Anime

[Flopjack]

I'm sure this has been brought up many times here, but please indulge me. I would like some professional opinions on the matter.

A friend of mine, slating to be an animator and is quite talented and myself (an artist as well) have numerous debates over anime. I'm going to start from the ground up on this for my own clarification.

Anime is the Japanese word for animation. Technically, English speaking people should be calling anime, cartoons. Manga should also be called comic or graphic novel. Essentially, we use the terms to describe a style or in the case of Japanese comics also how they are created. True, right? If so, having said that, I'm still going to refer to them as anime or cartoons, each meaning the different styles.

__________________________________

OK. I personally love animation in general. I like to think myself a very open mind and the quality of animation, art, story telling, voicing, character development, special effects, etc... be the measure if I like something or not versus liking or disliking something simply because it came from Japan or Marvel made it. I personally prefer cartoons or anime over comics or manga because I want to see movement and hear sound. I know often times the stories are cut short, or it's censored, but if I can't be won over by the animation I probably won't like it in it's book form either.

My friend is a large fan of Disney and Pixar. I am also a fan of them. The first argument broke out over him saying: "all anime has the same characteristics" referring to large eyes, pointy chins, etc... I suggested that isn't the case and showed a few main stream anime pictures trying to explain even though they are similar, they aren't exactly the same. Each artist depicting their work makes their characters different. I also said that there is a lot of anime which follows a popular guide line, but it's not all the same. He then showed me 4 or 5 different artist's rendition of Superman, one of his favorite characters. He pointed out that each artist renders him differently. I said "Yes that's true, but the same amount of difference measured between each superman can also be measured within anime. Each superman here is similar, but the details differ from artist to artist. He still has the muscular body, strong chin, black short hair with the little dingy thing hanging over his forehead." (Whatever that's called!) He wasn't convinced. At the end of going back and forth for probably over an hour I told him: "You've had your nose in a comic book since you were a child and you haven't seen any anime. You're looking at a few titles, notice they have similar characters and saying all anime looks the same. You're comparison isn't educated." He disagreed.

Since then, we agreed to watch something of each other's. I watch Spawn the animated series and he has started watching Full Metal Alchemist. (I thought Spawn was OK at bast. Last season was decently good however.) My friend thinks the story of Full Metal is really good, voicing is good, music, but he said "I still hate anime." These characters still all have the same characteristics." I said that simply isn't true. I suggested to him that Full Metal has better voicing, story, animation, character development, then practically any American cartoon. (I have to steer him away from comparing anime to Disney feature length films, a common problem I find. It isn't a fair comparison because of budget difference.) It's superior and that's why it's one of my top shows.

Today he said "Actually, I don't like anime because at my school (where he taught) all the kids come in drawing anime, probably 70% of them and I try to steer them away from that and identify their own style after learning how to draw." I said: "So you admit to being biased against anime simply because of the saturation level of it? OK, I agree there is a lot of anime and it is popular. I don't care how popular or unpopular something, my liking of it is based on the quality of it or other facets I enjoy."

Today he challenged me to show him images to see if he could identify what was anime style and what isn't. The follow links are all made in Japan (I think) except the first and last one).

http://www.2baksa.net/download/image...a5c931634e.jpg <-- not anime/manga
http://www.penciljack.com/forum/show...t=83367&page=2
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.cinematic...1/aeonflux.jpg
http://www.clho.net/anime/animatrix/animatrix.jpg
http://www.isfreetv.tv/site/imagens/...atrix-det3.jpg
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources...a%20scroll.jpg
http://www.notasdecine.es/wp-content...ccion-real.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mo...rs-screeny.JPG
http://www.dasgamer.com/wp-content/u...murai-lead.jpg
http://www.madman.com.au/wallpapers/...i_293_1280.jpg
http://nightsrakuen.files.wordpress..../09/vagey2.jpg
http://divyanovel.files.wordpress.co...an2014br31.jpg
http://letsfallasleep.files.wordpres...reet-cover.jpg
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1...sketchbqe8.jpg <--not anime/manga

How can someone say anime, as with any form of medium simliar including comics, doesn't have diverse styles? I feel he is so close to comics that he is able to quickly identify an artist's work and subtle differences, but when it comes to anime he umbrellas it all together and slaps a 'poor quality' label on it in his mind. Don't get me wrong there is a lot of crappy anime, but there is also a lot of good titles. Anime to me is synonymous with 'movie'. You don't say: I like movies. Everyone "likes movies". You say you like a certain genre of movies or specific titles.

Anyway, lest this post becomes very very long I'm going to cut it short. My question is:

Taking the sum of good quality anime/anime movies and/or manga, is the quality measurable in all facets to American animation/American animated movies and/or comics? (Realizing style, story telling or whatever is different.)

I say at least yes.

[DeadlyFreeze]

Your so insecure in your opinion that you have to post on the internet.

Sorry, but your friend has won.

[Flopjack]

Your so insecure in your opinion that you have to post on the internet.

Sorry, but your friend has won.

Yep your friend has won.

Yo, thanks for the fail replies there. I'm quite far from insecure and am very decided on my stance. If you had actually understood my first post you would have been clued in on that. I do apologize however for underestimating the anybodies who can post here in terms of reading comprehension or being able to explain yourself.

Maybe you should show him some good anime,

I suggested FMA and Death Note. Those are good.

Anyway, I simply think he hasn't seen enough. But, I personally can't help but think that he's does not like it simply not to like it, which irritates me. On the flip side, and this applies to a lot of entertainment forms, people will like something because it's cool to like it. It's all pretty silly imo.

[Enydimon]

Yep your friend has won.

At any rate, animation has been so far removed from it's roots that it shouldn't matter. It seems we've just about abandoned the golden age in exchange for detail.

Compared to golden age? Both modern western and eastern styles look like garbage to me with that standard. But, they can be good. If I were you, I wouldn't let a debate over 'style' get to this point. It just comes down to personal preference.

[Jovian M]

Search button, 'n all that...

[ShroudStar]

Anime is just another form of storytelling, nothing more. There are a variety of styles within it but then you have to look away from some of the more cookie cutter ones (girls' comics, ahem). Not all anime or manga is based on the BESM (big eyes, small mouth) mold; indeed, there are some that get really realistic (Ghost in the Shell or Texhnolyze) or Art Nouveau (XXX-Holic) or even flat out strange (FLCL). There are even those that bring in elements of ukiyo-e and Japanese old-style woodblock prints (Mononoke - not Princess Mononoke). Where you tend to see the typical generic style is either with beginning anime artists or with small budget anime productions.

You also get a hefty dose of incredible environments, mechanical conceptual art, and uniforms by the dozen. BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei specializes in big wide concrete sprawls and vistas because the artist was an architect prior to jumpstarting his manga career. Akira is famous for the conceptualization of Neo-Tokyo and Kaneda's sweet bike. Blade of the Immortal gave us awesome weapons, beautiful pencil work of characters and settings. Gankutsuou had those crazy patterns, created by a guy who studied Fine Arts. Natsuki Sumeragi, a favorite of mine, studied traditional Chinese gong-bi watercolor and brush style and applied those to her manga. The artist behind Lain, Haibane Renmei, and Texhnolyze - Yoshitoshi ABe - also majored in a fine arts university before he hit the manga-anime route.

There are strengths in both Western comics and Eastern comics. Western comics tend to stronger in their spot blacks and the dialogue tends to be less corny (in some cases), while Eastern comics can have very strong storytelling (however "Sandman" is a top-notch production in the West). However, both fall prey to cliches (spandex superheroes, moe girls and DBZ/Bleach-style shounen eternal Deus Ex Machina). But you can learn and take from both. You just have to know where to look.

[FightingSeraph]

I don't hate anime art styles in general; and this is coming from someone who thinks that the vast majority of it that he has seen is either boring or crappy. Then again, I've seen some lousy American cartoons in my lifetime. I prefer manga, which is just another word for comic, because the stories are much better. If you're going to emulate that method of drawing, at least learn how to draw realisticly first.

[velderia]

I'm not so sure about the animation, but if you would compare Spawn and Full Metal Alchemist in terms of the comics, Full Metal wins.

Spawn, at least from what I've seen, is a emo-kid's Superman. Edward Elric and Alphonse aren't immortal, and if you've seen enough episodes of Full Metal Alchemist, you would know that trying to resurrect someone, REALLY sucks ass.. Everything has a price, you can't just magically make stuff happen.That's far more interesting than most DC superheros.

And don't get me started on the artwork of Spawn vs. Full Metal Alchemist.

Everyone has their own tastes, I understand that, but your friend is a dumbass for saying Full Metal is good, but then goes "LOL, I still hate anime, it sux". I wouldn't waste time convincing him of getting into good anime at this point. Ignorance isn't pure bliss.

The only thing I can agree with him on is finding your own style. There are just as many people trying to emulate a DC/Marvel style as much as people who try to emulate an anime style. Choosing one over the other is just as bad an error.

[Helaine]

IMHO, your friend is very narrow-minded. Not all anime looks generic with HUEG eyes and small nose.


That picture of Vagabond wins

[HunterKiller_]

Maybe you should show him some good anime, like the works of Studio Ghibli, Studio 4C, Studio Bones, Satoshi Kon and Katsuhiro Otomo.

[bhanu]

Superman, one of his favorite characters

His choice sucks, I wont even bother listening to him.

[Hyskoa]

You have numerous debates over .. anime?

Now I could maybe see people having numerous debates over the practice of aesthetics in a contemporary setting, but anime...

You either like it or you don't, and those who don't like it are idiots. And those who don't like it will think the same about us.

Not really something.. debate worthy.

Besides, students starting out should steer away from anime, as it's stylization of information. And learning how to stylize before you learn the underlying construction of mass will make you a worse artist.

[Elwell]

Today he challenged me to show him images to see if he could identify what was anime style and what isn't. The follow links are all made in Japan (I think) except the first and last one).

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.cinematic...1/aeonflux.jpg

Aeon Flux is American.

Anyway, lest this post becomes very very long

Too late.

[Xeon_OND]

I'm not gonna say much about the visual style of western vs. eastern animation / comics / anime / manga, but....

The reason why anime / manga (with the majority of the drawing style of the characters having big eyes and all) is so popular nowadays is not due to the drawing style but the story plot / storytelling.

IMHO, the visual style is just a tool to illustrate the story. If the story / plot sucks, it doesn't matter whether you hire the world's No. 1 manga / anime artist to draw it. I've seen and read quite a bit of anime / manga since I was a kid (due to being in Asia, manga is like the de-facto standard ), and there's quite a few anime with bad, super-simplistic drawing styles but the whole thing is addictive (due to story). And there's a couple of anime / manga which has detailed drawing but the story is even lamer than most Western comics (except Archie).

People can easily catch on and connect with anime / manga, because the style of the story has a clear and consistent direction. The plot never gets lost.

Look at Marvel's comics as an example. The heroes get lost in more and more complicated plots, the storyline loses direction, it's so messy and confusing.....those comics are exactly what I need to use to wipe my butt after using the toilet, and even toilet paper can do better than that.

Go to your store and pick up any random manga book today and read it. Then tell me whether you're starting to get addicted to the story. I've tried reading several of Marvel and a few of DC comics but couldn't get the gist of it. These stuff are good cure for insomnia. It's like: What the fuck story are these guys trying to tell?

If the story of a comic / manga / anime / cartoon sucks, even the best artist in the world cannot save it for long.

*PS* : I have yet to come across a really bad anime, though, but I've seen plenty of crappy cartoons which ruins my day.

[Chison]

i love manga & anime,lots of interesting type of story and cute girl,pick up ten manga they all they completely different world setting ,love,sci-fi,school,joke,fighting,sport,magic
but i hate comic,loads of man and muscle,heros fighting all over American, a very strong pattern going on and on work very well for US market,i am from eastern background so is hard for me to understand the art of realistism
,have you ever see a Japanese and Chinese draw a realistic portrait???
it simply don't work....

animation. Technically, English speaking people should be calling anime, cartoons. Manga should also be called comic or.

i alway feel comic and graphic novel mainly used to refer US hero story and with some good realistic 3D-ish drawing skill,i hope people not calling manga a graphic novel since it is easier to have manga refer only to Japanese style

you should check up (anime) on wiki because the name come with a story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime

Word usage
In Japan, the term anime does not specify an animation's nation of origin or style; instead, it serves as a blanket term to refer to all forms of animation from around the world.[14][15] English-language dictionaries define anime as "a Japanese style of motion-picture animation" or as "a style of animation developed in Japan".[16] Non-Japanese works that borrow stylization from anime are commonly referred to as "anime-influenced animation" but it is not unusual for a viewer who does not know the country of origin of such material to refer to it as simply "anime". Some works are co-productions with non-Japanese companies, such as most of the traditionally animated Rankin/Bass works, the Cartoon Network and Production I.G series IGPX or Ōban Star-Racers; different viewers may or may not consider these anime.

In English, anime, when used as a common noun, normally functions as a mass noun (for example: "Do you watch anime?", "How much anime have you collected?").[17] However, in casual usage the word also appears as a count noun. Anime can also be used as a suppletive adjective or classifier noun ("The anime Guyver is different from the movie Guyver").
Synonyms

i just don't care about comic,realistic style really tired me,
anime have another style for storytelling,and a small group can write their own story,why do you need to care more if you can put your story up to the TV ?people accept you,what do you need for more?in fact ,
this is a country matter
if you put a japanese anime on a US TV channel,it is very doubtful it will be any big successful
and equally if you put a US animation on japanese channel,i don't think they will respect it as much as their tradition

just ignore me and my bad english

[Jovian M]

,have you ever see a Japanese and Chinese draw a realistic portrait???
it simply don't work....

I hope that's a joke, or something.

If not, that might be one of the most uneducated statements I've read on conceptart in awhile...

Xeon_OND: Back when I watched anime a lot, I came across plenty of garbage series. Same with cartoons, and comics, and manga.

[Chison]

I hope that's a joke, or someting.

If not, that might be one of the most uneducated statements I've read on conceptart in awhile...

Xeon_OND: Back when I watched anime a lot, I came across plenty of garbage series. Same with cartoons, and comics, and manga.

well , maybe i have a very wrong understanding,since i have my mid high education in UK
but as far as i can remember,chinese focus on calligraphic ,black and white river and mountain drawing" watercolour etc and is all ten million mile away from six pack human who fight strong and look tough"


and japanese illustrator are too far from realistic,
their anime reflect quite strong on what eastern culture accept and enjoy
and i don't think west and east respect each other can put one better than other

west people can only educated a west style of thinking,east can only do their east,you either love it or hate it

[ShroudStar]

well , maybe i have a very wrong understanding,since i have my mid high education in UK
but as far as i can remember,chinese focus on calligraphic ,black and white river and mountain drawing" watercolour etc and is all ten million mile away from six pack human who fight strong and look tough"


and japanese illustrator are too far from realistic,
their anime reflect quite strong on what eastern culture accept and enjoy
and i don't think west and east respect each other can put one better than other

west people can only educated a west style of thinking,east can only do their east,you either love it or hate it

You're looking at stereotypical examples. Have you ever seen Hong Kong comics? They go with a more stylized but still rather realistic take on people and backgrounds (I used to follow the HK Street Fighter comic series). Or even the dozens of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" manhua which adheres to a more realistic style and makes characters like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Cao Cao, and Zhao Yun strong and tough. As for Japanese illustrators, you're not looking hard enough. Just because they make anime or manga aligned with their culture doesn't mean that they don't go the way of realism. Takehiko Inoue, whose Vagabond art has already been posted, goes full-blown realism. Yugo Yuuki, artist of Wolf Guy - Wolfen Crest also goes the same route. Hiroaki Samura (aka Blade of the Immortal artist) specializes in realism. Satoshi Kon is also highly realistic (Perfect Blue).

Also, what's with this "West and East don't respect each other"? Does that explain why the artist of Rurouni Kenshin said that he's a huge "X-Men" fan and incorporated that love into his manga? Or that Tsutomu Nihei is a big "Halo" fan and did a short comic for the "Halo" graphic novel? Or that he did "Wolverine: Snikt" the comic series? Or that the creator of "Samurai Champloo" spoofed that rivalry in the baseball episode for humor's sake? On the flip side, the Wachovski brothers referenced "Ghost in the Shell" for their Matrix films. An episode of "Invader Zim" spoofed the mecha concept.

If we're separated by this "you must think Eastern or Western because you are" and we're artists, that makes artists on both sides who adhere to that lousy because it effectively narrows what they can learn due to cultural prejudice. I may be Chinese, growing up in the US, but that doesn't mean I can't do more Asian-style art and then embrace more Western styles simultaneously. Look at Zhang Lu, for heaven's sake! The man does awesome realism. Then look at Jo Chen. Look at the artists behind Udon, who can do Eastern styles despite not being all Asian. Art is not separated by racial or cultural boundaries unless we will them to. It's when we do that that we all suffer by lack of knowledge.

there is a option of learning "stylized" figurative drawing ---> better manga
skip the human ,learn form artist and set style as a realistic character understanding
there are manga teaching book teach you how to use the Maquette,
you can actually learn from a style without looking at real human bone and skeleton
although it might be help you become more better if you do understand realistic

it might sound crazy,but i personally think that is why manga are alway set to big eye
they had set the staring point at a different location,
the west pretend they know everything and make what calls quality,but you will unlikely to be able to respect manga and draw it as monotone as japanese can alway do

Those same "Learn to Draw Manga" books also highly recommend you master the realistic human form first before you start stylizing. Like I said, majority of manga artists have been through art school. Have learned realism and anatomy and perspective the hard way, like all of us. Have you ever seen the anime "Golden Boy"? The animators in one episode (funny enough, it's the episode that takes place in an animation studio) make a big point about this. You have the main character cleaning up the studio and lo and behold! all of the background details are drawn to photorealistic perfection. I'm talking soda cans, crumpled paper on a desk, pens, pencils, ramen containers, etc. Or in another anime movie, "Kara no Kyoukai", there's a scene where the main girl is getting a bottle of water from the fridge. It's the most damn awesome and realistic bottled water in an animation that I've ever seen.

The West doesn't pretend to know everything. Hell, I bet even the Japanese fine arts schools teach the same principles so that their students can go out and get jobs in the majors they worked hard at. Unlikely to respect manga? Only if it's samey to the degree where I can't tell one character from another (hello, shoujo!) Or if the plots suck but that's true for Western animation and comics as well. Monotone? If you mean similar like cookie-cutter, that's still only a sample of what's out there. If you mean most of the generic gunk out there, that too. Quit pigeonholing us by hemispheres. That is annoying as all hell.

[Pigeonkill]

,have you ever see a Japanese and Chinese draw a realistic portrait???
it simply don't work....

Not sure you are joking. But you might want to check out Zhang Lu (videos, I think he's chinese) I just bought and watched his caucasian female painting demo. It rocks. 100% Jason Manley approved.

I understand what you mean by some Hong Kong style comics, which can be very stylized.

[Chison]

you friend actually show you mainly of the japanese creation what try to target at western to have a weird style mix of both country .not a good example the show as a japanese manga

try this
one piece (really huge moster hit sell 10million+? or more volume at japan) 10 film is out,and a new one
with a good number of fan in all over country
http://shonenjump.viz.com/manga/onepiece/
http://www.j-onepiece.com/

dengeki website (for people want to see cute girl)
http://gao.dengeki.com/

海獣の子供 (one example of an international mix child adventure to the ocean)
http://www.ikki-para.com/comix/kaijunokodomo.html

ARIA (friendship,happiness and joy)
http://aniclip.blog116.fc2.com/blog-entry-6.html

some currently on show anime
http://newtype.kadocomic.jp/seitokai/story/

some image of one manga
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl...ed=0CEwQsAQwCw

i am interest more in to cute girl manga so i may not show the best¬
just hope you get a better idea of what some Japanese(not a japanese me) are interest in reading

[Viridis]

Your friend is an idiot who's obviously not trying to educate himself on any other opinion.

Really, all you have to do is pull up a variety of popular and well-known anime/manga and set them next to each other to see the vast differences in styles.

Go and get images or pages from the following: Astro Boy, Doraemon, Gegege no Kitaro, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, Bleach, XXX Holic, Fruits Basket, Detective Conan, My Neighbor Totoro, Hikaru no Go. You might throw some other kids' series in there for good measure. Then have him try to tell you that all anime looks the same, when he has the founder of modern manga (Tezuka) and the art from Death Note next to each other.

Honestly, there's a lot of more realistic manga/anime out there, but this is typically the work that is aimed at adults-- which doesn't get marketed as frequently abroad, because in the west a lot of non-geeks are still biased against animation and so it doesn't sell as well as the stuff that's marketed to kids and teens, who don't care. In Japan they have dozens of series that are more like soap operas or simply based on sports for adult audiences, and most of these have realistic styles.

Really, I find one of the major accomplishments of anime/manga to be the sheer plethora of genres that stories are written in. It's a lot more impressive than the US comics market, which is still mostly stuck on superheroes, although there are notable exceptions, of course. Still, you'd hardly ever catch Marvel or DC publishing a story with extremely dark morality and a deep inquiry into the idea of capital punishment and criminal justice, would you?

Of course, if your friend isn't willing to listen, he isn't willing to listen. Maybe you should just ignore him and not waste your time.

(Also, Fullmetal Alchemist is made of win. I hope you're watching the new Brotherhood series, though, because the story in the first anime is kind of fail compared to the manga.)

[Kaileighblue]

If you want to get into the animation itself, from what I've heard most popular anime series tend use use less frames per second. Only showing character close ups while they talk, just animating the mouth, etc.

For the most part, America tends to get the stuff that did well over there so we're not getting the worst they have to offer. Where here, all the stuff we see is unfiltered.

Other than that can we just agree that animation is animation and stop trying to point out what country it's from? Most of it's all made in Korea now anyway.

[Flopjack]

Chison, learning to draw doesn't go:

anime > better anime

It goes:

realistic > stylized

That is, unless you want to waste a lot of time in your learning process. Virtually all great artists drawing a comic book style, anime, Disney or whatever, know how to draw the body in a realistic fashion first and foremost.

[Chison]

there is a option of learning "stylized" figurative drawing ---> better manga
skip the human ,learn form artist and set style as a realistic character understanding
there are manga teaching book teach you how to use the Maquette,
you can actually learn from a style without looking at real human bone and skeleton
although it might be help you become more better if you do understand realistic

it might sound crazy,but i personally think that is why manga are alway set to big eye
they had set the staring point at a different location,
the west pretend they know everything and make what calls quality,but you will unlikely to be able to respect manga and draw it as monotone as japanese can alway do

[Chison]

i did said i could be wrong ,and i am quite sorry if i am wrong,a very personal speaking
i just want to point out is not everyone like realistic ,happen most in the east
and i know Hong Kong style comics i think they are crap Violence good for US viewer to enjoy it,not me

you guy never put the japanese manga with cute girl to example
and keep recall HK HK and hong kong,that is not manga of japan

what you all do is using hong kong comic as an example to get at the muscle you want for and think only yourself...

.i just want to said you guy of the west will be highly unlikely to love manga since you want real stuff...and CA is full of realistic artist make even worst


i really want some of you to enjoy and understand manga and not overlooking at their drawing... the style of you guy will never want to accept
crayon shin chan is a good example,is nothing of a good real human proportion
but a reader market is there,so the story when on,

[Elwell]

Chison:

JUST.

STOP.

You're not helping yourself any.

[riceface]

no way in hell im gonna watch american cartoons.. they are all aimed at children, besides a few like family guy and the old disney stuff.. animation content in america sucks for adults..

anime is so wide and broad in terms of genre.. and obvioulsy professional manga artist knows how to draw.. anyways anyone not watching anime (which alot is for adults and not kids like america loves u to believe and ever 3d movie coming out) (can't wait for avatar tho! woo hoo) your only doing urself a diservice cuz alot of it is really good

p.s wtf is chison talkin about? judging from his icon he can't even draw

[velderia]

no way in hell im gonna watch american cartoons.. they are all aimed at children, besides a few like family guy and the old disney stuff.. animation content in america sucks for adults..

anime is so wide and broad in terms of genre.. and obvioulsy professional manga artist knows how to draw.. anyways anyone not watching anime (which alot is for adults and not kids like america loves u to believe and ever 3d movie coming out) (can't wait for avatar tho! woo hoo) your only doing urself a diservice cuz alot of it is really good

I agree.

The sad thing is, there is so much better anime has hasn't gotten licensed in the USA yet, and it'll take YEARS for it to get here. That's if it does get here. It might get better in the future, but I'm not promising that.

Also, there's a lot of anime that's based on light novels, some of which it gets here. Light novels, sadly, don't get here often. They take even longer to get translated, and some of them get poorly translated too.

Here's one example of what gets here, and what happens to it: http://yenpress.us/?p=1696

Whenever someone blurts out "I dn't liek anime, it sux", they just... Don't know. I'm serious. They don't even know what doesn't come here. Even the majority of anime fans don't even get it. Most of the anime I have is fansubs, and I'm aware that's it's not really legal, but as soon as it comes over in America, I try to buy it... Crunchyroll.com is awesome. Please check that out. They even have K-Dramas, and if there's one anime you'll want to watch on there, it's Shangri-La: http://www.crunchyroll.com/library/SHANGRI-LA Some of the advertisements are shit, but at least it goes towards the production company and it's legal.

[Pencilcandy]

no way in hell im gonna watch american cartoons.. they are all aimed at children, besides a few like family guy and the old disney stuff.. animation content in america sucks for adults..

I watch the Disney movies like alladin, the little mermaid, the lion king, pinocio etc, a lot of stories in these movies are targetted not just at children but at adults too. Although I agree that anime can have a wide appeal, I'm not certain that's always a good thing.

I'm sad Disney decided to focus so much on 3D rendered movies, it really doesn't appeal to me.

[ChristmasBunneh]

I'm sad Disney decided to focus so much on 3D rendered movies, it really doesn't appeal to me.

YEah, I'm losing interest, too. Nothing against in 3D really, but I'd like some 2D again.