Forum - View topicStrong emotion in Anime
|
|
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
TheresaJayne
 Posts: 70 Location: UK Berkshire |
|
|||
|
I recently watched several series which at some point actually had me reaching for the hankies. Is this something that is in a lot of anime or is it just that my recent viewing has been of this Genre or is it more common.
The strongest one I have seen is Kanon 2006 at the close of the Makoto arc, but i have also been affected by early Naruto (when Sasuke was supposedly dead during a battle) and Noein / ergo proxy. I was also pointed to Air as being similar to Kanon, but is the way I watch Anime unique to me or do others out there get deeply emotionally involved with the ebb and flow of emotion within anime? Theresa |
||||
|
||||
|
JacobC
ANN Past Staff
 Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
|
|||
|
I think anime fans respond to anime in the exact same way as fans of any TV show, like All My Children, House, or One Tree Hill might. The difference is that anime fans are affected by a wide range of shows that they like rather than having to be a big fan of one before it really tears at them.
Not sure why. Could have something to do with anime fans also feeling they need to see almost every anime available to them that just means emotional involvement goes further with otaku than it does couch potatoes, or...something. Past that, I'm of the firm belief that animation has a greater capacity to move people than live action. That's not to say it's more effective, I just mean that the animation medium doesn't have to work as hard to manipulate your emotions as the live-action medium. If both are done well, the same scenario in animation will be more striking than in live-action. Why? First of all, live action often employs well-known or at least moderately known actors. Even if it's just at the back of your mind, you know that's not Forrest Gump, that's Tom Hanks, so if only a little bit, you think that and realize that you're indulging in actors putting on a show for you. With animation, an entire universe with characters and faces completely exclusive to it is presented to you. If those characters die, it's not like Heath Ledger in The Patriot (ooh, bad example!) playing a character that's dying. They really have died, for good, the character is no one but himself, and it's more immersive that way...unless there is a bad voice actor involved or one who is well-known and acts exactly like they do in live action, failing at voice acting. (Chris Rock is a good example, but Ben Stiller is even better.) In the same vein, animation presents a wider degree of manipulation than live action. It makes simpler what live action directors can only come very close to achieving: total control over the atmosphere of their universe. If you shoot a romantic comedy in New York City, you might not be able to get the exact vision of the city you were hoping for. Music and lighting can tweak the tone of a live-action film and do wonders for atmosphere, but animation can control every little extra's movement, the arrangement of every mountain and building, the colors of a mood or a room to perfection, etc. It's just easier to balance the melodrama and the realism to get the wrenching balance that you want. At least, that's my theory. Look at the scene in Bambi where Bambi's mom dies. Imagine that same scene in live action, although it is difficult because talking deer are involved. With the same staging entirely, it wouldn't have worked nearly as well. The falling snow, the color, the dark shadow of Bambi's dad, etc., is absolutely perfect. That scene absolutely tears up many adults I know, for crying out loud. |
||||
|
||||
Clodus
 Posts: 497 Location: Kansas |
|
|||
|
Believe me, your not the only one. Trying not to cry.
|
||||
|
||||
Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
|
|||
Couldn't agree more. Overlooking their respective VAs (the contributions of whom are, by the possibility of additional dub tracks being made, not essential parts of a given production) animated characters don't in any way extend beyond their respective show or franchise, as you indeed mention. I only really enjoy serious live-action work when I don't recognise the actors within it. The chap in The Green Mile looks too familiar to the one in Joe Versus the Volcano for my tastes. I'm sure others don't mind such an issue however.
I owe quite a bit of my fandom to that thread. |
||||
|
||||
Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
|
|||
|
Both anime and manga often employ strong emotional context in order to present a good story to the viewer. But to say that it's only anime doing this is unfair, the true purpose of all forums of art (yes, anime is art) is to invoke strong emotions, this includes movies, paintings, books, ext. I think that it's the sign of a great staff when an anime is so good that you actually feel for the characters. Dai Sato (writer for Cowboy Bebop, Ergo Proxy, Wolf's Rain, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell, ext.) is one of my favorite writers because his writing captivates the viewer and is able to convey emotions in a very powerful way. Of course he's often helped by Shinichiro Watanabe. I get all teary eyed every time I see the final scene of Ballad of a Fallen Angel, and that's why I love it.
|
||||
|
||||
Kruszer
 Posts: 7995 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
|||
|
I'd say it depends on how well the characterization for the series is done. There's series that work for me and series that don't. The more like real people the characters feel to you, the more you can identify with them and their myraid of fictional issues, problems, or dilemas. Character development is the key. They have to take time out in the show to show more dimensions or facets of a character in some type of relation to the story that doesn't distract you completely from what's going on. Explain why characters do what they do, show them out of "their element" so speak, or show what rattles them or shakes them up.
|
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group