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Genre / Theme label discussion.


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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2024 9:51 am Reply with quote
Okay, so philosophy seems a bit pretentious. And thinking about it some more, it also seems like a very broad and non-specific term. I guess kinds of philosophy (i.e. ethics, existentialism, etc.) would be better. Again, there probably won't be a whole lot of instances of these being used, but I think it's nice to have the option.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2024 1:11 pm Reply with quote
Those and other specific aspects of philosophy would be fine.

I will admit that I had to look up existentialism. It is amazing how many words don't mean quite what you think they do if you get your defination from usage, in print or conversation.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 1:54 pm Reply with quote
One thing that irks me a lot when I look through themes of titles is the descriptor "fighting." When I see the word, I think more so of people yelling at each other rather than actual combat or fisticuffs. I was thinking "battle" or "combat" might be a better descriptor for titles where characters are trying to beat the snot out of or kill each other.

If there's a more specific form of that battle/combat being represented, I would add another descriptor like "gunplay," "martial arts," "swordplay," etc. based on the specialization of said battle/combat. Kind of like how I'd put gourmet and then baking/cooking/drinking/etc. as a specifier. What do y'all think?
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 3:04 pm Reply with quote
Hmm, this is a tough one for me. See, for me the words "battle" and "combat" call up very specific concepts. It's true that two people can battle each other, but when I see battle as a descriptor, I think of a fairly large brou-ha-ha. I think of two sides battling. And with "combat" I think of soldiers fighting each other even though, yes, two people can be in mortal combat. So for me, the descriptor "fighting" actually fits better if you are talking about a lot of one on one situations. I think using specifiers is a good idea given the different kinds of fighting that are often represented.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 6:32 pm Reply with quote
In relation to battle and combat, there's also war, which I feel is pretty self-explanatory (soldiers and/or armies battling each other with some kind of weaponry). I guess I'll grit my teeth and put up with "fighting" and just specify when possible. While it's fresh on my mind, I'll start thinking up all the different forms of fighting there can be. A quick shortlist of more specific fighting elements:

- gunplay
- martial arts
- mecha
- sorcery
- superpowers
- swordplay

And I suppose if it's just generic punching and kicking, "fighting" would be okay. Feel free to make any other suggestions.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 7:19 pm Reply with quote
To me both battle and combat implies organized forces. It could involve any thing from a single squad to divisions or armies. It could even be a single survivor against a whole company (that is how you get the Medal of Honor etc.) War usually involves larger groups, possibly in an entire country of even continent. A battle implies something of a set piece no matter how large. Combat could be used to describe a generalized state.

If you want something to cover two people beating the snot out of each other, or even two schools or gangs, I would recommend brawling. It has that nice connotation of something rather disorganized.

Martial arts doesn't always involve fighting as such. It could be limited to training and contests with strict rules. Think Bamboo Blade or Yawara. Your other categories are similar.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 11:12 pm Reply with quote
Brawling is actually a really good specifier. I'm sure plenty of delinquent and/or gangster titles could use that, especially a lot of stuff from the '90s and earlier. Looks like I've got a lot of titles to start adding to!
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2025 8:44 am Reply with quote
Glad to be of assistance.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 01, 2025 3:53 pm Reply with quote
I've seen several anime the last few years that take place outside of major cities and/or urban areas and was thinking if something like countryside, rural, or whatever similar descriptor would be accurate. For example, I finally watched your name. (movie) for the first-time-ever, last night, and there's a pretty clear distinction of urban vs. country culture between the two main characters.

I also figure for titles that do happen to take place in more countryside/rural areas, the descriptor might give viewers this expectation for potential scenic or background art, as a lot of countryside/rural titles tend to show a lot of what I call "wallpaper shots." Mushishi would be another great example: lots of countryside living with gorgeous shots of mountains, forests, and all that nature stuff.

Alternatively, I feel if I start using rural, should I also use urban to as a descriptor for very specific titles where city-life are integral parts of the show? I think most people expect that to be a normal thing. But it's the country/rural stuff we tend to see less of these days, so I should at least use that to help people find more countryside/rural set titles.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 01, 2025 5:33 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, I wouldn't bother with the urban descriptor considering how common urban environments are but rural/countryside would be good.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 01, 2025 8:33 pm Reply with quote
I agree with you on the descriptor Urban. It should be reserved for those shows where the city streets seem to be an additional major character. The majority of anime takes place in urban/suburban areas simply because that is where the majority of the population lives.

I have different take on rural. I remember Your Name as taking place in a small town. One surrounded by farm land but a small town never the less. To me rural means farmland with homes a half mile apart if in sight at all. I would use a descriptor of small town/rural or list them separately.

I grew up in rural areas on either side of Philadelphia.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 01, 2025 9:15 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, I think I'll keep "small town" over "rural," as I feel it'll be easier to understand for non-English speakers. And then I'll use "countryside" as an additional descriptor when said small town also happens to be surrounded by farmlands, forests, mountains, etc. or if the story has these scenic-scapes, but not quite enough people living next to each other to constitute small-town status.
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:47 am Reply with quote
Actually, a small town has to be surrounded by nature of some sort almost by definition. The only real alternative to nature would be a city which would make it a suburb. Of course a lot of what are now bedroom communities for a big city started out as small towns and still retain that feeling.

Offhand, Non, non Biyori would qualify as rural. While the kids all seem to be within walking distance to each other, there doesn't seem to be an actual town there.
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