How come many of you are Manga/anime fans?

gustavofring

Well-known member
I'm not judging, I'm just curious why it seems that manga and anime seem to have a big draw amongst SA-people (judging by the many Anime profile pictures)

I myself am more into Western comic/animation culture. I've never really understood the appeal of anime apart from the Miyazaki films but am open to learning more about it. :)
 

tucktick

Well-known member
In my opinion Anime/manga have more developed stories/plots. They are more complex and creative than western comics, so you get more involved. Some of the best stories that come to my mind happen to be anime. Although, I'm a fan of western comics as well.
 

gustavofring

Well-known member
Personally I feel, and I don't want to generalize, that most anime art on visual level isn't really that diverse though, but more homogenous. It's all with the big eyes, and the same haircuts and overall the same drawing style, it seems. That is a bit of a turn off to me... Storytelling aside, because I have no idea of what the stories are like.

Of course the same could be said for Disney and cartoony Western traditions. But I find in the modern Western graphic novel/comic tradition, there is a bigger variety of art styles. More automony. Maybe the same diversity can be found in manga/anime that I'm not really aware of.
 
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WeirdyMcGee

Well-known member
I couldn't tell you.
I've been a fan since I watched Astro Boy as a toddler.
I think the main draw for me is that it's not 'everywhere'- it's something I'm not used to seeing everywhere I look.

Like; as a kid I loved Batman, Spiderman, Gargoyles, Spawn, He-Man, Thundercats, Transformers and so on... but anime wasn't as readily available.
I could only find some terribly dubbed shows on television like: Sailor Moon, 'Cardcaptors', Pokemon... and then I found VHS of Akira and Legend of Crystania at the local videostore and I was hooked.
The language was new, the art style was new, the symbolism and storytelling was new-- so I found myself more interested in seeking out VHS's of foreign movies and foreign cartoons.

Also; having been friends with all of the 'quieter' kids in highschool, I think that when you're more withdrawn and spend time alone, you often spend hours and hours playing videogames and watching television.
Nowadays, we have the internet and anime is extremely easy to access-- same with J/K/C-dramas.
Perhaps there are so many 'anime fans' here because we just so happen to have more time to waste than people who have an active social life?
haha



Oh-- and as for variety of styles in anime/manga; there are quite a few actually.
You can tell exactly who the artist is by the way they draw their eyes/feet in scale with the rest of the body-- also the detail put into shading and colouring tends to be a giveaway.
Most of the stuff on TV looks exactly the same these days, yeah.
...All Marvel/Darkhorse looks the same to me too, though.
(ohh--- and you can find/read manga all over the place online... but I don't know about reading western comic/graphic novels so readily-- unless you go to a comic book store in person and stand there and read. haha)
 
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gustavofring

Well-known member
but I don't know about reading western comic/graphic novels so readily-- unless you go to a comic book store in person and stand there and read. haha

Yeah I do that. I'm also not really into Marvel, or DC or any of that, I am a casual Batman fan (mainly the more well known graphic novels).
For the rest I really enjoy autonomous illustrated books (the ones that aren't produced by big American/Japanese studio's but rather smalltime illustrators who tell their own story). Thanks for the explanation.
 

da_illest101

Well-known member
I'm into both western and japanese animation and I think tucktick explain it the best. For example I'm a huge justice league and young justice fan and I trully think that pretty much episode are amazing but it's not a deep or as long as one piece for example

on a side note what do people consider avatar: the last air bender or the legend of korra ( saw the first two episode last night) a anime or a western show?
 
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WeirdyMcGee

Well-known member
Yeah I do that. I'm also not really into Marvel, or DC or any of that, I am a casual Batman fan (mainly the more well known graphic novels). .

Ohhhh, man... I went into a comic book store once when I was in college but left after scanning half of the store for what I was looking for because I was being stared and pointed at by everyone for being a girl in a dress and heels in the store.
I wish I weren't so terrified of people... and maybe lived within 100kms of a comic book store... and had a guarantee I wouldn't get stared at... then I'd go every day! :D

on a side note what do people consider avatar: the last air bender or the legend of korra ( saw the first two episode last night) a anime or a western show?

haha
Western definitely. The animation is different and the fact that it's animated FOR the English dub makes a big difference in how the final product looks.
I could tell it was American from the first 30 seconds I watched it years ago. XD
 

gustavofring

Well-known member
I have to say back when Pokemon Dragon Ball Z etc. became popular (Like 1999 or something? I was about 13) I never really hopped along with all that and the subsequent anime hype and people who got into the far more obscure series. I kept watching Pinky and the Brain, Ren & Stimpy and Dexter's laboratory and then got into movies more. I guess it just wasn't for me.
 

Scenic

Well-known member
This is going to sound so bad, and I am so sorry, because I want to give an honest opinion, but there's no nice way to say it.
From what I've seen by going to conventions/seeing posts from people/general online and personal knowledge, it seems a lot of anime/manga fans act like loud 12 year olds. They're not afraid to act out in public and say some...odd things in social situations, and I believe that could lead them to being ostracized/having few friends/being made fun of. As to why these type of people are drawn to anime/manga, is something that is probably really complex. It may be that it draws people in that are already different, and these people view it as different, so they watch it. It could be for the action/romance that they want their life to be like. I don't know. I know the reason I like anime is because they are somewhere in between cartoons and non-animated movies/shows. It has a complex/interesting plot, can be serious/not serious, looks pretty, have unrealistic things happen in them, are unique, and make me think 'wow, I wish my life was like that' or 'that's/they're so cool'.
From what I've said, I don't mean to offend anyone. I'm an anime fan, too, so I know we're not all like that. Just speaking from person experience.

Also, the statement about having more time to go on the internet is good explanation.
 

coyote

Well-known member
nothing can compare to the classic hollywood animation of the 1940's and 50's

Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, et al...

all drawn and painted by hand - every frame

and the characters and objects onscreen possessed real, believable weight and movement and operated according to believable physics within their environment with believable lighting

again, all drawn and painted by hand - every frame

no shortcuts

extraordinary
 

tucktick

Well-known member
on a side note what do people consider avatar: the last air bender or the legend of korra ( saw the first two episode last night) a anime or a western show?

I thought "The Last Airbender" was amazing. It was beautifully written and all the characters were brilliant. I don't really know where to place it. It was an American show produced by Nickelodeon animation, but it definitely had anime elements to it. I remember, when I first watched it, I thought it was a dubbed anime, but to my surprise it was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I think they perfectly implemented anime characteristics to a Western series.
P.S. - Sad to see Aang and the gang go away, nonetheless excited for "The Legend of Korra".
 
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gustavofring

Well-known member
Tex Avery and Chuck Jones are legends indeed! They really did phenomenal stuff with animation.

Those old masters are often overlooked or taken for granted I feel by current generations. But then again, times change, and so do audiences. Can't stop that. But I can still enjoy a good Looney Tunes every now and then.
 
I don't really watch much anime, but what I do watch, I really enjoy. I think it's partly because of the foreign/fantasy aspect of it- plus the plots sometimes don't make sense from a Western point of view, but I personally find it kind of intriguing, and stay glued to a story for that very reason.

I'm a fan of cartoons in general, though, and I think it's because it's not so much based on "reality." The further I can take myself from my own harsh/stark environment, the better.
 

gustavofring

Well-known member
plus the plots sometimes don't make sense from a Western point of view

Certainly not to me! It's completely foreign to me haha. To me it's mostly a lot of androgynous colorful characters who scream a lot and big mecha robots and ninja wizards and incomprehensible plots in futuristic settings.

Again this is what it looks like to me as an outsider. Just overwhelming and hard to relate to, maybe fueled by my western conditioning of what comics and cartoons should be like.

I read a bit about it and think I will give Cowboy Bebop a chance, since I've heard that's a good "entry" anime.
 

Gee-Em-Vee

Member
I enjoy both Japanese and western comics, same goes with animation, i guess being alone for several years, i just needed different forms of escape.

And now that I'm been exposed to the real world again (got a job, got into a relationship, got my heart broken) it feels like i want to go back to my old self, alone, just waiting each week for a new episode of a cartoon or a chapter of a comic book and not feeling so depressed like how i'm feeling now.
 
I read a bit about it and think I will give Cowboy Bebop a chance, since I've heard that's a good "entry" anime.

Cowboy Bebop is a good one. I think another thing that draws me into certain anime (and not others) is the fact that I enjoy the (usually) more subtle comedy as compared to that of the west. Although I do like western comedy (ala Looney Tunes) as well. Anything that makes me laugh (because I'd rather do that than cry any day).
 

GhastlyCC

Well-known member
I was reaaaaaaaaly into anime when I was in middle school /high school.
Not so much anymore really..Not sure why.
I still really enjoy a few(Death note,Hellshing,Trigun,Gantz)...But I'm mostly into the full length films now rather than series/seasons and such when it comes to "anime".
Akira is one of my favorite movies.

Dragonball and Dragonball z will ALWAYS hold a very special place in my heart.

nothing can compare to the classic hollywood animation of the 1940's and 50's

Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, et al...

all drawn and painted by hand - every frame

and the characters and objects onscreen possessed real, believable weight and movement and operated according to believable physics within their environment with believable lighting

again, all drawn and painted by hand - every frame

no shortcuts

extraordinary
Agreed!
The old Max Fleischer superman cartoons have been favorites of mine since I was a kid for that exact reason.
The animation is so nice looking.:)
Superman - The Mechanical Monsters (1941) - YouTube
 

gustavofring

Well-known member
Very nice indeed, but they did cheat a bit because they used rotoscopy :D. Still, very nice. Batman the animated series also drew a lot of infuence from the background style.
 
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