Why is Anime Interesting?
I'd say the answer is somewhat straightforward. But I'll start with the more confusing side of it.
So lets get started:
First of all, the quality of American and British shows and movies has been slowly degrading, at least in my opinion. Either the stories or how those stories are told have slowly diverged from our values. There is certainly the occasion where a show worth watching pops up, like Doctor Who, Heroes, and Chuck. And there is a small ratio of movies that are worth a watch. But there are too many times when shows or movies are not to my taste either in their moral values or in intellectual value.
American shows have slowly turn in to game and reality shows, and we all know how dumb those are. I've watched more cooking shows that way. American cartoons used to be great when we were growing up. The problem now is that they have taken the wrong direction in making cartoons interesting. Cartoons for kids are now entirely based on the lesson they teach and the art has gone off the deep end. Someday our kids will be watching two squares making inarticulate noises that conjure up desires to share with their friends. There is little in the way of teenage cartoons and even less geared toward boys. I'm sure no straight boys are watching Hanna Montana. Instead, our teenage boys are either playing video games or riding skateboards. To some degree I was playing video games at that age too. Things like The Cosby Show were the only things remotely worth watching. I only watched the Power Rangers to see if it had gotten more stupid.
As for adult cartoons, we have Family Guy, The Simpsons, South Park and King of the Hill. A few others obviously, but in general they're really not that wholesome. They're generally ultra-liberal and make jokes on everyone like Hollywood tabloids.
I certainly think the British have a better sense of humor than our own. But even so, they have a preoccupation with swearing and occasional gay or crude humor that goes way overboard. There are those times when I'm thinking, "Oh, those crazy Brits and their weird sense of humor," or, "I do believe I've been exposed to one more f-bomb than the last British film I saw." They'll throw in a naked man in some awkward situation or our protagonist will meet someone in a strip club, or throw around the swears like they were conjunctions. Bringing that stuff up front as though it was funny or normal just doesn't suit my tastes. At least the BBC is generally more clean than other things. As for their cartoons, they pretty much don't exist or are so closely shared with us Americans that we can't tell who is who.
In the case of the Japanese, they also have their crazy antics which would make us think similarly, only in their case it's not f-bombs (or at least I don't understand the language they're using). But I do see where they often have a similar fascination with looking up skirts and openly homosexual individuals not only in anime but in their films as well. Obviously watching those things we tend to overlook it for the rest of the story just like we overlook everything else we disagree with as long as the rest of the show or film is entertaining. The real fascination I have with their anime that I don't see in our own culture is their ability to depict new and different worlds. Their culture is also so different from our own that it makes it interesting. We could watch a show like Gossip Girl and be exposed to the same liberal lifestyle we've all heard from other American shows, or we could watch a show from Japan or China or Korea and be shown something we're unfamiliar with.
As I've said before, American cartoons are pretty much for kids only. That's one place where east Asia has changed things. They have animations for all different ages. Everything from pre-schoolers learning their "ABC"s to Adults looking to be entertained in different ways. I've seen some of their kid shows and they're not terribly different than something like the Power Puff Girls or the Tellitubbies. Sure I've found the Power Puff Girls entertaining in some way, but I don't learn anything from it. I also don't have any interest in their animated pornography either. That's how fair they've gone with cartoons.
The stories and characters they create are far more imaginative than is coming out of our televisions at home. Even some of their kids shows have more depth than our own. Some of their more worthwhile films and shows have amazed me in so many ways. We could watch Loony Toons every week and laugh at the same formula of jokes, or watch the Ninja Turtles and wonder how they'll beat the bad guys this week. But I've never been challenged to look at the world in a different way until I've seen some of what has come out of Japanese animated television. Some of their shows and movies are like watching a thinker like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or The Fountain.
If have never seen Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, I'd encourage you to see them. Same with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. All of these are shining examples of the imaginative and touching stories they have achieved. I have no doubt that their lesser known animations draw inspiration from these films in a way that spurs them on to create something new and different. That is part of their society, to be new and different. Some of their fascination with animation is that they can paint figures who don't adhere to the norm. There's no mistake behind the idea that Asian people look somewhat alike. Certainly, living in that type of environment makes you think otherwise, but they still look for ways to stand out from the rest of the millions. I think that's what makes their anime stand out to me. I also find the culture they live in so different from ours that it is interesting to learn about the protocol and customs that are so unfamiliar to us.
When I watch some of these shows, there are obviously those that sink to the bottom of the list, like a couple shows I've mentioned before that have been such examples of how bad their values can be. There are other shows that intrigue me either because the world is so different from reality that it's mysterious, or the story is so enchanting, or the characters seem so much more than two-dimensional.
That's where the difference lies. And in some cases it's worth overlooking the small differences in their moral values. They may throw in some "service", as they like to call it, but despite that, they sometimes make a very interesting story or dynamic. And who can resist wondering about how the occasional love triangle/square/pentagon/dodecagon will turn out?
So lets get started:
First of all, the quality of American and British shows and movies has been slowly degrading, at least in my opinion. Either the stories or how those stories are told have slowly diverged from our values. There is certainly the occasion where a show worth watching pops up, like Doctor Who, Heroes, and Chuck. And there is a small ratio of movies that are worth a watch. But there are too many times when shows or movies are not to my taste either in their moral values or in intellectual value.
American shows have slowly turn in to game and reality shows, and we all know how dumb those are. I've watched more cooking shows that way. American cartoons used to be great when we were growing up. The problem now is that they have taken the wrong direction in making cartoons interesting. Cartoons for kids are now entirely based on the lesson they teach and the art has gone off the deep end. Someday our kids will be watching two squares making inarticulate noises that conjure up desires to share with their friends. There is little in the way of teenage cartoons and even less geared toward boys. I'm sure no straight boys are watching Hanna Montana. Instead, our teenage boys are either playing video games or riding skateboards. To some degree I was playing video games at that age too. Things like The Cosby Show were the only things remotely worth watching. I only watched the Power Rangers to see if it had gotten more stupid.
As for adult cartoons, we have Family Guy, The Simpsons, South Park and King of the Hill. A few others obviously, but in general they're really not that wholesome. They're generally ultra-liberal and make jokes on everyone like Hollywood tabloids.
I certainly think the British have a better sense of humor than our own. But even so, they have a preoccupation with swearing and occasional gay or crude humor that goes way overboard. There are those times when I'm thinking, "Oh, those crazy Brits and their weird sense of humor," or, "I do believe I've been exposed to one more f-bomb than the last British film I saw." They'll throw in a naked man in some awkward situation or our protagonist will meet someone in a strip club, or throw around the swears like they were conjunctions. Bringing that stuff up front as though it was funny or normal just doesn't suit my tastes. At least the BBC is generally more clean than other things. As for their cartoons, they pretty much don't exist or are so closely shared with us Americans that we can't tell who is who.
In the case of the Japanese, they also have their crazy antics which would make us think similarly, only in their case it's not f-bombs (or at least I don't understand the language they're using). But I do see where they often have a similar fascination with looking up skirts and openly homosexual individuals not only in anime but in their films as well. Obviously watching those things we tend to overlook it for the rest of the story just like we overlook everything else we disagree with as long as the rest of the show or film is entertaining. The real fascination I have with their anime that I don't see in our own culture is their ability to depict new and different worlds. Their culture is also so different from our own that it makes it interesting. We could watch a show like Gossip Girl and be exposed to the same liberal lifestyle we've all heard from other American shows, or we could watch a show from Japan or China or Korea and be shown something we're unfamiliar with.
As I've said before, American cartoons are pretty much for kids only. That's one place where east Asia has changed things. They have animations for all different ages. Everything from pre-schoolers learning their "ABC"s to Adults looking to be entertained in different ways. I've seen some of their kid shows and they're not terribly different than something like the Power Puff Girls or the Tellitubbies. Sure I've found the Power Puff Girls entertaining in some way, but I don't learn anything from it. I also don't have any interest in their animated pornography either. That's how fair they've gone with cartoons.
The stories and characters they create are far more imaginative than is coming out of our televisions at home. Even some of their kids shows have more depth than our own. Some of their more worthwhile films and shows have amazed me in so many ways. We could watch Loony Toons every week and laugh at the same formula of jokes, or watch the Ninja Turtles and wonder how they'll beat the bad guys this week. But I've never been challenged to look at the world in a different way until I've seen some of what has come out of Japanese animated television. Some of their shows and movies are like watching a thinker like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or The Fountain.
If have never seen Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, I'd encourage you to see them. Same with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. All of these are shining examples of the imaginative and touching stories they have achieved. I have no doubt that their lesser known animations draw inspiration from these films in a way that spurs them on to create something new and different. That is part of their society, to be new and different. Some of their fascination with animation is that they can paint figures who don't adhere to the norm. There's no mistake behind the idea that Asian people look somewhat alike. Certainly, living in that type of environment makes you think otherwise, but they still look for ways to stand out from the rest of the millions. I think that's what makes their anime stand out to me. I also find the culture they live in so different from ours that it is interesting to learn about the protocol and customs that are so unfamiliar to us.
When I watch some of these shows, there are obviously those that sink to the bottom of the list, like a couple shows I've mentioned before that have been such examples of how bad their values can be. There are other shows that intrigue me either because the world is so different from reality that it's mysterious, or the story is so enchanting, or the characters seem so much more than two-dimensional.
That's where the difference lies. And in some cases it's worth overlooking the small differences in their moral values. They may throw in some "service", as they like to call it, but despite that, they sometimes make a very interesting story or dynamic. And who can resist wondering about how the occasional love triangle/square/pentagon/dodecagon will turn out?