Forum - View topicEsoteric Anime
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JoshuaStChristopher
 Posts: 351 |
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I've noticed how there are quite a few anime series that never really explain a lot of what's going on. They put out the information there for you, and expect you to sort it all out yourself.
This, in my opinion, is why Evangelion has still remained so popular. One can analyze it on so many levels, and the "answers" will never truly be given. On the other side, it also seems like quite a few series' pretty much just spell everything out for you, and leave nothing to the imagination. What do all of you kind folks think about this? My opinion is that more anime needs a bit of both. Being overly mysterious is just silly, but explaining every single plot device to the viewer also seems a bit silly. I'd like to see a healthy mix, where a lot of the more subtle plot points are left up to the viewer to undertand, but not everything is. |
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Arkard
 Posts: 677 Location: Poland |
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Hmmm... the perfect example here would be Key the Metal Idol. I am fairly old-school, which to todays fans means that I actually watched anime before 1997 -_-, so I do have the Key VHS. And until yesterday I was re-watching it, enjoying it after a few years. And whadaya now, it still looks perfect.
In relation to your querry Key has a high mysterious feel to it which continues unhindered up to the 14th episode, where everything is basically spelled out for you. But until then, the stage is yours, so to say. Before the answer is actually given to you, you get alot of chances to speculate, think, analyze, whatever you need to understand this anime. Even if at the end your actions are proved futile it still dont matter. Key the Metal Idol is a sort of unique series. There is no real way to actually "guess" what is going on, as the necessary facts are not present, but you do get a kick out of it when you ask yourself for the n-th time "is she REALLY a robot?". |
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CyberViper
Posts: 218 Location: Matsumoto, Nagano Japan |
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I think Gantz is a pretty good example. Although a lot of people really didn't like it, I for one, did. I thought a lot was left unexplained, and a lot of unexpected things happened. Towards the end it even took a more dramatic spin, and the ending really leaves you wondering just what really happened. You really have to figure it our for yourself and apply your own meaning to the ending.
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opaquescum
Posts: 235 |
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My oppinion is that anime should go with both angles. Just for the simple fact that a mystery is a mystery, and a action is a action. Both are valid experiences, and both have their own demographics.
Heck I like to have some mystery in my anime a few thought puzzles make me happy. I can go to both ends of the spectrum. I like naruto has some of those really great episodes where the main characters are caught in a situation where you the viewer know its a test, but what is the point, and what is the answer. No not deep infact you can sort of figure it out ahead of time. You get a explicit ending, and I like it. On the other hand I really like Gantz and that series. Well if you miss a key scene or miss one little detail. You really pay the price. It is very deep and the series ends leaveing a few good lose ends that do let you solve it for yourself. You feal a hairbreadth away from getting it. Needless to say I think there is a place and ought to be one for both kinds. Shallow mystery and indeapth, and even vague mystery. It really depends on the viewer. Some people like murder on the orient express. Others get entranced by the bible. Some can do both, others can only do one. It really depends on who we are as people. Some people wear life on their sleaves. To them it all has a concrete locked answer, and they do not want that view challenged. They want it all straight up, and need closure. Some people see life through a microscope, and to them everything is layers of meaning, purpose, and interpretation. To them a simple answer seems phony, and even contrived. I think most people sit somewhere in between. Where they can appreciate both. Where the OP stands. You may want to bridge a divide, but there are a number of mysterious anime that fits there in the mid range to your likeing. Anyway I think the range to anime like any medium is good. It means I can find something that appeals very specifically to me. We cannot really think of any series as needing to be changed to fit us specifically. The writer is telling us a story, and it comes from their mind. When we sit there trying to unravel a mystery we are actually unraveling the mind of the writer. I think back to watching the sixth sense for the first time. Halfway through the film. I let out a loud gasp as it all clicked in place for me. My brother was sitting across the room he had seen it before, and before I could say anything he looked at me and said no. We are all wired differently when it comes to mysteries in all media. Sometimes you will get it sometimes you will not. Neither is wrong. The only problems I have with mysterious elements in anime. Is when they are done in a bad manner. Example denying the viewer any chance of figureing it out, but dropping a twist or complex subplot in the last few minutes. Like the writer was some genius. If your going to have a veiled story you have to atleast try and leave the viewer some clues. |
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Space_cowboy64
 Posts: 337 Location: Great Britain...not all that great |
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it depends on the viewer whether he or she prefers blindingly obvious underlying meaning or whether they prefer the way that it doesn’t explain everything and leave some ideas for yourself to discover.
i think Eva lasted to long and was so popular was because it was brilliant on so many levels . it had blindingly obvious humour in some parts of the TV series, but always carried a mystery about it. a master piece anime is like literature, William Shakespeare his writings have become historical and never forgotten because there are so many different ways of interpreting the text. the same can be said for anime and film. Neon genesis however really pushes the boundaries and sets new targets for anime. Especially the movies which are so intellectual and such a masterpiece they deserve to be studied closely in schools. 
thanks space |
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