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Dreamworks Delves Into Anime
peter_gzowski writes "Dreamworks has acquired the license for the worldwide distribution of Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Millennium Actress. Satoshi Kon is best known for directing the anime classic Perfect Blue, but has also worked on Patlabor 2 and Roujin Z (the latter two from the director of Ghost in the Shell & Akira, respectively). Read about it from Yahoo! Movies or Anime News Network, whichever you prefer. I guess Dreamworks was feeling left out after Miramax (with Princess Mononoke) and Columbia Tri-Star (with Final Fantasy and Metropolis) got into the anime distribution business. Maybe Spielberg and company will fare better trying to convince North American audiences to watch serious animated films."
This is a dangerous development. We all know that anime is like D&D, it leads to otherwise normal nerds, becoming arrogant and confident to the point where they feel big enough to act out their fantasies. These of course center around choke sex and tenticle rape that the moderators think about constantly.
Can't see how this will be a good thing. The only good Dreamworks might do get some "well known" people to do voice acting (not that I care as I am a sub-snob) and perhaps get a somewhat large exposure at big cinemas. Other than that, this is more or less a bad thing. The American Anime-only distribution companies like ADV and the like by the fans, for the fans. They care about their fans and do their best to make their fans happy. Dreamworks and other Hollywood stuidos couldn't give a flying fuck about the fans and just want to make some cash. They will rape the movie any way they can if they think it will earn them a couple more bucks. Disney/Miramax wanted to rape Princess Mononoke by censoring it, and they would have if they weren't restricted by the contract. Tri-Star did an all right job with Metropolis but the translation was sub-ADV. I can't imagine what Dreamworks, another animation studio known more for "kiddie" movies, plans to do with this, but I don't think Dreamworks buying the distribution rights is going to be beneficial to anime fans.
Speaking of Crumb, there's the Fritz the Cat movies (I didn't know there was more than one) on there too. I haven't seen them, but I know Crumb's work, and there's always that counterculture air. Again, not serious like Ghost in the Shell or Akira, but with some serious things going on. Also animated, but not anime.
There's also the Hobbit cartoon and the unfinished Lord of the Rings animated movie. Similar category.
You forgot Akira, which is my personal gold standard for best anime feature film. Others will probably point to Mononoke or Ghost in the Shell, but Akira remains my personal favorite.
The thing about anime though, is that the highest quality work is not in feature films, but in the series made for TV. Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun, and Cowboy Bebop all have US versions available, and all are outstanding. I've heard excellent things about Serial Experiments: Lain as well. The feature films based off of Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion are also must-sees for fans of the series, but they aren't particularly good if you haven't watched the TV versions.
The new series Vandread is excellent as well, in a quirky and funny sort of way. Not as mature as the others, but still good. Ranma 1/2 also has its fans, although I haven't seen it myself.
Some people are pretty obsessed with Dragonball Z as well, although I personally couldn't get in to it, as it never seems to end. The other series clock in at one season apice, which means you can actually watch them to completion over a relatively short period of time. Not so with DBZ.
Basically, most of the best anime will come out in the TV series. Take it upon yourself to start renting the Evangelion DVD's, or download the episodes online to try before you buy. Eva is incredibly deep and moving and very complex, and is generally considered to be the best "difficult" anime series around, so it may be best to start you there. I've neglected to list many above, mainly due to ignorance, but those should get you started. There's a lot out there. Good luck!
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
Hey, we all have our bad habits, just fess up. I myself enjoy pro wrestling, Mike Tyson's punch-out, and redhead lesbian pr0n. And I'm okay with that. I don't try to convince others that these habits have any cultural value, because they probably don't.
To help you along your way, I've written a short play:
Anime, by Gizzmonic
ANIME GUY #1: Hey you, Anime Guy #2. I don't like you!
ANIME GUY #2: Well, I don't like you either!
ANIME GUY #1: Shall we fight?
ANIME GUY #2: No, I got a better idea. Let's like, grunt for a few minutes, okay?
ANIME GUY #1: GRRRRRRRR!!!
ANIME GUY #2: GRRRRRRRR!!!
Five minutes later:
ANIME GUY #1: Boy, I'm really not moving while I grunt. There's a few lines moving in the background though. Did I have a stroke?
ANIME GUY #2: Nope, you're just poorly animated. Let's try something new-here, I'll zap you with this laser!
ANIME GUY #1: Won't that hurt?
ANIME GUY #2: Nope, but it sure will blow up some buildings that don't appear to be anywhere near you!
ANIME GUY #1: Hmm. This is boring.
ANIME GUY #2: It's not boring, here, I'll disembowel you!
ANIME GUY #1: Zounds. I am disemboweled. (dies)
ANIME GUY #2: You are dead, and now your spirit will become one with the land. You see, mankind shouldn't tamper with the forces of nature, otherwise they could unleash a great evil!
SMOKEY THE BEAR: That's right, kids! And remember, stamp all fires dead out!
ANIME GUY #2: The power is yours!
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Neon
Genesis
Evangelion
Do NOT watch the dubbed version. I'm not a sub purist, but in this case the dub really is terrible. Young and inexperienced characters have mature voices, gasps become goofy gufaws, and the screams of torment and anguish sound like someone yelling "Fore!" before swinging their damn golf club. And I listened in every language on that damn DVD. Every other language sounds as poor.
Do NOT browse websites for information on it. Wait until you've watched it through.
And if you decide to watch it, WATCH IT ALL. Do NOT quit halfway. I don't mean in one sitting necessarily, but if you only watch the first half of the episodes, you're going to think it's just like every other anime, or worse. Big robot mechs, teenage heros, cute girls, save the world, blah blah blah.
Mech pilots taking dance lessons to perform a ballet sequence in combat to defeat the latest enemy? Tracked to silly music? Spare me, NGE. This is mind blowing? Pft.
Or was that episode something different?
Why are the mechs in NGE so tall, thin, and dexterous when compared to the mechs in other anime series? It's because toy manufacturers have an easier time building short, heavyset mech models. Early mech designs of Gundam Wing (the most popular mech anime in Japan at the time of NGE's release) were modified to make those stupid little toys stand up better. The NGE crew didn't care about the commercial possibilities of their work, and the ballet episode was just a vehicle for that point. NGE is something more.
After you've watched it all, then you can go online for the analysis. Have fun looking things up in the Apocrypha and Pseudopygraphia (sp?). Note that the symbolism is both blatant (big crucifixes in places) and subtle (character motivations, personalities, and relationships).
You'll either love it and be blown away, or you'll hate it. I've not met anyone between.
I hate this troll. How many times a day do we see people posting about the so-called hypocrisy of slashdot? It's such a disgusting oversimplification that I can't tell if the people posting are really just trolling, or if they're simply short-sighted idiots who just want to hate slashdot.
Slashdot is a big and complicated community with a lot of different posters from various backgrounds, countries, and outlooks on life. Because it is not a monoculture, you get many different posts with many different opinions. Some people will ferverently boycott the RIAA and the MPAA while others don't care in the slightest and will continue to spend their entertainment dollars as usual. Many fall somewhere in the middle, concerned about what is happening but not so concerned as they are about other things.
The entertainment industry too, is a large and complex entity. Many people feel that, while they don't agree with the entertainment industry's actions in the political arena, they enjoy what the entertainment industry produces enough to overcome this distaste. It's a question of priorities, and because this is a large and relatively diverse forum, you get a variety of feelings and actions on the subject. Others simply don't care at all about the politics, so long as they are able to buy products that satisfy them.
Even the editors are not of one mind. Most of the stories against the RIAA and MPAA are posted by Michael, while most of the anime ones are posted by CmdrTaco. There is no reason why, on a site such as this, that hardly pretends to editorial professionalism (no matter how much many posters would want it) there should be one single overriding features of all stories. No, wait, I take it back. There is one overriding feature of all the stories, and it's "News for Nerds". Now, the term nerd is a fairly loose one, and as such it encompasses many people with diverse opinions. As such, we get stories posted on different subjects with differing slants. Now, any thinking person would never take this as gospel, but would instead use the differing opinions to weigh out their own viewpoint. Do I want to boycott the MPAA, or do I think their product is so good that it outweighs the politics? By asking this sort of question, we are able to make better decisions about the world that we live in. I, for one, appreciate it, and am glad that both sides are presented.
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."