Forum - View topicWhat do you consider "Anime"
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Dragononi
 Posts: 21 Location: Michigan |
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Many people say that anime is animation from Japan. But some say that anime is a style of animation that can come from different countries. With more and more shows like Teen Titans, and Megas XLR which uses an anime style, what do you think the definition of anime is?
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bnewhall
 Posts: 110 Location: USA |
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I define "anime" as "Animation in a particular style made by the Japanese." Note that there are Japanese animations that are not in the anime style -- the first segment of Neo-Tokyo is an example. I think that defining anime as simply "any animation created by Japanese people" is not useful. But that's just me.
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Golgo13
 Posts: 148 |
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Anime is the japanese word for animation so I find the whole categorization and style of anime to be very jumbled.
My theory is if it was made and released in Japan, it's anime. And, I've had to repeat this many times, anime is not one style. I find it very disturbing when someone just says "anime style". There is no one style to anime (though with newer anime you can't tell). Leiji Matsumoto's style is not the same as CLAMP. Go Nagai's style is not the same as Masmuse Shirow. This is why I am beginning to dislike some of the newer anime in Japan. They repeat the same style, thus reinstating the stereotype of "anime style". |
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cymbol
Posts: 23 |
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I guess this question has always been at the back of my mind and for the past years, I have always been successful at supressing the urge to analyze this.
Bill Clinton: "what is the mearning of 'is'?" What is the meaning of anime? headache ensuing, abort, abort... I would use this one, if you are ever asked, otherwise it is safer on the brain cells not to think about this too much. anime is what japanese call animated cartoons, short for animation. you know the japanese has a habit of taking english words, extracting syllables out of them, and making words out of acronyms, and sometimes not even that, for example.... (have 4 or 5 examples ready) if at this point your inquisitor doesn't show a smile of understanding sometimes accompanied by head bobbing, or wave you off in a sign of impatience, or simply faded into a coma, you can try plan B show them some of what is anime; that is, when you fail to define what IT is, you can always give examples of what is IT, hoping that intelligence can make the rest of the missing connections. |
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Eternal Love
 Posts: 2 Location: San Antonio, TX |
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Anime is Japanese animation and the style here tend to be characters with huge eyes inspired by much of Disney's older animations. I love anime for many reasons. I love anime because the artwork is so beautiful in itself!! I watch anime (mainly shoujo anime) for the purpose of finding something emotional, romantic, funny, and/or exciting to see. Watching something that I really like alot just calms my mind and soul and I really feel so much better.
I've loved romance/drama themes, even outside anime and it has intrigued me to see it ever since I was very young. I love watching something that will really pull myself into the story, anime can do that quite well for me because you could feel that emotion they feel. I mainly like shoujo anime for that very reason that I love romance/drama themes. Some good examples could be like Fushigi Yuugi, Ai Yori Aoshi, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Sailor Moon. What also attracts me are action anime with girls as main characters; I absolutely love anime like Dirty Pair Flash and Super GALS! It isn't anything like the other shoujo stuff I've liked but still enjoyed it very much. This is actually pretty hard to come by in USA animation. Another beauty of anime is that it show references of how families actually live in Japan and how life in Japan is like compared to other cultures like that of America. A family being together and living in the same household is a Japanese tradition and the beauty of anime is that we can see first hand how proud they are of themselves and how many people live that way in a stereotypical way. It's nice to see the beauty of the Japanese culture in anime. Anime in general seems to be one step ahead of anything else ever having been animated. The action in so many shounen is just so incredable and fast and the storylines really are some of the best out there that keep you wanting more. Storylines are usually always continuous and very intriguing. American cartoons are just so different and usually have no storyline whatsoever in it's course of their episodes. You could even tell that difference between an American comic and a manga so easily. Animation in anime just seems to be one step ahead of everything and it sends American cartoons to the minor leagues. In my opinion, Nothing can compare to what Rurouni Kenshin or Cowboy Bebop are like compared to other animation from the US. The only American series I have seemed to love the most has been The Simpsons but even that hasn't been the say as it used to be. I've always loved many American animation movies such as Swan Princess, The Land Before Time, and Fern Gully because they are great and you could literally tell alot of time was spent on making such details in the animation but American animation in general has always been looked down upon a only for kids and that really makes me feel bad. Art used American cartoon animation isn't nearly as detailed as that of Japanese animation is either. Anime has gone a long way and it's only gotten better in my opinion. Anime is nice and I'm proud to be an anime fan!! |
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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This is pretty much the same definition I work off of, as well. I also tend to add, though, that a joint production between Japanese and other international animation producers should only be considered anime if the core production staff (director, writer, etc.) had something of a noteworthy Japanese presence. The Animatrix would be a good example of this. Also, I agree with your point about "anime style." The whole stereotype of big eyes, small mouths, and neon spiky hair doesn't actually apply as much as commonly believed. Films like AKIRA and Jin-Roh, for example, use decidedly more realistic character designs (Jin-Roh especially), and the same can be said to a somewhat lesser degree for series like Monster, Witch Hunter Robin, and Wolf's Rain due to their usage of smaller eyes, more propertioned body structures, and less zany (and more realistically-coloured) hairstyles. On the opposite end, there are also anime that look much more cartooney than what's commonly accepted as "anime styled." Panda Z & Super Milk-chan (from what I've seen of them) would apply here. Sure, the majority of anime being produced today conform to a certain look, but to say that the only defining quality that should be used to identify anime is that look is highly erroneous (after all, you'd essentially be saying "AKIRA's not anime! Neither is that Satoshi Kon stuff!" and we know that's just not the case  ).
Last edited by Nagisa on Tue Oct 19, 2004 3:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ssjlonewolf
 Posts: 23 |
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well the true meaning of anime is all in the eyes of the person watching it. Most anime comes from japan however, anime comes from all over. Like one of my recent movies that i have liked came from korea, Wonderful Days.
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cymbol
Posts: 23 |
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Not true not true, for every anime that you claim to have a continuous and very intriguing storyline, I am sure to find 2 that don't have a very continuous storyline, or one poorly advanced, or one with such a poor storyline that the absence of it might be a saving grace. And I can't disagree more about your distinction between American comic and manga. Especially considering your admitting to be a shoujo fan. In the few titles of shoujo that I chanced through, the main characters were heaps of insecurities and undecisiveness. The stories went on and on like such without much change in the fundamental undecisiveness, and if you consider these stories to be continuous and non-stagnant, so be it. Perhaps my understanding of shoujo art is lacking, but so is your generalization of american comics. I like stories and I collect the ones I enjoy reading, and out of these are manga AND comics, some of the comics I like that have fast paced action and intriguing plots I would recommend are Mystic, Sandman, Lucifer (spinoff of sandman but much better as it delves into creation, free will, motivation, and sin), Y the last Man, Negation, among many, many others. All in all, you are giving too much credit to Japanese anime and not enough to the american cartoons/comics, as some of them are quite deep. Let's take Simpsons, for example. I was an immigrant, and it took me years to understand simpsons. It was not the case that I didn't watch simpsons, or that I didn't laugh at its tawdry jokes, but as my English teacher said, it contains many symbols and allusions to other aspects of the culture that is not readily understood by a casual alien, i.e. me. When I look back at simpsons now, thinking why the writers wrote certain stories, and understanding why a certain punchline was funny, it is more meaningful. But of course, your being in the system probably clouds you from certain kinds of appreciation that I might enjoy. I like some anime, I like some manga, I like some comics, and I like some cartoons. I think it unfair, to say the least, to bunch up one category and place it inferior to the next. And me, originally an outsider to both cultures in which these creations sprung and endured, can tell you that I like some of all. You sound like a fan to me; I am not a fan.
ugh, this is why I walked around it. If you want to be precise about the definition, then there will be nitpickers like me who question the exactness of your precision. Just how much japanese is required for something to be considered an anime. And just how does one rule if some influence is or is not japanese? What is japanese now anyway, having their nation so quickly modernized, westernized, and technolyzed? Your definition might be applicable in another field, allow me to paraphrase: Kanji calligraphy can only be practiced by chinese. Anything that a chinese writes is kanji calligraphy. I would only consider calling it kanji calligraphy, when a non-chinese wrote it, if somehow a chinese physically helped the foreigner to it. This is pure hogwash, I laugh at myself when I write this bullsh*t. Now we all know many non-chinese practice kanji calligraphy, and some of them call do it much much better than 99% (not so hard when there are so many chinese) of the chinese, but not being chinese doesn't make what they write not kanji calligraphy, nor does it make it any less valid or beautiful. Am I making sense? p.s. I am chinese, and I can't write kanji well. My teacher used to say that my words form to circles, when traditionally square forms were more desirable. |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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I'd have to agree with this, with a small added twist: where the animation is based off another work (i.e. another animated work or comics or manga), then the original artwork (if followed at all faithfully) defines whether it's anime or not. In other words, if some Japanese animation studio were to make an animated version of Popeye or the Peanuts, without making significant changes to the art, then the result would not be anime. It is for this reason that I argued (in another thread) that the animated movie Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992), based on Winsor McCay's classic work, was not anime, despite having been made by a predominantly Japanese crew.
Perfect sense. Just as there are plenty of non-native English speakers who can speak (and write) better than many native English speakers (and most Americans ).
If you go back far enough, the old forms of Chinese ideograms were often rounded. The angular form is a later stylistic innovation. So.... you could always say you're just being really, really old-fashioned. 
- abunai |
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cymbol
Posts: 23 |
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well, there are american cartoons, japanese cartoons, american cartoons with japanese influence (samurai jack), japanese cartoons with american or western influence (read or die), japanese cartoons that really had their fills drawn by north koreans, japanese cartoons that had cg done by american firms, japanese cartoons that enlisted american singers for theme songs, japanese cartoons with stories written by non-japanese (little women)... the list can go on and on. and on.. and on some more... and finally, some more, and on.
Which of these are anime? which are not? You might derive some satisfaction from answering these questions, having reassured yourself and everything is indeed well and clear-cut. But really, these issues are not important. Pardon me to sound cliche, but what's really important is if the viewer can derive entertainment and perchance some meaning out of the cartoons (or anime, if my overt usage of cartoon instead of making a distinction between cartoon and anime has raised your blood pressure, but that's my point). That's what that artists want, right? Your entertainment and maybe some understanding. Why torture ourselves on what is black and what is white? It is much more fruitful to discuss which shades of gray do you like on a certain rainy day, and why, might I say.
oh, right, if you dislike my vebose posts, read what ssjlonewolf said. word. |
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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"Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter." (Homer Simpson to Bart Simpson, in the episode "Mountain of Madness")
I should be the last person to state a dislike for verbose posts...
-abunai |
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cymbol
Posts: 23 |
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*sigh* I completely missed this part when I watched it... I am still a green grasshopper. |
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abunai
Old Regular
Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Look on the bright side: at least you're not being played by David Carradine.
- abunai |
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jfrog
 Posts: 925 Location: Seattle |
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Uh, how about no. Anime is very limited visually, which is why I'm becoming somewhat tired of it and turning to other countries for my animation supply (hint: there's more to the world than just Japan and America). You'd never get anything as visually striking as Fantastic Planet, Tale of Tales, or My Beautiful Girl, Mari made in Japan, that's for sure. And all of those are very mature works, far beyond the level of cartoons about giant robots or schoolgirls with magical powers. Not that those can't be fun, but it's not the be all and end all of animation.
Go watch Fantasia. |
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Anti-Mainstreamist
 Posts: 85 Location: Away from the sun and other outside threats. |
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I'm always annoyed by this question.
1.Anime is the japanese word for animation. Cartoons. Gungrave. Poke'mon, and Mickey Mouse are all anime. This has now been butchered into an abstract concept by american fans. 2.Plot has noting to do with anime. How good something is does not put it in the anime catagory. You can't say Poke'mon isn't REAL anime because of its childishness.3.If you get down to it, anime is a Japanese cartoon, unless you're Japanese. Then its a cartoon. |
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