Slashdot Mirror
Toonami Plans Revealed
da3dAlus writes: "Cartoon Network has revealed its plans for Toonami for the end of the year. About.com holds the article that details CN's plan for the next wave of anime to hit U.S. shores beginning in September. This includes more Gundam series, Blue Submarine #6, two Reboot movies, Sailor Moon movies, and even some of their own material. Unfortunately, there will be no uncut Tenchi episodes." Blue Sub #6 is crazy but highly interesting (notable for amazing surround sound effects, and abnormal quantity of CGI, that isn't always perfectly integrated).
You'll notice that anime now has its own category. If you don't want it, filter it out. Thats what the filters are there for.
-[Blaine]- "'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."
There are plenty of series that fit into what you are trying to see. While some anime quality has gone downhill (observe the sheer number of wacky ideas in Urusai Yatsura vs. Ranma 1/2) much of it is still awesome. Here are some I particullarly like.
1) Ghibili's work... I can hear the see, as well as the more traditional "Nauscaa, Mononoke, Laputa etc". These are great stories with fairly good animation. The character designs are not real extravagent, but in the post-sailor moon days that's probibly a good thing. They all tell a story (most of which I disagree with) but are excelent. This tends to be the man vs. nature themese that were so prevelant early on in the century.
2) Cowboy Bebop
Is a effort to tell stories about the greys. There arn't any hero's per se, but the story is a bit more day in the life. The artwork is excellent.
3) Gundam Wing.
(Don't scoff). Wing takes a long hard look at pacifism and war. It examines everything from the commonly held belief that war is needed to "refresh" civilization (Jefferson and Hitler both though this) to the idea that violence is never sanctioned.
4) Lain
Umm... good... evil? Not in this series. Not that there arn't absolutes, but rather that the story is about the melding of life with electronics. How people act, see the world, and commuincate are all very affected.
5) Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X)
See the OVA's. From what you have written This may be the closest. It follows the Meiji Restoration (civil war) and also goes over themes like what I have mentioned above.
The majority of other programmers and "nerds" I know like anime. Some like it more than others, and so I see no problem with the topic on Slashdot. If you don't like anime, you can IGNORE anime topic posts, just like you would a Katz article. Not everyone likes anime. Not everyone likes Star Wars either, but it still has its own topic and nobody seems to complain.
While Anime has a high geek quotient (in that many in geekdom are nutso for anime), I don't think the same holds true for Katz. Jon is to geekdom as Hitler was to his victims - Both talk about them a lot, but neither respects them and both are given to overexaggeration of their abilities and importance or lack thereof.
Why not a Poll - Anime vs Katz - I expect you'd get a 4:1 ratio even with Jon trying to get the trolls to stuff the ballot box for him.
Will in Seattle
The majority of other programmers and "nerds" I know like anime. Some like it more than others, and so I see no problem with the topic on Slashdot. If you don't like anime, you can IGNORE anime topic posts, just like you would a Katz article. Not everyone likes anime. Not everyone likes Star Wars either, but it still has its own topic and nobody seems to complain.
Slashdot is supposed to be news for all types of nerds. Not just "your" type of nerd, so your always going to see things you don't like. Live with it.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
Get off your high horse. Speaking as someone who's had plenty of experience living in both Asian and Western culture, I say you're putting traditional Asian culture on a much higher pedestel than it deserves. Just because it's so oddly different from Western culture doesn't automatically make it any better (or worse). Difference is merely difference, it has no innate correspondence to worth or specialness.
"The writings of the great authors are wine, my writing is water. Everybody drinks water."
-Mark Twain (paraphrased)
"Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst."
-wise words from a crass commercial
And anyway, "low culture" entertainment eventually becomes "high culture," given enough time. Great writers such as Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and Salinger were all reviled as uncouth hacks in their time. If everyone merely followed in the footsteps of "the great ones", then culture would stagnate and die. I'd rather have a chaotic morass of crudeness and commercialism, because such humble, rude fodder is _needed_ to keep the soil of creativity fertile and rich, so that something stronger than the old can grow. I'm not willing to sacrifice growth just so one I can maintain a useless image of refinement and feel oh-so-superior. Like living creatures, when a culture feeds and grows, when times change, it's always _ugly_. It's impossible to be otherwise, simply because it's changing to something different from old standards of beauty.
"May you live in interesting times."
-ancient Chinese curse
'Sides, if you're really looking for artsy anime titles, then the paltry few you mentioned sure as hell aren't going to cut it. Try out Mononoke Hime, Patlabor Movie #2, Gasaraki, Grave of the Fireflies, or Tale of Genji (yes, there's an anime adaptation). You won't find most of these right off the rental rack at Blockbuster, but if that's all the effort you're willing to expend in your search, then you certainly don't deserve the highfalutin', pseudo-scolarly studious attitude you're displaying, especially when it comes to anime. Can you say in all seriousness and honesty that you've watched a thousand different anime titles? Then you're in no position to judge it, no more than anyone who hasn't read a thousand different books is for judging literature.
I think I need to lie down and relax now. Where are my encyclopaedias?
I'm sure a lot of you would agree that they need to spin off a Toonami channel !
--
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
Don't you understand, though, that different anime have completely different styles? Saying that "Gundam Wing is good and Sailor Moon is bad" is the same as saying "Seinfeld is good and Barney is bad". Just because I don't like rap music doesn't mean that it loses all credibility as a viable art form.
And face the facts.. society is changing. No matter how much anyone wants to keep their deathgrip hold on the good old days, culture is changing all around us. And before you say it, that isn't a bad thing. We're not going to forget the past, we're not going to burn all the copies of Picasso's work, for instance... but if we tried to make all the new art follow the same form as the old art, society would stagnate. In a hundred years or two, music history classes will have essays on the deep emotional stress that instigated Eminem's work. (Ok, so maybe that's a little far-fetched.)
Another major point that comes up is the subject of anime editing. Face it, our society here in America is different than Japanese society. Many of the anime series that go on Toonami, for instance, are meant to be children's shows. Now, in Japan, families are not worried about exposing their children to nudity, violence, or the more shocking aspects of society. However, Americans as a whole have more conservative taste.. and to keep the intent of the anime alive, edits have to be made. Just as someone who translates a book into another language must keep the author's thoughts intact, not just translate every idiom word-for-word, when a company translates an anime show for the US, if the target audience is children, then it must be edited to suit them. It's a fact of life. And no one is stopping you from watching the original episodes, if you really must see the uncut anime. I'm not saying that I like cut anime.. I can't stand watching it, in general. But does that mean I bitch and moan about it? No, that means I take it upon myself to find the uncut originals. Demanding that commercial translators give you your uncut anime just isn't going to work, because the market for it is anime otaku, which isn't that big. Businesses work for the market... and in this case the market is American children, because most American adults aren't into cartoons of any kind.
My point, though, is that trying to pass off your personal opinions as fact is just foolish, because we all have different opinions. Personally, I like different things depending on the mood I'm in. If I've had a long day and I want to unwind with some non-thought-provoking stuff, I might pop in a tape of Sailor Moon, grab a Coke, and lie down on the sofa. It all depends on the mood, and more importantly on the tastes of the person that's watching. There's no such thing as a bad anime.. just one that you don't like.
Another good thing to notice is that Cable networks are showing Anime on US TV in the first place. That's the first step in getting your uncensored anime. If anime becomes popular enough, it will only be a matter of time before you can watch Tenchi uncut, or perhaps even subtitled on US TV (I would love that). You can't expect American culture to change overnight, and I think this is a step in the right direction.
I would hope that in the future, some shows might even be released at the same time in the US as in Japan, no need to wait a few years to get "old" anime.
Speaking of which, if the Cartoon Network episodes of Tenchi Muyo! are going to horribly hacked up (hell, I bet they're spelling Washuu's name as "Washu" or something equally stupid), then I don't see any reason that we, the anime community, should view, promote, or even acknowledge the existence of this travesty. Until companies learn that anime is not to be hacked up to suit network TV, then they have no right to try to take over beloved series like Tenchi Muyo! or Pocket Monsters.