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Post by Arashi on Nov 19, 2008 2:02:06 GMT -5
Well, I think to a lot of viewers, the different styles of anime are very apparent. To others, not as much. A lot of people, for instance, can tell which decade an anime was made. Also, styles vary from genre to genre, as does the androgyne of characters.
There are anime such as Ninja Scroll, which has a distinctive style and it's more than easy to tell genders apart. Then there's something like Inu-yasha which has some characters that may have confused genders and has a somewhat typical art style. But, keep in mind that there are literally thousands and thousands of anime series out there.
Also, someone could make similar arguments about American cartoons or even cartoons in general. And what characters are you confused about genderwise?! I never really have any trouble distinguishing girls and boys in anime.
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Post by Seventy2 on Nov 19, 2008 7:59:26 GMT -5
if he's seen any of the X series or movie, then i'm sure he'd be gender confused.
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Post by Harkovast on Nov 19, 2008 8:05:43 GMT -5
Western animation is far more varied in appearance. Consider the following- mickey mouse ren and stimpy power puff girls The simpsons the grim adventures of billy and mandy He-man Now I wont get into whether or those cartoons are any good, or in some cases even very original, but you cant deny that the styles in which they are all drawn are radically different and in no way interchangeable. If He-man popped up, drawn as he normally is in ren and stimpy or the bart simpson bumped into the powerpuff girls they would all look so different as to be utterly wierd and incompatible. Though I am sure Anime features a wide range of plots and characters (collecting stuff, fighting in tournament, learning meaningless moral for example) the look of the shows is far more similar then their western rivals, and the image of the guy from that trigun show popping up and shooting some vamps in Hellsing, or dante from devil may cry fighting robots in ghost in the shell, does not look jarring at all (at least in terms of appearance. The plots would be a serious acid trip to explain that, but thats not the point). "THAT WAS A SURPRISINGLY RATIONAL ARGUEMENT!"
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Post by Arashi on Nov 19, 2008 18:07:04 GMT -5
Well, when discussing about the styles, you can usually argue that the similarity depends on the genre. For instance, comedy series will have a more friendly, childish ambiance with characters having unrealistic anatomy to make things appear less serious. Fighting shows almost always have the characters with pulsating veins pumping through their 'roided muscles to the extent of being horribly disfigured (Dragon Ball Z, Mortal Combat, or Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure, for instance). Then there are other shows that have a more serious disposition or contain comedy, but don't revolve around it. Often these shows have characters of a slightly more accurate anatomy, more detail, and tend to be targeted at older audiences. Generally, for western and eastern cartoons, the difference between comedy and serious shows are obvious in the art style, same as the age of the audience they're intended for (with some exceptions, e.g., Elfen Lied). I will agree, however, that anime on a macro scale has a repetitive basis of style. But one could also compare ThunderCats to X-men and throw in an additional dozen or so cartoons. Or perhaps even (dare I say them...?!) Mighty Max, Life with Louie, and many, many more cartoons that share a style like theirs. But also keep in mind that what we consider "American cartoons" are really cartoons from all over the world, including Japan, while anime is only from one little continent that is growing more and more prosperous, partially due to its success in animation. Audiences like anime for what it is, and I think many fans would hate it if it changed its style to vary more or even take more of a resemblance to American cartoons. There's almost an elegance to their style that makes it "Japanese." There are shows such as Pokemon which you can compare to Dragon Ball Z, and though there are some similarities, you probably wouldn't confuse any of the characters. There are also shows with completely different styles than either of those, such as Burst Angel, Outlaw Star, Gunslinger Girl, Vampire Princess Miyu, Ranma 1/2, Perfect Blue, Mahoujin Guru Guru, Monster, Claymore, Death Note, Ninja Scroll, Wolf's Rain, Rurouni Kenshin, Grave of the Fireflies, Zoids, Samurai X, Azumanga Daioh, etc. that have (at least to me) noticeably different styles and taken a character from any one of those, I could most likely tell you exactly which. If you're getting tired of a specific style, it's good to switch to another. Lastly, having watched over dozens and dozens of full series and even studying the styles and art of anime, it's become easier for me to see the varying aspects of each respective cartoon and even to see that I have my own style when emulating anime, that I can say looks different than anything I've watched or read (but still wouldn't be mistaken for anything but Japanese-influenced). THAT WAS NEEDLESSLY LONG!!!
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Post by Harkovast on Nov 27, 2008 19:20:39 GMT -5
That pointy man is damn whore! Slutting around with other users! Putting silly messages at the bottom of other peoples posts behind my back! He is a tramp! "DON'T WORRY, HE'LL TAKE ME BACK!"
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Post by Seventy2 on Nov 27, 2008 21:12:38 GMT -5
mickey mouse ren and stimpy power puff girls The simpsons the grim adventures of billy and mandy He-man 1930's 1990's 2000's 80's till now. but if you watch it, you can see the style varies within itself. 2000's 80's respectivly....if you watch anime from different time periods, the style varies as well...
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Post by Arashi on Nov 27, 2008 21:48:41 GMT -5
mickey mouse ren and stimpy power puff girls The simpsons the grim adventures of billy and mandy He-man 1930's 1990's 2000's 80's till now. but if you watch it, you can see the style varies within itself. 2000's 80's respectivly....if you watch anime from different time periods, the style varies as well... This is a good point. Apparently Inuits have words for all the different types of snow. Just thought I'd throw that up. Thank you, Ironscarfs, that is good to know.
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pitface
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Post by pitface on Nov 28, 2008 10:54:23 GMT -5
i used to be a huge anime and manga fan. and i gotta say although, im pretty negative about it now, there were some really cool things out there. i think what i got tired of was how a lot of anime newer anime DOES look a lot alike, and you can always mention exceptions and stuff, i'm not talking about that. i mean the stuff that you see when yer flipping through channels wether it's on adult swim or ifc or whatever look a lot alike in style. i can see one show, then see a diffrernt show and not be able to tell the 2 apart.
but, i think what got to me the MOST is the absolutly god aweful, HORRIBLE dialogue. it's the WORSTE shit i ever heard in my life. hands-fragtasticing-down. and so many of the sad/angry scenes are so cliche i just cant take it anymore. so many of these character's emotions and reactions are so by the book they dont actually HAVE their own character anymore! it's like a fragtasticing hive mind! so much emphesis is put on the physical looks and movements of the character that ACTUAL character, the shit the REAL people have, is put in the backseat and THAT'S what really turned me off....
there is some fun shit out there though.
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pitface
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Post by pitface on Nov 28, 2008 10:57:36 GMT -5
MOTHER fragtasticER.
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Post by Arashi on Nov 28, 2008 16:51:15 GMT -5
Yeah, what you were referring to is the anime I don't watch. There are plenty I avoid for that reason.
Also, right now, there seems to be a sort of fad going on as far as style goes. It's kind of annoying, but I also don't watch many newer anime. I usually stick to the '90s and early 2000 stuff. But yeah, if you watch the hackneyed material and the bad anime, of course you're going to have a low opinion of anime as a whole. It's better to go with the good anime and allow your tastes and experience to ramify into other areas.
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Post by Harkovast on Nov 28, 2008 19:46:10 GMT -5
I think Ironscarf is right (not about the words for snow itself, Stephen Fry says thats a myth) but about the fact that subtle differences are only obvious to those who are very into it. I think I am just not "into" anime enough to see the differences. "AND IT'S ALL BOLLOCKS! HAHA I WIN!"
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pitface
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Post by pitface on Nov 29, 2008 12:38:24 GMT -5
Yeah, what you were referring to is the anime I don't watch. There are plenty I avoid for that reason. Also, right now, there seems to be a sort of fad going on as far as style goes. It's kind of annoying, but I also don't watch many newer anime. I usually stick to the '90s and early 2000 stuff. But yeah, if you watch the hackneyed material and the bad anime, of course you're going to have a low opinion of anime as a whole. It's better to go with the good anime and allow your tastes and experience to ramify into other areas. well that's the thing, i DONT just watch the bad anime. i never have. if i didnt like it then like anything else, so long. i DO know what good anime is, i've seen it before, they're just becoming fewer and farther inbetween. i still sit down and watch if i find something that interests me. i was saying in another thread in DD before actually. i caught some of the Votoms show and had to watch the rest of the series a few months ago cuase i was so damn into it. i just dont go so much outa my way for it anymore. there used to be a time when whenever i'd seen an anime on tv, i'd stop and watch it, now, unless it gives me a good reason, i just dont anymore, i pass it up. part of that could have been growing out of it too. for a long time, it was all i watched and then i guess becuase of the reasons i mentioned in my post before this and becomibng interested in other types of comics and shows and types of art fell out of it and saw, comparativly to a lot of other things, generaly, anime just isnt that great. not trying to sound high n mighty, it's just what happens.
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Post by Arashi on Nov 29, 2008 20:22:47 GMT -5
o,o 'kay. It does come down to personal tastes and interests. I mostly reacted to throwing every show into the same pile and saying that it's not good as a whole. I can see growing out of it, especially considering people can grow out of absolutely anything not life-essential. Also, I'm not one of those anime-freaks who swoons at the mention of it. I actually barely watch it anymore. In fact, I haven't watched anime in weeks. Also, just so you guys know, if Harkovast had said in a conversation that he didn't like anime, I wouldn't have said anything in its defense. I assumed that by making a thread saying that he didn't like anime, he was hoping for a discussion about whether we did or didn't and the reasons behind it. What does annoy me, though, is when people dismiss it as stupid for stupid reasons or turn a blind eye to something they don't really know, especially if you're going to spit your tastes at other people. Not that anyone was spitting. You guys are capable of speaking without spraying all over. -,-
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Post by Harkovast on Nov 29, 2008 20:38:48 GMT -5
Arashi, fair enough, you call me out so I will lay my cards on the table. I was 50/50. I wanted to have a silly rant about anime (have a good spray, so to speak) but I do have some things about the genre that get on my nerves and I think it is an interesting topic for discussion, and you've been quite eloquent in defending it actually. You've explained it's merits to me much more successfully then I'd expected. I suppose I was throwing a stone into the water to see the proverbial splash, which is generally the best way to stir debate on an internet forum- State something controversial, possibly in a somewhat exaggerated way and then go back and forth over it. Personally, I've found the exchange humorous and enlightening. Certainly, if you had not responded at all, I would have been sorely disappointed! "BEST ANIME EVER= YU GI OH THE ABRIDGED SERIES!"
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pitface
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Post by pitface on Nov 29, 2008 22:04:37 GMT -5
i agree! this one stayed pretty well above the belt!
the next one we should all totally tear at eachother though. yer mother jokes n everything!
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