Slashdot Mirror
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....
...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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
OK, how about:
- Princess Mononoke - absolutely magnificient, fantasy (legendary history), man vs. nature
- My Neighbour Totoro - for whole family, this is a story about children as could be seen by children
(I could go on about the rest of Miyazaki's works, but those two should suffice for starters)
Comedy/Drama? Kimagure Orange Road, Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess..
Something more serious? Area 88, Grave of the Fireflies..
For children (not limited to children)? Cardcaptor Sakura, Jubei Chan..
None of the titles mentioned are sci-fi or cyberpunk, nor are they action/adventure titles. Even if those limitations rule out perhaps 70% of my collection, there's still much more than that.