'Japanese anime destroying American society'

[Romana]

http://www.dailyemerald.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=7046ea82-2576-4a89-9eaa-689cd49439c3

Your opinions, please.


Absolute bullshit to me.

[Kebrel]

He argues that anime has no vaule? Has he ever watch Ranma 1/2, FMA,Paranioa Agent all of those are well known and have substence and there hundreds more. Besides Anyone who defends his/her side with:

Shows like "Flavor of Love" and "Hogan Knows Best" are watched by people who have already been stupid for years, even decades

Should not be taken seriously.

[dan_death]

I say this is bullshit, and he sounds like a hypocrite to me.

I thank god there's anime, so I don't have to put up with just Sponge Bob every god damn day.

[grey_the_angel]

I say this is bullshit, and he sounds like a hypocrite to me.

I thank god there's anime, so I don't have to put up with just Sponge Bob every god damn day.

yeah, I don't think I could go with some FSN

[grey_the_angel]

incidently, this give me a prefect opprotunity to ask people about something I need for a report on Eastern influenced animation become more of the main stream norm.

If you would, I'd like some thoughts on the subject on why western cartoons and comics are now failing in scope to stuff like Trigun and CCS

[dan_death]

Hmm...I don't know...maybe because most western, or I should really say American, cartoons are mostly just comedy and it's sort of getting old.  Probably because most anime has better color and animation? I really don't know, but I know I like anime better then any American cartoon.

Oh, and most anime has a story line. But not, basically all, the American cartoons.

[Kebrel]

I would say That A) translateing is easyer and cheaper then Creating A whole New Show,B) Anime is ment for all Ages unlike most western Cartoons Which Has An Audience Of 2-12 years old.C) thus Because B is true you could All so say that It Allows New Storys To be told, western culture would NEVER had given us our beloved Ranma 1/2.

Also although mangas are growing I wouldn't say there are replaceing, beating or even rivaling our comics.

[dan_death]

I wouldn't know about comics, because I've never read one. And I've only read one manga which was the one that came with my Special Edition Eureka Seven Vol. 1 DVD....and I got a t-shirt 

[ZeaLitY]

Simple. There was a long decline in American animation. Meanwhile, the Japanese became proficient at it and put faith in it to tell mature, thematic stories while in the 80s, US material turned into low-budget Saturday morning fodder (like Hammerman, though that was technically early 90s). So, as soon as Japan hits the right audience, you've got a new fanbase in America.

Blame American producers for not having more faith in the medium. Batman: The Animated Series proved the US can do it (even better in most cases when talking about that show).

[Kebrel]

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm brings back some good memories.

[nightmare975]

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm brings back some good memories.

Best animation of the fucking 90's I say. I can truly say that was an amazing movie.

[saridon]

More than 700 people, mainly school children, were rushed to hospitals Tuesday after suffering convulsions, vomiting, irritated eyes and other symptoms." Was it a gas leak at the local school? No. Were the kids breathing glue out of brown paper bags? No. Were they watching "Pokemon"

that episode was banned after it aired in japan don't know why the US media aired it despite knowing it  being banned for inducing seizures.

jesus he's as bad as that lawyer who has a fixation about video games being the cause of violence in teenagers, people are capable of defining whats reality and whats fiction...
that and comparing anime based of games and DBZ which is aimed towards a younger generation than intended  in america/australia/etc

and rugrats didn't teach life lessons unless you were born without common sense as this guy obviously was.
thsi guy should watch watership down he he's troubled by this stuff being shown to kids...

[Romana]

More than 700 people, mainly school children, were rushed to hospitals Tuesday after suffering convulsions, vomiting, irritated eyes and other symptoms." Was it a gas leak at the local school? No. Were the kids breathing glue out of brown paper bags? No. Were they watching "Pokemon"

that episode was banned after it aired in japan don't know why the US media aired it despite knowing it  being banned for inducing seizures.

That episode ("Electric Soldier Porygon") never aired outside Japan.

[Chrono'99]

The same claims happened in France in the 80s-90s when First of the North Star and Dragon Ball were first broadcast. Anime are now well-accepted here though.

[Thought]

What about Voltron?! Sure, it was altered for American audiences much like a veterinarian alters a non-breeding dog, but it was Anime what was part of American culture LONG before Pokemon was around. This guy should have at least tried a little research first.

Besides, though one can easily find faults in Pokemon, its "moral fiber" really isn't much of an issue. Every episode was (is?) overflowing with themes of good sportsmanship. If it was a choice between having children watch Pokemon or watch Barney/Teletubbies/whatever, I'd probably choose pokemon (hopefully I just won’t have to make such a choice).

But to play devil's advocate (as to why Western cartoons/comics have merit, not as to why Japanese cartoons are supposedly trash), American Cartoons have quite a bit of merit on their own and certainly should not be ignored. Pirates of Dark Water, Batman the Animated Series, Futerama, Gargoyles, X-Men, Red Planet (a miniseries), The Tick, King of the Hill, Justice League (and Justice League Unlimited) and if I can include Canada, reBoot are all wonderful examples of western cartoons. Each had splendid animation (for their respective time periods) and compelling plots. The list only gets longer the more generous we are with what we classify as compelling plots (Dextor's Lab, Animaniacs, Tinytoons, and Pinky and the Brain could all be added) There are plenty of poor cartoons, to be sure; Chuck Norris: Karate Kammandos comes to mind, but to classify American animation as in decline is rather curious given its artistic successes.

As for comics, there seem to be two reasons for the American decline. 1) Publishers drove fans away with poor writing and marketing, leaving only the diehard fans. 2) American comic talent also has other outlets nowadays.

Consider modern comics like Ultimate Iron Man (and the Ultimate universe in general) or Truth, Justin, and the American Way. These are top-quality comics with fantastic art and intriguing stories; it is no fault of the product that their fan base is less than the fan base of manga.

As for the new outlets, we shouldn't forget web-comics! PvP, Penny-Arcade, 8-Bit Theatre, Kidd Radd, Mac Hall/Three Panel Soul, It's Walky/Shortpacked (well, there are really 4 series there), and countless more have defined a new industry that shows potential for outdoing printed comics. Penny Arcade is so famous that the video game industry courts them like investors. The creator of 8-Bit has been able to use the fan base he created with his comic to launch his own novel and printed comic series. When the guy over at Goblin Comics asks for a few hundred dollars in donations, he gets a few thousand just because people love his work.

No, American cartoons and comics (and culture in general) are doing rather well. We are proficient and more than capable of telling mature stories.