The General Anime Thread...

[Cano]

A lot of stuff that's acceptable in Japanese culture still is just nowhere near in Western culture.

I think it all comes down to this. But from this we go to:

anime can be an excelent way to get somewhat accustomed to these things, not even in purpose, just because of the expossure. You'll still think some of these things are freaking weird but you will see them for what they are and not take them in a bad/offensive way. I don't know if I would call this open mindedness but I can't find a better term for it.

Still, for this and other things, Madoka never had a chance.

 

[AOS-]

If put up against people who shut off media that's new to them, I would probably call it open-mindedness myself.

 

[Cano]

If put up against people who shut off media that's new to them, I would probably call it open-mindedness myself.

But look, for example, at @Kent, that has been watching anime for 20 years and still can't bring himself to watch certain stuff. I dunno if that would make him closed-minded or not, at least I don't know if that's how you'd call it. It's a complex situation.

disclaimer: didn't mean anything harsh agains you, Kent. Jusu used what you said before as an example.

 

[Roger the Horse]

 

[Kent]

@Cano no offense taken.
Likewise, I think it's important to draw a distinction between being selective and being close-minded.
Saying I have no interest in Madoka isn't the same as being close-minded, if I was close-minded about Madoka it would be more like saying "there is no way that's adult content or mature, just look at the art"!
I'm not arguing that Madoka isn't mature or a great story, I'm just saying I'm not interested.

The art of anime was what drew me in all those years back and it's still the primary reason for any of my interest in anime/manga.

Heck, one of my more recent favorites only came up because of the art.
Sadly, no one on here talks about manga and I've never seen anyone mention this series...

Breaker (completed) and Breaker: New Waves (on going continuation)

Awesome story and art. 👍 👍

 

[Cano]

@Cano no offense taken.
Likewise, I think it's important to draw a distinction between being selective and being close-minded.

Yeah, I later on thought that it could simply be a question of pure taste/interest, but I was expecting your reply to comment about it. It indeed was, it seems. Altough believe me, you are seriously missing out with Madoka. If you're ever going to challenge your interests, you should with this show.

 

[nk4e]

@Imari , Seita is the boy. Setsuko is his sister. However,

The story is based on the semi-autobiographic novel by the same name, whose author, Nosaka, lost his sister due to malnutrition in 1945 wartime Japan. He blamed himself for her death and wrote the story so as to make amends to her and help him accept the tragedy.

Due to the graphic and truly emotional depiction of the negative consequences of war on society and the individuals therein, some critics have viewed Grave of the Fireflies as an anti-war film. The film does provide an insight into Japanese culture by focusing its attention almost entirely on the personal tragedies that wars give rise to, rather than seeking to glamorize it as a heroic struggle between competing ideologies.

Oddly, this could be easily summed up like food. First your going to look at it, smell it, then get an opinion before trying it. ( I sure do miss Filipino Food....)
@Kent : I remember when everyone was hooked on Blame! Manga. Or it could of been something else.

 

[Roger the Horse]

Hmm... I find I'm generally someone who prefers to have simple artwork in comics, hence why XKCD appeals to me. I find a lot of manga that I've read sometimes tries to display too much for a black and white image to hold. The first few volumes of the NGE manga were particularly guilty of this, although in later volumes Sadamoto calmed down. In terms of art my favourite comics were always those of Steve Bell, and in manga I'd have to say Azuma's stuff is generally the most interesting to me, with the subtle, yet prominent focus on simple, yet highly expressively drawn faces; combined with highly detailed backgrounds when they are called for, similar to Hergé's style but more Disney influenced.

 

[AOS-]

But look, for example, Kent[/USER], that has been watching anime for 20 years and still can't bring himself to watch certain stuff. I dunno if that would make him closed-minded or not, at least I don't know if that's how you'd call it. It's a complex situation.

Well I'm basically trying to establish a distinct difference between one that genuinely has no interest towards a particular genre and someone who deliberately avoids it for surface reasoning (and later judges it like they've seen it all). I always like to flesh out the small stuff so "complex" things don't become so complex or too dumbed down.

 

[nk4e]

Well I'm basically trying to establish a distinct difference between one that genuinely has no interest towards a particular genre and someone who deliberately avoids it for surface reasoning (and later judges it like they've seen it all). I always like to flesh out the small stuff so "complex" things don't become so complex or too dumbed down.

<= Judges and says they seen it all. It was the same example of Kannon vs Clannad. I liked its cute moments but eventually it did become the same thing for me. If Kent really doesn't want to see as a TV series, why not show a trailer?

Puella Magi Madoka Magica has won an Academy Award (or a Japan Academy Prize at any rate), and may yet be declared the most worthy anime movie of 2013.
2013′s 5 “Excellent Animation of the Year” awards go to Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, Captain Harlock and Lupin III vs Conan.
Unsurprisingly two awards also went to Ghibli works, with Kaguya-hime no Monogatari and The Wind Has Risen both getting awards.
Just which of the five will win the “Animation of the Year” overall prize will only be announced in March, although with no less than two Ghibli titles in contention puella magi Madocchi et Homura’s chances of success look slim.

 

[Lain]

Likewise, I think it's important to draw a distinction between being selective and being close-minded.

Close-mindedness is more like a subset of selectiveness. People can be selective for many different reasons, close-mindedness being one of those reasons.

I try to only be selective against shows that probably aren't worth my time. If a show is praised by critics and viewers alike, I'll likely give it a shot even if I don't particularly think it'll be my cup of tea. This is open-mindedness.

Close-mindedness would be being selective against shows that you don't think will be your cup of tea regardless of how good it might be, which sounds a lot like your situation with Madoka. You're just sticking to what you know you like instead of daring to try something different.

Now if someone likes green tea but tries and dislikes black tea, I'm not going to say that they should keep trying different brands of black tea. They clearly just don't like that sort of tea. But the thing is that as far as this tea analogy goes, there really isn't a whole lot out there that's like Madoka, so I find it unlikely that you've tried and disliked anything similar to Madoka. In which case, your presumption that you won't like Madoka because it doesn't seem interesting to you is like someone unwilling to try a new food that they've never tasted before.

 

[Roger the Horse]

You see, with anime, I generally try to sample one show from every genre (although I've watched two Shonen shows by now, and at least 3 mecha shows), and generally just gravitate towards whatever the most acclaimed show of that type is, and if I don't get on with that, I might try something else from that genre later on. I guess I like to have variety in my viewing. Watching one humongous mecha show doesn't generally leave me wanting to watch another, instead I might decide that I want to watch something cyberpunky and noirish instead.



The main problem I think I have with the anime I've watched is that now I find most monsters utterly disinteresting. I was watching Troll Hunter earlier, and although I thought it was a good movie, I couldn't help but feel that the trolls just seemed way too comprehensible. Give me Leliel or Walpurgisnacht any day of the week.

 

[Lain]

That said, mature themes or not, I'm pretty sure Madoka is a magic girl show isn't it? I mean, it might not be for children but it certainly features a story dominated by young girls with magical powers who transform into costumes. I mean, it's no sailor moon but the basic premise of magic girl still applies from what I can tell.

Yes and no. I don't want to delve into spoiler territory (puls I'm lazy and also it's been a while since I watched Madoka), so I'm gonna be vague here...

Yes because, out of the 5 lead "Magical Girls", most of them readily use their Magical Girl powers, which most certainly entails Magical Girl costumes... though it's not like Digimon (perhaps Sailor Moon as well? dunno never seen it) where the show is chock full of transformation sequences.

No because, contrary to Roger the Horse's claims, Madoka most certainly is a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre. To quote TVTropes:

"Puella Magi Madoka Magica is, for the majority of the series, a pretty thorough deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre. The premise starts simple. Young Naïve Everygirl Madoka and her Wide-Eyed Idealist friend Sayaka, are approached by Mentor Mascot Kyubey, and the relative Cool Big Sis Mami, where they are given the opportunity to become Magical Girls. In exchange, they are granted one wish, that can be anything they want, but they will have to fight demonic entities called witches for the rest of their lives. In addition, a Dark Magical Girl, Homura, is opposed to this, and is constantly trying to prevent the two from making a contract. Sounds reasonable enough. Then the show demonstrates exactly what happens to those young girls who are forced into fighting Eldritch Abominations with no chance at a normal life."

The main problem I think I have with the anime I've watched is that now I find most monsters utterly disinteresting. I was watching Troll Hunter earlier, and although I thought it was a good movie, I couldn't help but feel that the trolls just seemed way too comprehensible. Give me Leliel or Walpurgisnacht any day of the week.

Then you might wanna check out Eldritch Abominations on TVTropes...

 

[Roger the Horse]

I basically wrote TVTropes. (Well some of it, any way.)

Whenever I see @Lain's user name, I start wishing my user name was Arisu, partly out of reference to an anime I love, and partly because people wouldn't make the massive mistake of thinking that my name is Roger.

 

[Kent]

@Lain
I disagree.
What you're saying about me being "close-minded" is basically the same as saying I'm close-minded because even though I'm not sexually attracted to men, I'm being close-minded about giving homosexuality a chance simply because I never tried kissing another guy.

I'm not interested in magic girl anime, not wasting my time with a genre I don't like doesn't mean I'm close-minded, it means I just don't like every genre.

It's almost like we could trade out "magic girl" for the term "hentai" and immediately many of us would know "I don't like the genre so even though that series is supposed to have a great story and animation it just doesn't appeal to me since I don't like hentai."

In my eyes, close minded would be saying it's not possible that Madoka is a good show simply because it doesn't interest me.

I'm open-minded to the point of acknowledging Madoka may be a great show and story but that doesn't mean I have to like it or even try it since in the end, we watch anime and read manga for our own pleasure.

 

[Imari]

Madoka is magical girl in about the same way that Evangelion is a mecha show. It's the generic framework inside which something much more complex is constructed.

In both of them I feel that the magical girl/mecha aspect is distinctly secondary to the greater plot and character development, which is definitely not the case in "battle of the week" type shows.

If anything, I'd say Madoka was most similar to Steins Gate because of the weirdness/mind:censored: aspects of the whole thing.

 

[Lain]

@Kent
Since Madoka's a deconstruction of the magical girl genre rather than a magical girl show played straight, in your analogy of sexual orientation it'd be more like a tomboy. Looks/acts kinda boyish, but is most definitely still a girl.

Trust me, I have no interest in the magical girl genre either. Madoka, if you're still considering it a part of the "Magical Girl" genre at this point, is the first and only Magical Girl show that I've watched and it will probably remain that way.

 

[nk4e]

 

[Roger the Horse]

Yeah, having watched both Madoka and Steins;Gate pretty much back to back recently, I couldn't help but notice how similar certain aspects of their plots were, but while I felt Steins;Gate used that plot to achieve a more intellectual impact, Madoka used that more to have a more emotional, artistic impact. Both great shows, either way, although I personally prefer Madoka for its juggernaut pacing and trippy juxtaposed art style.

And I always find Madoka Magica's trailers hilariously misinformative. I'm honestly amazed that they weren't nicked for false advertising.

Also, Homura and Mami are badass. Seriously badass.

Yeah.

Actually, that brings up a point. I think it's interesting how, for a supposedly magical girl show, most of the fighting in Madoka Magica seems to be done using firearms, particularly in the case of Homura, who... Well:

From the Madoka Magica wiki:

"pipe bombs, IMI Desert Eagle, FN Minimi, Beretta 92FS, Remington 870, Howa Type 89, M26 frag grenades, flashbang grenades, RPG-7, AT-4, C-4 explosives"

That's the list of Homura's weapons.

 

[Imari]

Actually, that brings up a point. I think it's interesting how, for a supposedly magical girl show, most of the fighting in Madoka Magica seems to be done using firearms, particularly in the case of Homura, who... Well:

From the Madoka Magica wiki:

"pipe bombs, IMI Desert Eagle, FN Minimi, Beretta 92FS, Remington 870, Howa Type 89, M26 frag grenades, flashbang grenades, RPG-7, AT-4, C-4 explosives"

That's the list of Homura's weapons.

It's magical because either she's magicking them up, or she's pulling them out of her...*ahem*.

 

[LamborghiniSV]

@Imari , @AOS- , @Kent , @TheCorvette , @Technicolors and everyone else I missed,
Thanks for participating in this discussion.

 

[kennylmao]

@Imari I thought so. I didn't know of any characters named Imari either.

Actually, that brings up a point. I think it's interesting how, for a supposedly magical girl show, most of the fighting in Madoka Magica seems to be done using firearms, particularly in the case of Homura, who... Well:

From the Madoka Magica wiki:

"pipe bombs, IMI Desert Eagle, FN Minimi, Beretta 92FS, Remington 870, Howa Type 89, M26 frag grenades, flashbang grenades, RPG-7, AT-4, C-4 explosives"

That's the list of Homura's weapons.

And that's why Homura is the best.

Give it some time guys, @Kent will watch Madoka Magica eventually. It only took me what? 16 years to finally pick up Neon Genesis Evangelion. (And realize it's not so much of that Gundam super robot crap. ) Okay, I was a child for most of those years but still, I ignored it because of what I assumed it to be.

 

[AOS-]

^ speaking of, I've found a greater appreciation for the Evangelion series after noticing the writer's potential intent on driving strong emotions from its viewers. I like it even more so that it has developed huge love/hate reactions amongst many fans.

That's the list of Homura's weapons.

You forgot the golf club and the gas tanker truck.

 

[Techy]

Anyone watching Nagi no Asukara?

 

[Sly Guy]

Take my words out of context if you like.

Just the same I'll take your words out of context and point out how much you love an anime where 30 seconds into the opening sequence you see a 6y/o girl in here panties with garters and within another 15 seconds you see implied full nudity.

And so you want to make me into the weird one for feeling like that's creepy?



@ 27 seconds and 45 seconds. Really? :unamused:
Didn't even finish the opening.

Other than that bit in the opening sequence, that never shows up. It's probably there because, well, SHAFT does a lot of weird things.

That opening is the TV airing opening, and not the final opening. The opening released on disc is censored a lot more.

It was the most unsexy film I could think of with a young female in a leading role. Also, I misremembered Seita as female.

It's been a while since I watched that movie and I have absolutely no intention of watching it again. Amazing but horrific.

I have Grave of Fireflies on my shelf, and I don't intend to watch it.

Although another amazing show with a young, strong female role and isn't going to give you nightmares is Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.

 

[jacnob]

Kill la Kill is technically a Magical Girl show right? I'm not particularly interested in the genre either, but it fits the description.

 

[Roger the Horse]

Not really. Kill La Kill is basically a Shonen battle series.

It's magical because either she's magicking them up, or she's pulling them out of her...*ahem*.

Shield?

 

[DK]

The main problem I think I have with the anime I've watched is that now I find most monsters utterly disinteresting. I was watching Troll Hunter earlier, and although I thought it was a good movie, I couldn't help but feel that the trolls just seemed way too comprehensible. Give me Leliel or Walpurgisnacht any day of the week.

Leliel must have been a nightmare for the Japanese VAs to pronounce.

 

[jacnob]

Don't know why but I feel compelled to post what series I'm watching now.

I'm watching Evangelion (still because I stopped for a while), Kill la Kill(that goes without saying in my case), Psycho-Pass, and I'll probably watch Cowboy Bebop soon seeing as how nearly everyone loves it, and maybe Madoka for the same reason.

 

[AOS-]

Don't know what's all this about Kill la Kill not doing anything wonderful. I'm hella hyped for ep15.