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New Anime Block Starts Tonight Cartoon Network
Silverhammer writes "Just a reminder that the new five-hour Saturday night Toonami block starts
tonight on Cartoon Network. It includes the american premieres of three of Bandai's new (or at least newly dubbed) anime series: Yu Yu Hakusho (11pm EDT), Pilot Candidate (12pm), and Gundam 0083 (12:30pm)." Also in the list is
old favs Tenchi, Bebop, and Outlaw Star as well
as the non-anime but still cool Justice League, which
I've been enjoying, but is it just me, or are there
only like 4 episodes that they just keep looping? I'll be Tivo'ing each
of the new shows for a few weeks in hopes that they
are good.
I'm still first in line to vote for a Toonami channel.
I might get modded down for this, but could someone please clarify for me why anime is so popular? I mean, it's just a Japanese form of animation, and we have all kinds of great animation in the US, with shows like Family Guy and Futurama. Of course, I've seen some great anime-ish type video games like Jet Grind Radio for the Dreamcast, which uses this weird cel shading technique. I'm just genuinely curious as to why anime is so popular, I haven't seen much of it in the mainstream but among certain crowds it seems really popular.
It's because of the many genres that you find all the time in anime but very VERY rarely in American cartoons. Sword-and-sorcery fantasies, superhero adventures, supernatural ghost stories, mecha space operas, cyberpunk thrillers, high school kung-fu comedies...
And then there's all the "mundane" comedies and dramas that just seem so sweet and moving when done as anime but are obsurdly overwrought when done in Hollywood.
Mind you, there's nothing wrong with Futurama or the Family Guy, but you're comparing apples and oranges. It's all a matter of style...
While I'm glad that some good anime (case in point Cowboy Bebop) is getting some 'mainstream' play, there's a dark side to CN's airing of the shows:
1) The dubbing of most anime is crud. For shows like CB, you get a great feel for the characters when you can hear the original voice acting, since much more thought goes into voice acting selection for the original as opposed to the dub.
2) Again, using CB as an example: The editing. If you're gonna put a show in 'Adult Swim', then let it stay true to it's original release form. Bebop's had an entire episode yanked (for quite a silly reason) and a numbre of scenes cut. Granted, I don't want Cartoon Network to become a hentai crap-flood, but if you make the decision to put a show on, put the damn thing on as it was meant to be seen.
I bring up these points since often times it's quite easy to dismiss some really quality anime when you dont have the complete experience.
-------- The thought plickens....
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Stuff that... (yawn)
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
One notes that Yu Yu Hakusho is a Funimation title, not a Bandai title.
Oh, for the day that we can air Evangelion...
Besides the whole, "you mean there's actually more than four episodes?!?" problem, I'm somewhat dissapointed with the over-the-top plotlines. With the exception of the Atlantis two-parter, every other episode I've seen so far has taken place in far off space locations.
It's a matter of taste, of course, but I'd prefer they tone the whole "other planet as a backdrop" thing down and get to plotlines that were closer to the Batman and Superman type stories.
I'd really like to see HBO pick up these kinds of shows, and air them unedited with no commercial breaks. Hell, I think we're almost at the point where a premium anime/animation network could be self-supporting...
...but you sure edited the crap out of it. In my original submission, the shows were on Cartoon Network, "American" was capitalized, and midnight was 12 AM. Bleh.
American's are extremely narrow minded when it comes to producing animated series. Until relatively recently if it was animated it was for pre-teen kids. The Simpsons changed that to a degree; Now if it's animated it's either for pre-teens or it fits in The Simpsons slot.
The Japanese attitude appears to be "Is it possible to do this story live-action? No? Make it anime then."
Well, it's true, most purist anime fans prefer subtitles to dubs. But, the Cartoon Network isn't for anime fans, it's for the mainstream who are merely looking for something different to watch. Anime fans already have many other venues to find the same material, presented in superior fashion.
Also, Adult Swim is not purely an anime block. It's filled with some anime shows as well as some American shows.
< tofuhead >
It is still the dark of night.
Yeah, (sigh). I just moved back to Canada, after living in the States for three years. I'm still in CN withdrawl. YTV has Gundam Wing, Teletoon has zip.
On the bright side, Gundam 0083 is on DVD, Pilot Candidate reportedly sucks, and Yu Yu Hakusho is from Funimation (not Bandai), say no more.
And YTV ran all of Escaflowne, Teletoon ran all of Cyber 6, while Fox axed both of them real quick. It's not all bad here.
www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance
I've never been able to make the connection between the "news for nerds" thing and anime. Especially when Cmdr Taco already takes care of his anime fix via Anime Fu.
Am I the only one here who doesn't see the connection? Maybe it's the "stuff that matters" part...in which case I'll just go away (for now).
And Samurai Jack, for example (the animation is more interesting than the plots, though).
And what about Spike and Mike's animation festivals? It's not all good stuff, but I've discovered some stuff there that I sure like (such as Don Hertzfeldt's work)
It's funny/sad but there are 20 year old kids--men actually--in the Marines, overseas, with gun in hand, doing the tough business of protecting this country.
You've never actually met a real Marine, have you? Or anyone in the Armed Services, for that matter. I should introduce you to some of my friends, such as Andrew the Everquest nut who is now in Army Intelligence serving as a Korean translator, or Tia the goth raver who is now a medtech at Travis AFB, or James the Champions GM who was a mechanized infantry seargent in the Gulf War...
Hmm..
Lots of posts here wondering what people see in anime, especially the more adult-oriented material.
Lots of posts in the Chuck Jones thread saying how much they loved and grew up on Chuck's features, even though many were aimed at adults.
What makes comedy animation so much more acceptable than dramatic animation?
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
PLease, go rent some real anime... then you'll see why it isnt on Cartoon network.. real adult, real guts and the chick in her undies holding a guy's spleen she just ripped out of his gut. (but damn she's hot in those tightie-whities.) and then there's some real twisted anime.. basically porn but drawn... I'm betting that sailor moon is quite tamed down for the US.. from what little I have seen of real Anime you have no cloe what it really is about.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I personally have yet to see a single anime series I really liked. Some are okay, sure, in a "Dexter's Laboratory is a pretty good show" way, but none have been excellent, in a "Futurama is fucking amazing" way.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Just because your local cable or DSS provider doesn't carry this particular US network doesn't mean you can't get it at all. Those of you who at least live in the western hemisphere and have a relatively unobstructed horizon in the direction of the equator can get themselves a C-band dish and watch along with us.
As for the Europeans or Asians, all depends on what satellites you can see. Not that you bother checking before you complain about how stories like this affect "only" the United States...
Not saying that it's not a good idea, but everything they do is so heavily edited it's pathetic. Consider Outlaw Star. That series dealt with sex a lot (i.e. Gene was called a space cherry, not a space rookie) in the original, but Cartoon Network cut all of that out (including all of episode 23, which explains where Gene gets those four uber-powerful caster shells). I haven't been able to get my hands on anything but eps 1-4 and 23, but I'd be willing to bet that Gene was sleeping with Suzuka and Aysha, too. They also edit out any blood for some reason.
The translation of Cowboy Bebop wasn't horrible, aside from the standard censorship, but the voice acting was terrible. The guy who talks Spike just doesn't know how to get those subtle gradations of emotion in his voice that were in the original (we're not talking soap operas here, Spike is pretty stoic, but even stoics betray some emotion in their voices). Just compare the end of session 6, Sympathy for the Devil in the subtitled and dubbed versions to see exactly what I mean.
I'm all for anime on TV (I've become an anime freak of late), but, damnit, they need to do it right! I don't object to dubbing as long as the translation, lip syncing, and voice acting are all done well. Dumping the freaking censorship is also a good idea.
If I really want to get my anime off of cable, I find that the Action channel tends to do the best job overall (no censorship, and they even do both subbed versions from time to time).
BlackGriffen
Yeah, I remember watching Home Movies a couple of years ago, when it was on some other network (UPN?). It's very funny, but a it's paced a little too slowly for my taste. I still watch it now and then.
< tofuhead >
It is still the dark of night.
I have major problems with dubbing, not just with anime but with all foreign-language films. Simply, I want to hear the actor's own words, the same ones that the writers put in their mouths. I speak Japanese and French on top of English (at non-native fluency), but even for other languages I prefer subtitling over dubbing, simply because of this.
The solution to your subject of blocking the artwork, at least at home, was actually proposed by Carl Macek of Robotech and Streamline Pictures fame some time back (at either Anime Expo 92 or 93, when they were still held in Northern CA): For all letterboxed films, shift the picture to the top of the screen, and place subtitles/captioning at the bottom of the screen, so as not to block any part of the picture on 4:3 screens. I am disappointed that neither they nor anyone else has taken that idea anywhere.
< tofuhead >
It is still the dark of night.
Have you ever seen cowboy bebop? Simply amazing. Probably the best Telivsion series I've ever seen in the genras it encompases (sci-fi, action adventure, cyberpunk)
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
About time! I have been looking forward to YuYu Hakusho coming onto TV for some time now.
:)
I am VERY intersted in seeing how Bandai is going to cover the fact that:
A: The first few episodes are Horribly Boring. (to the point that if you have not seen later episodes they may very well turn you off of the series)
B: The insane amount of non-western religious/mythos stuff in there. While it is not exactly a historical drama, I am wondering if Bandai is going to have to resort to translation notes???
C: The INSANELY large amounts of GORE. YuYu is a VEEEEEEEERRRRYYYYY bloody show.
Need help treating your acne? Come here!
That would make it three camps then. Even if you don't understand the original language, you can still pull a lot out of how the original voice talent performs the original dialog. With subtitling, you deal with the original director's interpretation of how the characters should sound and behave, which is very complementary to interpreting what the translator is presenting you in the subs. With dubs, you get the entire experience (voices _and_ script) translated, _time-edited_, and colloquialized by a second director and spoon-fed to you in your native language. Colloquialization _is_ more of an issue with dubs than subs; a Japanese ko-gal is _NOT_ a valley girl, and I don't want to hear valley girl language come out of Japanese character's mouths.
People keep saying that only elitists could possibly dismiss dubbing on the basis that it is dubbing. That in itself is an elitist statement, IMO, since it's a commonly-shared preference. It's not like I run around telling people that they are sinning by watching and enjoying dubs; other people can do whatever the hell they want, and I don't think they are elitist morons for it.
< tofuhead >
It is still the dark of night.
The following anime is quite good, and accessible: Give Trigun a try. Trigun is a helluva good series with an interesting blend of the comedic and serious. You might also try Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. The former was the first, and only Ok. The latter was made recently, and was done better (interesting note: you won't find a subbed version of Bloodlust because it was originally done in English). Macross Plus (either OAV or movie should be good, I've only seen the OAV) is also quite good, and it has the same director as Cowboy Bebop, and the music composer, Yoko Kanno, also worked on both (though most of the Macross Plus stuff had a more decidedly pop bent than the jazzy Bebop soundtrack, you'll probably like Myung's theme).
There's also the standard fare (not the greatest, but entertaining and very accessible), Tenchi is fairly good (the series Cartoon Network calls Tenchi Muyo! [the 12 episode one] is actually an OAV that was heavily edited), Ranma 1/2 is hilarious (though guaranteed to never appear on Cartoon Network), Dragonball Z needs to be thought of as a live action comic book (if you ever hear the original Japanese voices it's funny because Goku sounds like a squirrel with his nuts in a vice), the City Hunter movie was pretty funny, and Slayers is priceless if you know anything about RPGs.
Once you've developed a taste for anime, you might want to check out Evangelion, Gasaraki, and Serial Experiments Lain. I would advise against starting out with them, though.
BlackGriffen
My father was a swabbie, and so was one of my older brothers. Neither of them watch cartoons, and neither play with legos, but neither appreciates Pablo Picasso, heavy metal music, an elegant proof, or great literature (my dad reads a good book he enjoys from time to time, but he hasn't really delved in to the classics yet). I appreciate all of those, and I enjoy legos, anime, and watching the standing waves under my faucet if I turn the water down and hold my hand close to it. Am I better than them for this? No. Are my tastes more sophisticated? Possibly, but I just prefer the term different. The false associate with "animation" = "for kids" is just like saying "Renaissance" = "art" or "really skinny" = "beautiful".
:P.
I wouldn't be bragging about being associated with unsophisticated people like that
"If I were as dumb as you, I could be a jarhead too!" --the navy brat's credo
BlackGriffen
I saw one episode, and it didn't really impress me much. But then I don't like sci-fi, action/adventure, or cyberpunk.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
I doubt that it was cost that determined whether they would dub or sub. Dubbing will always be more expensive than a straight sub. For subbing you only have to translate/englishify and then add the text to the bottom. For a dub you have to translate/englishify, pay the people to do the voice parts, and pay artists to resync the lips (or bend over backwards to sync the new dialog to the old lips). For proof of this, look at the fan subs of popular anime that float around the net: all they used was a video editor, text, and enthusiasm.
The reason they dubbed is because they considered their audience to be half-literate morons who wouldn't watch if they had to read the dialog. That, and the fact that censorship is easier/less obvious if you don't have to worry about people who might understand the original dialog, too.
BlackGriffen
I usually don't rant on /. but I'm pissed. I posted this same goddam story, several weeks ago, and it didn't get accepted. What the fuck does this particular posting have that mine didn't? Why can't the admins of /. give a damn reason why an article is rejected? I even included some bits about Tenchi and Cowboy Bebop (aimed at Taco's tastes in anime, as well as my own). No dice.
/me ends rant.
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
As for buying anime, the above-mentioned Animefu gives links to AnimeNation; I've used Robert's Anime Corner Store before. You can also try looking for anime stores via Google. (Which, strangely enough, gives the exact two places I mentioned as the first and second links in the same order I mentioned - weird :).)
The best way to find anime though is to find a friend who likes it and watch what they have. That's how I found out about anime first and why I have a growing collection of anime DVDs.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Sailor Moon (which my wife shows to her kindergartners) is indeed toned down signifcantly for U.S. audiences. Viewers of the original via fansubs or the recently released Pioneer DVD's will note that
a. Zoicite was really a guy and Kunzite's (Malachite) gay lover.
b. All four of the inner planet senshi and Tuxedo Mask died on screen in the first season.
c. Usagi (Serena) and Mamoru (Darien) are frequently shown at his apartment early in the morning. While it's not explicit that Mamaoru is getting some underage nookie, it's not explained away either.
d. Makoto (Lita) is quite proud of her breast size and says so loudly on any number of occasions.
e. Haruka (Amara) and Michiru (Michelle) ain't cousins. Again, while there's no hot Senshi-on-Senshi action, series creator Naoko Takeuchi has confirmed that Sailors Uranus and Neptune are lesbian lovers.
f. In the fifth and final season of Sailor Moon which has yet to make it to NA shores, Sailor Moon fights along side the Sailor Starlights, three transsexual Sailor Senshi from a solar system far away. They're male pop singers by day and leather- S&M-gear-clad fighters for justice by night.
Explain that one away. I dare you... Sadly, that's probably the reason we'll never see Sailor Stars on U.S. TV.
The list of cuts is too numerous to mention. Even the most casual violence to humans, like all the scenes where Rei rather justly slaps the shit out of Usagi, are cut.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Setup a wishlist to get ANIMATED SHOWS that are SUBTITLED.
Setup a wishlist to get ANIMATED SHOWS that have a rating higher than Y7.
Always triple thumbs up anything that's japanese anime. (regardless of whether or not you like it)
Do ONE thumbs down for any cartoon shows that show up that are completely out of your field (like My Little Pony).
One thumbs down seems to get Tivo to realize the genre's ok, but the subject matter is all wrong... 3 thumbs down seem to give Tivo the idea that everything about the show is wrong, which is not what you want...
It takes a while, but I've got my Tivo trained enough to pick up the Action network's saturday night anime about 60% of the time. (which is about my thumb hit for other shows as well...)
That's still not perfect, but it's still pretty cool to come home and find some anime I didn't even know was showing recorded automatically (Although Encore likes to show Appleseed way too many time...)
My guess is that they gave it the later slot not because of any spicy language or hot toon action, but because of the slower ploting over some of the middle episodes. I would bet that they are of the impression that the youngsters coming up would find the lack of explosions and derth of exposition less interesting that whatever runs against it on nickelodeon or the wb, perhaps never to return.
That said, I don't think this series is actually slow. In fact I think it is the best of the gundam series. The animation is top notch throughout, the story is excellent in premis and very well excecuted. If there is a negative, it's the absolute inability of the original writers to provide half decent names for anything. Hardly a problem unique to this particular series.
--Jimmy has fancy plans; and pants to match.
Here's an unpopular opinion:
I think the real reason that american anime fanatics like japanese voice acting is that they're not japanese. NOT because it's any better than the english dub. If you're not listening in your native language (and especially if you don't even understand the language), then you're less likely to pick up on the awkwardness that a bad voice actor brings. Everything seems more "artistic" when you don't understand it.
That is my theory. For low-to-medium-budget anime, I'll bet the voice acting is just as bad, or worse, than the american dub. (For instance, the high-pitched girls' voices come to mind.)
However, you might be right that a big production like Cowboy Bebop has more thought going into the japanese voices, though.
That said, I usually watch a foreign film in the original language; it's just more fun. But for watching TV, when I am distracted by things around me or don't want to concentrate too hard, I prefer dubbing.
I still haven't seen the end of Daemon Rising, much less any of My Two Bobs...
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
At least you could have been honest with us and let us know you and the Taco share the same agenda [oldcrows.net], which would definitely explain your position.
Well duh.
If your cable network carries the i-channel, you can sometimes get some subbed anime. (Along with the other crazy stuff they carry -- I'm still trying to figure out this [apparently Indian] game show). Granted, the non-Dragonball-Z stuff only comes once a week, but every little bit helps.
Check out the schedule here and watch Slayers tonight at 11pm EST.
I understand where you're coming from, but I would put it a different way: I think Cowboy Beebop isn't so much overrated as inconsistent. Some episodes just blow me away with their seamless fusion of music, epic storylines, and deep characters. On the other hand I find some episodes, especially those with Ed, just downright annoying.
personal attacks hurt, especially when deserved
Oh, the most overlooked asset of the show is the voice actor who does Jet Black. What a lyrical, interesting voice. I especially love the promos he does for upcoming episodes.
personal attacks hurt, especially when deserved