Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Tell the old school world who you are, and let us welcome you into the forum!
SignOfZeta
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Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by SignOfZeta »

Wow, cool forum. I hope it really takes off.

Been a fan since TBS's Battle of the Planets, reached fanboi critical mass in the early 2000s, sort of avoided the fan scene since.

Lately I've decided that it isn't just me, most new anime really does suck, and I've been going back to the old laserdiscs which have proven to be at least as entertaining as they ever were.

I ran across this forum...I can't remember how exactly. I was probably doing some research for my podcast, OG Ota, and I was quite happy to see that I'm not the only one out there that still loves anime but can't really identify with the scene as it is today. The other great site like this I found is http://colonydrop.com/.
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by Animusubi »

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you're in the right place. :D So besides Battle of the Planets, what else are you into?
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Heibi
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by Heibi »

Welcome.

Nah, most new anime doesn't suck. Several of them do, but not most. I watch a lot(understatement) of anime.
SignOfZeta
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by SignOfZeta »

I could easily make the argument that most new anime sucks, that most anime sucks period, and that most stuff, movies, music, books, sucks. It does. However, while absolutely true, that's just a pointless downward spiral of negativity I really shouldn't get into. :)

What I will say is that most new anime doesn't do it for me because it has really really changed.

Being born in 1973, to me anime is scifi, probably robots, probably the title of the show was a meaningly jumble of kana like "Gundam" or "Xabungle". Little to no school uniforms whatsoever, big hair. I like my manga and anime to be made by people who have read/watched something besides other manga/anime in their lives.

The anime I enjoy the most expands my mind rather than just enabling me to escape inward in a reductive masturbatory womb of social retardation.

So that's why I don't like new anime very much.

OK, enough of that.

My favorite shows are Lupin III, Dirty Pair, UC Gundam, Macross, Galaxy Express 999, Harlock, Unico, Bubblegum Crisis, Locke the Superman, Giant Robo, Aim for the Top!, Wings of Honneamise, Nadia, that kind of stuff. I love everything Miyazaki, but the new stuff has too much oozing black crap in it to entertain me the way Kiki, Totoro, Conan, etc do.

I do like some stuff made in the last 20 years. Initial D, Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen, FLCL. The newest show I've fallen in love with, and I really like it, is Space Brothers. That one is actually airing currently, if you can believe it. :)
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by Daniel »

Welcome!

Regarding old versus new anime, I think that the most accurate thing that could be said about the viewpoints of the members of this forum is that we all appreciate the older shows, and then some don't and some do and some kind of sort of do like newer shows as well. I respect everyone's opinion here; the only thing I ask is that people put forth those opinions in a thoughtful and respectful manner.
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by greg »

SignOfZeta wrote:What I will say is that most new anime doesn't do it for me because it has really really changed.

Being born in 1973, to me anime is scifi, probably robots, probably the title of the show was a meaningly jumble of kana like "Gundam" or "Xabungle". Little to no school uniforms whatsoever, big hair. I like my manga and anime to be made by people who have read/watched something besides other manga/anime in their lives.
I completely agree with you about newer anime (post 2000). While there are a few newer shows I've enjoyed, for the most part, it speaks to a new generation and not to mine. I think what you just said above touches on the problem I also have with modern anime: it's become a bit too "inbred," so to speak. It's anime that is inspired by other anime... and that other anime is also newer anime. It's like it's circling the drain, but nothing's going down.

I'm a teacher in Japan. I had taught first from 2000 to 2002, and I recently moved back last year to do it again. Working with kids 12 years ago is a bit different than the kids today. Sure, they're great fun, but their interests are far narrower. There's one boy and his friend at one of my schools whom I would love to kidnap and make them my own sons. They are very knowledgeable about retro video games, '80s American sci fi and action films, retro anime, and even stuff like American cars. The fact that he knows about the names of the X-Men, the Delorean in Back To The Future, the pulse rifles in Aliens, the PC Engine game system, and all sorts of fun stuff like that makes him incredibly awesome. But what about the other kids? Manga. Anime. Japanese TV shows. More manga and anime. And besides a few older anime like Gundam 0079 and Lupin the 3rd, it's all newer stuff. It's rare to find a kid who doesn't care for One Piece.

It really depends though. Last year, I had a class of kids who probably knew more about City Hunter and Mazinger Z than I do. I found some iCarly fans, too. But most of the kids live in a Japan-only type of bubble. They don't watch many imported movies or TV shows.

The new stuff is great for what it is. It strikes a chord with today's younger generation. Most of it just doesn't really say much to me, in the same way that the effects of music by the likes of Miley Cyrus bounce right off of me (or whatever kids listen to these days). And I still will argue that hand-drawn cels are a labor of love and are far more "alive" than today's stuff. In the same way, I also prefer the original Star Wars movies with their tangible sets and homemade special effects, not the new Star War movies that feature people sitting around on couches and standing in front of scenes that look like computer desktop screensavers.

Recent anime I want to give a try is K-On and Gundam Unicorn.

Anyway, welcome to the forum!
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Heero
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by Heero »

That's weird, because I'm also born 1973 but I still find plenty of anime to love. That may be largely because I got into anime for the animation rather than the SciFi. (didn't start Gundam until "Wing" and was never a HUGE fan, I got into things with Robotech, and enjoyed other Giant Robot shows like Getter Robo (redubbed as the "Starvengers" in the US)) That said, there has been some really great anime recently, unless you're JUST into it for the SciFi, in which case, it depends I guess. But just in the last few years I'd CERTAINLY recommend:
-Summer Wars : amazing movie, one of the only recent anime I don't feel the need to worry about someone's tastes to recommend and don't worry about "overselling"
-Madoka Magica : the recent "it" show, the first episode or two is a SLOG, but then it kicks into gear and is really good for it's short run, the first episode is TERRIBLE on first viewing but really makes you think on rewatch after going all the way through, if you HATE magical girls shows, you may not appreciate it, but otherwise (even if just "ambivalent") it's worth watching
-AnoHana ("Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai") : wistful series. Again, short, and a bit uneven, but interesting characters and an interesting story
-Chihayafuru : This generation's "Hikaru no Go", an anime about people playing an obscure "sport" that is somehow STILL compelling due to the great characters. (altho, it's a shoujo show, so if you get sick over (very light) melodrama, then may not do it for you)

I've got at least a half dozen others that *I* love even though I know they're generally trash (I'm a sucker for cute character designs), plus more that are good, but depend more on your preferences. But welcome aboard, and if NOTHING else, watch "Summer Wars", it's definitely worth it. (and if you're setting the bar at "the last 20 years", did you see the "Read or Die" OVAs, there's only 3 of them and they're really good too, the tv series has it's moments but is generally a mess, but the OVAs are good)
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by SignOfZeta »

I forgot to mention that I loved the first series of Stand Alone Complex and consider it one of the best scifi...things...of all time. 2nd gig was nowhere near as good, but still a very solid show.

I'm not only a scifi guy. I like Lupin and Kiki and stuff like that too. I also like My Ordinary Life, which is not only new but also has school girls in it. Kids on the Slope is pretty good so far too, what I've seen of it.

Gundam Unicorn is pretty good, but not amazing, unfortunately. The only truley great moment so far was the end of episode 5. Episode 6 just shipped so hopefully it's super awesome. I like it, obviously, or I wouldn't be paying $50 an episode for it, but it doesn't thrill like Zeta or even 0083.

Wing is the devil. :)

Regarding the "inbred" comment, yes, I think this is it exactly. 20 years ago I was of the opinion that the best thing about manga/anime was that they listened to the fans and gave them exactly what they wanted. Now I realize that this is the *worst* thing! The otaku have extremely specific wants. "Ok, I want to see a shy girl with green hair and glasses. She must have measurements of XxYxZ and a skirt that is exactly X long. She likes cats and is vaguely Bi. I want to see her run to catch the bus with a piece of jelly toast in her mouth and also her panties should be white with yellow polka dots". And then the producer just does exactly that. Over and over again.

The opposite of this would be something like Giant Robo: The Animation. The director had a very simple task, "reboot some old crap so we can make money off it" and he forced his own story into that framework and gave us one of the best OVAs ever. Then, he did it *again* with the 2009 Mazinger reboot, making the entire story about Asura and completely redefining my expectations of Mazinger and transforming Asura from a two dimensional twit into an incredibly compelling character. Both of these shows could have just as easily been garbage, but they turned out awesome because the director has actually read a book without pictures in it.

Another thing that it took me a while to realize was happening, and this is hard to explain, is that...in the 80s and 90s there was a lot of REALLY horribly disturbing hentai, but it was confined to OVAs. Most people in Japan had no idea this stuff existed. Now all the perverts watch TV. There is so many up skirt camera angles and PG-13 rated sexual inuendo that its revolting. Virtually no actual nudity, just tons of underwear and conversation.

I mean, Megazone 23 was way more explicit, but the prime time etchi stuff is a million times more creepy.
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by greg »

SignOfZeta wrote:The otaku have extremely specific wants. "Ok, I want to see a shy girl with green hair and glasses. She must have measurements of XxYxZ and a skirt that is exactly X long. She likes cats and is vaguely Bi. I want to see her run to catch the bus with a piece of jelly toast in her mouth and also her panties should be white with yellow polka dots". And then the producer just does exactly that. Over and over again.
So very true. The shows nowadays just follow a set pattern, fulfilling the minimal amount of panty shots and other such fanservice. Sure, it existed before, but now it's mandatory and must fill these quotas. Not only that, but the shows seem to have obligatory episodes, too.

Episode 1: Late for school, again! No time for breakfast! There's a new transfer student this school year, and golly she sure seems mysterious!
Episode 2: Someone's bra is found in the locker room! Boy, look at that cup size! We need to find out who it belongs to!
Episode 3: Oh no, did he see her panties? Yes, it's pretty windy today! Gosh, she sure is embarrassed!
Episode 4: A trip to an onsen! Yes, let's go to the hot spring! Hey boys, no peeking! A-tee-hee hee! Wacky hijinks ensue!

This sort of thing happened a lot in older titles like Ranma 1/2, but at least the excuse was that it wasn't quite so rubber-stamped and generic back then.

And about the hentai stuff, I may be ignorant (and I've been proven to be ignorant before), but it seems that blatantly pedophilic-leaning anime has proliferated in recent years. There seems to be quite a focus on little girls, and one of the worst offenders is Kodomo no Jikan, which apparently is about an elementary schoolgirl attempting to seduce her adult male teacher. Even the OP to the shows the little girl lifting up her skirt and dropping her panties in front of him, while he smiles and reaches out for her. Of course, she has two friends: one is a lesbian who loves her, and the other is a very early bloomer with big boobs. If crap like this existed in the '80s, it certainly wasn't this mainstream. Sick crap is sick.
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Re: Old time midwestern American fan says "hi".

Post by usamimi »

Welcome, welcome! Good to see new people here! :D *waves*

I do understand what you mean about newer anime. I feel like even back in the 90s, it was much easier to get into stuff because it always seemed like cool new stuff was coming out...but as time goes on, I feel like most of the stuff being made now is all too formulamatic. I think a lot of studios try to play it safe now and aren't just thinking of Japanese "otaku" when making new series, but Americans as well (since anime's become such a major export these days)--and it seems like the newer generation of anime consumers have fallen into this weird mindset were they just really love all the stereotypical, bland, moe-looking nonsense that most of us here seem to be ultimately unimpressed with. :/ I grew up liking anime because it was so fantastical--epic fantasy & sci-fi, insanely intricate and rich animation and settings, with close attention to details. Sure there was fanservice and such, but it seems like 99% of anime that comes out now is little more than fanservice overload. It can be incredibly disappointing. I will sometimes look over the "new anime" charts for what shows/seasons will soon be airing, and find myself scrolling through titles that all sound the same, look the same, etc...not to say there isn't the occasional good series that pops up, but they're much fewer and far between for me now.

Haha, sorry to kind of ramble there! But yeah, I totally feel ya. You're definitely in the right place, I think most of us here feel your pain. ;)
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