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Boogiepop Phantom (TV).

While I somewhat agree with your principle, I don't agree with the assertion that some people -- in this case, the mentally ill -- are inherently constrained because of their predisposition, nor that the characters in Watchmen are, as well.

Well, yeah, but at the same time its raison d'etre (oh, Ergo Proxy... Speaking of pretentious anime...) is primarily for entertainment. I mean, there's also commentary in, say, G Gundam, but I'm doubtful that anyone is going to attempt to argue that it's themes concerning environment, technology and communication are its defining purpose.

You'd have to take that assertion up with more devoted Kon fans (of which I do think it would be an interesting discussion, so long as no one tries to step on anyone else's toes). However, putting aside Perfect Blue and the first batch of Paranoia Agent -- the latter of which is mostly delivered with the tongue-in-cheek, and better direction, by my mark -- I don't see how his output is thematically less than that in Boogiepop Phantom.

With BP, the ideas are just sort of... well, there. They are what they are, but I never really came away with a different viewpoint (from the creator's perspective, I mean); the same thing applies to something like Now and Then, Here and There, which I also find its depth to be vastly overstated by some of the fandom.

Lain is not essentially about people being (dis)connected, though. The real-world concepts and events introduced and reinforced for the viewer aren't as trivial as that. Like I said earlier, it's themes and points go well beyond a simple idea of "Everyone is connected," far into territory that a lot of viewers don't pick up on and give it credit for.

I could see that argument, except there is movement when, say, there is panning across a room and over a character. One of the most frequent stylistic shots that I remember is a slow movement upward as Ginko moves his cigar* away from his mouth -- that animation is just so ridiculously natural. That's one of the "quieter" moments you allude to.

I myself look down upon appealing to a majority, but... people who have a high interest and knowledge in general animation, some of them animators, have a high respect for the series, two of whom you may be familiar with: Cloe of ANN and Ben of AniPages. I would think that there's something to it, y'know.

Well, it probably hinges on how well BP was received in Japan -- i.e. DVD sales -- in addition to whether there's a current demand among the fanbase for the novels to see a faithful anime adaption. Even the seemingly nameless manga titles getting adapted have some sort of sure-fire appeal to otaku, so it's not a guarantee that material like the Boogiepop novels can move the numbers...

Well, by definition, a mentally ill person has something wrong with their mind them that prevents them from being able to express the full range of expected human mental capabilities, hence they are constrained. My argument ran more along the lines of questioning at what point someone can be labelled constrained through their singular obsessive expression with certain emotions, thoughts, and actions, and how this differs from a normal person. If normal people can be considered constrained because of their obsessive tendencies, then the argument that the characters of Boogiepop Phantom are constrained and thus are inferior characterizations of real problems becomes a fallacy. That's what I was trying to get at.

The line between entertainment and "art" is entirely arbitrary again. To what point Boogiepop Phantom is designed to entertain and not educate could be argued forever, because there are people who do find it entertaining just like the latest Gundam series or Haruhi. I wouldn't watch it if I didn't find it entertaining.

I am actually a big Kon fan (I own all of his films, of which Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers are my favourites). I'm not actually saying that his stuff has no depth or that he isn't good at what he does, because he is exceptional at what he does. However, if we are comparing thematic breadth and characterization, then all of Kon's films generally have just one theme they focus on, while each episode of Boogiepop Phantom usually has a theme it focuses on.

I think how much a work impacts upon your way of thinking is different from how good that work is. Very few things have changed my outlook on life (of which Watchmen is one), but most haven't even made a dent. The impact something has on me doesn't really factor into my critical evaluation, but may factor into my enjoyment. So I don't think whether Boogiepop Phantom changed your outlook on life (as so many people who watch Eva profess ) is an entirely fair method for evaluating the quality of the series in general.

I would be interested in hearing your take on what the series is about then, because everything from the opening to the ending suggests to me that the story is all about people being connected. Schuman resonance is introduced in episode 6(?) to advance this theme, and I don't think the internet, schuman resonance, and relationships would comprise the majority of episode time if that wasn't what the series was about.

I'll need to watch some more of the series and double check (I'm up to episode 12), but having a character move their hand is not high quality animation, not by anyone's standard.

Allow me to use this video as an example:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DdQMWGz1p-U

1. In the first 36 seconds, there are 3 full cells. That's it. Only 3 in 36 seconds.

2. In the next 30 seconds, only the ground is animated. The sky has been left white - i.e not animated at all.

3. From 2:35 to 2:55, there are just 2 fully animated cells.

4. From 3:02 to 3:12, there is just one partially animated cell.

There are many other shorter examples of such direction. A lot of movement is recycled, such as water movement, hair movement, and body movement. Mushi-shi does have very pretty animation, and what they do animate is done well, but udner the above circumstances, I don't see how Mushi-shi can be considered to have a high animation quality.

I imagine they have their reasons. But so do the people who like the animation of Lucky Star, but that doesn't change the fact that I will never agree them.