A personal history of anime and manga (the culture shock side)

[oyceter]

I found some of my old sketchbooks a few days ago, and I've been flipping through them nostalgically. I forgot that I used to draw a great deal before... wasn't particularly good at it, but apparently it was just something that I did. Maybe I'll try and do that again, not so much serious drawing or anything, but just trying it out every so often

Comments

[rachelmanija]

I loved Robotech because it had women who fought battles and sympathetic characters died. And there was a plot arc. So cool.

But I didn't get into anime until I wanted to learn Japanese and figured it would be a painless way to do so. I watched Akira, was unimpressed, watched Fushigi Yuugi, and promptly became a raving fan. It just so happens that I have a particular thing for protagonists who aren't terribly special or talented or magical but just try really hard, and of course that's tremendously common in anime, but not so much in US TV.

[oyceter]

I only watched a few episodes, because for some reason, the TV channel only played a few, or so it seemed, but I really need to watch Macross now that the memories are back! I loved the Maxmillian-alien story, just because... dude, girl assassin.

I am so easy.

[rachelmanija]

Because of this conversation, I went to the video store to rent Macross. To my annoyance, they have put all the anime on VHS in storage, and are neither renting nor selling it because they're switching over to DVD only-- but they may or may not get all the series they had on VHS on DVD. Grrr.

I got the first discs of The Twelve Kingdoms and Mirage of Blaze instead. Seen either of tose?

[oyceter]

Doh!

I haven't seen either of the two, but am now very interested in The Twelve Kingdoms, thanks to your write-up.

[duchez]

Here by way of yhlee - hope you don't mind.

I just found your writing interesting, mainly because I grew up in Japan. Anime and manga were my basic childhood things - like you said, if you were in a doctor's room, or in any public room, there was plenty lying around, and I watched them on TV with my parents all the time.

I was a little annoyed moving to the US and realizing anime was very very small and select stuff. In college, my guy friends were so excited I liked anime that they took me along to their anime club meetings. (I went to a fairly large college, with a "strong" anime presence)

I was turned off within the first hour of being there - because of the porn tendencies and graphic violence. That wasn't *my* anime. No one really understood - and I don't think people still understand, even with the popularity of Miyazaki and others nowadays. People still seem to think the graphic violence as the "normal" which it isn't.

[oyceter]

No worries, it's always nice having people drop by ;).

It's hard to tell what is normal. I think the common perception here (at least in the past, before the current manga boom) that most anime was pornographic or violent was "normal" for what was here, but didn't really cover everything that there was in anime in other places.

But yeah, it was definitely very strange coming from a place where anime and manga were fairly prevalent to a place where it was much more of a cult thing! At least things are changing a little now... and I have shoujo to read, heh heh.

[moothril]

Hi, I wandered over here from metafandom. :D

[oyceter]

Hullo!

Awwww Sailor Moon!! I still have a soft spot for it, despite all the mockage, just because. Plus, cross-dressing/gender transforming Sailor Stars are just nifty, damnit.

Thanks for dropping by!

[oyceter]

Glad you enjoyed it! ^_^

[issuegirls]

Jumping into the conversation very late here, just to say that I live in South Africa, and we've only just started (as in, this year) to get manga in our bookstores. And even so, it's only one or two volumes of: Fushigi Yugi, Dragon Ball Z and something called Jeanne.

Still, it's a step forward, which is something. (just don't ask about the abysmal state of anime here. *shudders*)

[oyceter]

Jeanne? Huh, no clue! I wonder if it's Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, which is about a girl art thief who's also the reincarnation of Joan of Arc (don't ask me).