On Anime and Other Fads
I just finished watching the entire anime series, "Last Exile". I really enjoyed it. I expected it to end with all the major characters dying, like so many other Japanese films. Yes, key people died, but one lucky couple survived, got married, had kids and a happy-ending life. (That's not so much of a spoiler, because there are numerous potential couples in the series.)
People tend to have two reactions when you mention that you have been watching an anime series:
One, their eyes light up as if finding a soul-mate -- "Have you seen such and such? What did you think of so and so?" -- as if by watching one series, you admit to loving all things Japanese and watch them anime and read manga religiously. I don't.
Two, they look at you like you are some freak of nature. "Oh, you're one of those people...."
Well, let me state a great truth: Not all anime are created equal.
It is bothersome to me when things become fads -- whether they are good or bad matters not to me. Sure, I like certain anime films. It does not mean I like all of them or even most of them. It does not mean I dress up like Pokemon and take Japanese classes. It does not mean I am at all a part of the anime subculture.
I also like RPGs. No, I don't carry multi-sided dice in my pocket at all times. No, I don't wear chainmail to work.
My fiancée likes the color black and likes various trinkets of metal on her clothes. That does not make her a goth.
My must we label everyone?
It does not take a super-observant person to read my LJ interest and see that I do not fit into a neat category. What? A scientist and a Christian? A scientist and a linguist? A backpacker and a film-lover?
No, I do not like every anime. I probably dislike most. But there are a few I really have enjoyed. I'm willing to give any film with an interesting-sounding plot a chance. I don't judge it based on genre: I watch silent films (The original "Metropolis" and Griffith's "Intolerance" were both good.); I watch foreign films ("Run Lola Run" is cool.); I watch documentaries; I watch unclassifiable films (How does one classify "Koyaanisqatsi"[1]?). There is such a huge variety of anime out there -- just about as many genres as exist in live-action films.
(...But I still wonder what happened to the little toy stuffed baaing sheep. Did it get left behind on the Delphine's fortress? I want one.)
People tend to have two reactions when you mention that you have been watching an anime series:
One, their eyes light up as if finding a soul-mate -- "Have you seen such and such? What did you think of so and so?" -- as if by watching one series, you admit to loving all things Japanese and watch them anime and read manga religiously. I don't.
Two, they look at you like you are some freak of nature. "Oh, you're one of those people...."
Well, let me state a great truth: Not all anime are created equal.
It is bothersome to me when things become fads -- whether they are good or bad matters not to me. Sure, I like certain anime films. It does not mean I like all of them or even most of them. It does not mean I dress up like Pokemon and take Japanese classes. It does not mean I am at all a part of the anime subculture.
I also like RPGs. No, I don't carry multi-sided dice in my pocket at all times. No, I don't wear chainmail to work.
My fiancée likes the color black and likes various trinkets of metal on her clothes. That does not make her a goth.
My must we label everyone?
It does not take a super-observant person to read my LJ interest and see that I do not fit into a neat category. What? A scientist and a Christian? A scientist and a linguist? A backpacker and a film-lover?
No, I do not like every anime. I probably dislike most. But there are a few I really have enjoyed. I'm willing to give any film with an interesting-sounding plot a chance. I don't judge it based on genre: I watch silent films (The original "Metropolis" and Griffith's "Intolerance" were both good.); I watch foreign films ("Run Lola Run" is cool.); I watch documentaries; I watch unclassifiable films (How does one classify "Koyaanisqatsi"[1]?). There is such a huge variety of anime out there -- just about as many genres as exist in live-action films.
(...But I still wonder what happened to the little toy stuffed baaing sheep. Did it get left behind on the Delphine's fortress? I want one.)