Slashdot Mirror
A Glimpse Into the World of Japanese Animation
Pixelgroove writes "CGNetworks sports a story by Justin Leach (Softimage Special Projects Division), who had a unique chance to work at Production I.G in Japan on Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Prior to leaving Japan, he interviewed the Production I.G computer graphics animation team about their thoughts and perspectives on Japanese Animation (anime)."
Yep, and if you're really lucky it might even be playing at a theatre within 2 hours of your home/business.
I read the internet for the articles.
Well GITS2 just started playing its second and last screening at the Toronto International Film Fest about the same time this article appeared on the /.'s page... And I'm stuck at work. Trying to wait a few more days!
I am very thankful for such a wonderful cultural export from Japan. The article discussions Western animation and how the interviewees feel about it. While we (Americans) produce popular, and beautifully animated, CG work, I do not think it even compares to Japanese anime (either hand-drawn or CG).
I watch American animated movies by Pixar, Dreamworks, and the like, when I need to watch something light and uplifting. Afterwords I think to myself "Okay, that was fun", then never think about the movie again. There aren't many movies geered towards adult audiences. With Japanese anime, I'm touched at a deeper level and often left amazed at the storylines. Of course, I'm not talking about the comedy or under 13 series. I still think about series that I've watched years ago, trying to figure out the meaning behind them. Even movies/series coming out now in America from Japan have plots that I believe only the Japanese are capable of creating. After watching a series, I continue to think about its meaning and am left with a wonderful satisfying feeling. That's missing from the American movies (and definately not even close with any cartoon series).
It is the cultural aspect of anime that makes it so appealing, and I'll continue to go purchase anime DVD's, which is now far larger than my American collection.
This is a very interesting response, especially considering how heavily the work of Production IG is identified with popular anime, when it's a very different animal. In essence, IG's work has been built from collecting style and method, spending years experimenting with computer-assisted cel and true 3D modeling animation. The work they produce might as well be considered experiments performed in the course of learning the art. They have graduated to distinguished player in their field.
Mizutani's answer is a wee bit wrong due to a culturally interior viewpoint: Ghost in the Shell addresses universal themes from a very Japanese perspective, striking to an international audience and a source of great appeal. These movies need not be cute and brightly colored to prove their appeal. Production IG has no need to prove that they are Japanese. Perhaps Mizutani is more expressing the continuing evolution of the Japanese cultural identity in the face of internationalism?
And yes, I know "anime" simply means "animation" in its original usage. Consider that shifting definition evidence of our own adaptation.
I recently read an interesting quote by animation historian Michael Barrier, in his recent interview with John K. (Ren and Stimpy): "It's one of animation's curses that so many people insist that there is only one way to make a cartoon-- the Disney-feature way, the Clampett way, the UPA way, or whatever-- when in fact the medium's resources are so large." Of course, he wasn't talking about anime when he said this, but he might as well have been.
I like good anime and manga a helluva lot, sure, but I also like good American and European animation. Just as I like both 2D and 3D work, as long as it's done well. All have their merits-- unfortunatly, a lot of anime's boosters can't get that simple fact through their thick skulls -_-;
I dont know about the whole Western Cartoon culture. I have been watching "Anime" since I was 4 when my Koren babysitter used to sit me down in front of Gatchaman and other long forgotten series of the late 70's. I would tend to agree that anime itself is not Slashdot material, however, as geek culture it is probably the "art" of the culture. There is quite a lot of crap anime out there and there are some films I would put on level with fine art. What cartoons from North America would you recommend?
I really do know KungFu
What I don't get is why I'm seeing this article at all. I had disabled the Anime topic in my preferences, and it seemed to work. I havn't seen Anime stories in many many months.. but wtf, now this one shows up?
Is this a bug in slashcode?
-molo
Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.
"bad quality" is a compliment; the group that did it was a manga group and it shows; they suck. I'd say 25% or more of the lines are untranslated. There are numerous mistakes. "notes" sometimes FILL the screen and are put above AND below simultaneously. The subs are not timed correctly so long sentences often flash away because they were not put up slightly before dialog actually starts. Togusa's name is mistranslated- how the fuck do you screw up that?
Oh, and it's a cam, so the audio is atrocious and the video is so blurry it's almost hopeless. Dynamic range is also poor, which is pretty important considering the whole movie is set at night.
The movie itself was a gross disappointment. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say the plot will, towards the last 20 minutes, seem shockingly familiar. What a fucking ripoff. Togusa's even dumber than his usual self and partnered with Batou, something that seems highly unlikely given he was the Major's partner, and Togusa is a complete rookie. Meh.
Please help metamoderate.
Seeing it on a computer screen or even in a home theatre isn't going to match seeing this on a huge screen.
Go see this and cleanse yourself of the hideous sucking void that was the two Matrix sequels. This is the most impressive animated movie to come out of Japan since Royal Space Force: The Wings Of Honneamise. That includes the most recent Miyazaki movies. GITS2: Innocence is that freaking good.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
(stretching a complex story throughout an entire series) with Gargoyles.
No, the storyline on Gargoyles didn't persist through the whole series. Like many American scifi shows (Star Trek*, Buffy, etc), they started with 3-5 episodes of continuity, then settle down for generally unrelated adventures, and end the season with 2-4 more contiuous eps to finish off the "main" storyline. More importantly, the Gargoygles series lasted far past the end of the story, with the "magic boat travelling to a random place each week" concept.
However, in terms of continuity, Gargoyles was head&shoulders above most other USA cartoons (and even live action shows). The fact that they even HAD an audio clip for "Previously on Gargoyles" proves it.
Using length as a yardstick for quality doesn't quite measure up.
It's often highly accurate. The more hours you need to fill, the lower the ratio of quality ideas to filler. In general, theatrical films are better than TV miniseries, which are better than weekly TV programs, which are better than daily soap operas. (Consider how many people enjoyed the Spiderman movie, who wouldn't have considered viewing the cartoon or comic book. They expected, correctly, that the movie would be be more enjoyable, with a higher concentration of originality)
One great advantage of Japanese TV programs (including but not limited to anime), in comparison to American TV, is that from the beginning, the producer is planning for the end. There is a conclusion planned for the 13th, 26th, or 52nd episode, and everything progresses along towards there**. Whereas American television is based on the idea of dragging it out until the ratings sink away.
13 to 26 episodes long and end up boring the socks off of you
Witch Hunter Robin is a recent series of 26 episodes that only had enough content for 7.
* Golly, I wonder why Gargoyles reminded me of Star Trek?
** Juvenile toy shows like Pokemon and Yugioh are exceptions, as is Doreamon.