sophisticated comedy. |
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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Thanks for explaining yourself and I agree with you. But, isn't it important to point out that certain series are more appealing than others? We can suggest things, yes, but we don't want to just suggest blindly. It's like if someone asked for fighting anime suggestions and you said "Tekken" and then I added, "But, it's an awful movie." Neutrality is good, but sometimes personal opinion is warranted.
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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But there's an essential difference between saying Tekken is bad and saying Anno's manga is annoying. It's like the difference between saying sour milk is bad vs. saying broccolli is yucky.
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Dilandau
Posts: 525 Location: Tea House |
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Thanks for the ideas in any case. I really wasn't sure that if I had completely overlooked a sub-set of comedy manga...it appears that I didn't. How about something that is less 'dry', but does not utilize 'baka-hammers' and the like. My 'target' has no previous experience with Japanese entertainment, hence the humour must be easily digestable for one not familiar with anime/manga. |
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