There are a lot of lies, misconceptions, half truths, and completely WRONG statements out there to make people think many different things about the anime industry. Thanks to your self labeled Weeaboo, Otaku, Fanboys, Moe Fans, whatever you want to call them, information tends to get passed on ear to ear, and much like a badly played phone game, that information gets horribly twisted.
Recently I started looking over the anime discussions over at the forums, and I saw so many different perspectives, I was inspired to make a post.
Let's address a few of them.
1. Is the Anime Industry Dying?
No. No it's not, it's still going very strong on both shores, whatever you've heard. Yes, a few companies have gone under, but no, it's not because of the reasons you commonly think up. It's called bad licensing, releasing product poorly and spending a lot of money acquiring licenses that simply don't hit it off with fans. Just because a few companies go under doesn't mean a freaking thing, the gaming industry is grossing more sales then ever before in it's history and companies are still going out of business, one does not equate to the other.
Just because one company goes under (we're looking at you, Geneon), doesn't mean that every single company out there is hurting. In fact, last I checked some companies were expanding and increasing production, not shrinking.
2. Fansubbing is not policed, and you can get anything subbed on the net so why bother paying for it?
This is a multifaceted one. First of all, fansubbing is HIGHLY policed, but the Anime Industry and fansubbers alike follow a code of ethics and let each other off based on this. Fansubbers do what they do to provide content over here, to us non-Japanese types, that we cannot get over here because there's no translation. This is why your favorite subbers stop translating certain anime, it's not because it does poorly or they don't like it, it's because the series gets licensed. When a series is licensed they no longer push because we're going to get the content.
Anime companies know the power Fansubs have. They understand we get introduced to a lot of the anime we love through these venues and due to that, leave fansubbers alone for the most part as long as they aren't distributing shows that they're ready to sell us over here. If you really think they don't relate in any way, read this:
Anime News Network - Industry & Fansub Roundtable
3. Anime is horribly expensive and any boxed set is like, a hundred bucks!
Seriously, unfounded statements jsut cry out to be bashed. Yes, a new DVD tends to come out for around 20 bucks, but so does every other DVD on the planet. Anime however, degrades in value very quickly. For an example, I can walk into an FYE today and for 20 bucks pick up four volumes of anime for 20 bucks, because those volumes are several months old and have been reduced to 5 bucks a pop.
The reason for this is a popular form of distribution known as Slimpack Cases. Anime companies release an entire series as a boxed set shortly after the last volume makes it on the market, and they usually distribute these low cost sets for 30-40 dollars each.
4. You can't stream anime on the net. It's illegal.
Well, you can't. You're right, but you can legally watch some streaming anime for free, and even more if you're willing to spend a few bucks. Adult Swim and Funimation's websites are examples of free places to watch some streaming anime. If you're willing to spend the 5 bucks a month, I HIGHLY recommend you get over to NetFlix and get their basic plan. You can rent a single DVD as well as stream all the anime you want from their library. If you've got a 360 and a Gold Account, you can do it over your TV too.
5. "Subs before Dubs."
Seriously, I'm a Weeaboo, I advertise it, I for some reason carry this title with pride. I do not however, feel that subtitled anime is always hands down better then dubs. Personally, I love a lot of dubbed anime, I'm a huge fan of certain voice actors. You can easily enjoy dubbed anime over subbed, why? Oh I don't know, could actually watching the anime and enjoying the artwork possible stand up against reading words on the bottom of your screen all day?
Maybe, just maybe.
Look, the voice actors are NOT always better over in Japan, in fact sometimes the dubs are arguably better over here. Try both, then judge it. The dumbest critics are the ones that don't actually watch before they say if something sucks or not. And oh yeah, unless you've actually been seriously studying the language or speak it well, I highly doubt that you really, really get all the emotions and inflections placed in the Japanese acting.
I hope this addresses some of the ideas that people have about anime. No, I'm not going to get into quality, what people think about it in general, I'm just addressing facts here, not opinions, so "lulz teh anime suxxorz" comments need not apply. Thanks!
Yup. All correct. I myself
Yup. All correct. I myself find that I enjoy anime voices depending on what I saw first.
I enjoyed DBZ in english because I saw that first and got used to it. I watched Bleach in Jap and can't stand English although I did try. Cowboy Bebop was great in English especially with Spikes actor.
If I can get the dubb I
If I can get the dubb I watch the dubbed version. Sometimes, like Ghost in the Shell 2 and Girls High, there is no dubbed version and I'm forced to watch it subbed. I've never been the kind of fan that complains about American voice actors, in fact I think the vast majority of them are better than most Hollywood actors.
I recently watched Adventures in Voice Acting and it was very cool to see and hear some of my favorite voice actors. I highly recommend it to any fan of anime who's interested in the process. You'll definitely have more respect for them.
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?
Diggers pop each other's backne
Anime is 99% slave labor:
http://www.filthyrichmond.com
i don't get DBZ
I consider DBZ the best and worst fighting show ever. You get constipated, THEN kick ass
Yes, the industry is crashing.
Gotta say, if the anime industry isn't dying, it's definitely hurting. Geneon closed its doors, ADV has made some really stupid decisions, they've dropped products only to have FUNimation come and pick them up, ALL of the companies have had hardcore layoffs (this even includes manga companies such as Tokyopop), etc. Although, I have to say, it's true that some companies are "expanding". I was told by voice actor Greg Ayres that everything coming out in Japan in 2008 has completely been bought up and licensed. However, that's probably part of where the problem lies. It's an over saturation of a still somehow "underground" market. But it would also be lying if we said that anime wasn't hurting because we are stealing. Shinichi Watanabe, better known as Nabeshin for his appearance in Excel Saga, attended a convention that I also attended this past year, and he told his audience at a panel that not getting paid for what he does makes him not want to continue animating anymore. That's right, animation, while being fun, is also someone's livelihood. So, that being said, no, it's not all just one thing that's killing it. I actually think that it's actually a combination of licensing too much, bad along with the good, and then the stuff that SHOULD be selling isn't because people still download/stream/bittorrent.
The rest, I'm in complete agreement with you.
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ADV Dropped a few titles,
ADV Dropped a few titles, but they've also added a lot more in that gap and then some. I had the luck of getting to talk to an executive in ADV at AWA 2008 this year, and well, no, they're not falling apart in the slightest.
And many companies have had layoffs, but not all of them. That's another exaggeration, what I mainly covered. Many companies are actually expanding offices and hiring on more people, once again, just because some companies are failing does not mean they all are. This is the typical exaggeration that occurs with any backtrotting in any economic circle.
As for things not selling due to piracy... I still have to disagree there. I commonly hear the excuse of "it SHOULD" be selling, where in reality it just didn't sell. If it's not strong enough to attract a consumerbase, it's not strong enough, no amount of finger pointing changes that. Heck, let's go super general and look at Naruto, one of the most heavily digitally distributed fansub and pirated anime out there... also one of the top selling franchises on the market. There are many such examples out there to apply to this, they all match up.
And I continue to disagree.
And I continue to disagree. Do you really think that a high staff member wants to tell you that they're doing poorly?
However, I will admit, it is a good sign that most companies are FINALLY choosing to get serious and get digital.
And, also, do you really think that people will purchase what they can get for free? I unfortunately think that there's only two kinds of people who actually purchase these days - 1, people who seriously care about the project, and 2, people who still aren't well knowledged about how to acquire digital fansubs (because, yes, hard to believe, but those people do still exist).
But, that's not really worth my arguing over. Truth of the matter is, it could be healthier, and I DO think that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I DO think everyone is starting to save themselves, especially in light of Crunchyroll finally getting deals to LEGALLY distribute streaming subtitled anime.
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I'm really only going to
I'm really only going to bother pointing out that the average consumer still thinks Napster is illegal. I don't know what mass utopia of technology you hail from, but most people in the world don't know how to torrent, how to get at digital distributions, and are happily paying 14-16 bucks an albumn still, and they don't even get the disc or wrapping with iTunes.
The kind of person that purchases things these days is... well... still the average person.
While you are right that the
While you are right that the average person does not know crap about digital distribution, anime still is a small enough fandom that the number of people who DO know about it can really do damage to it. Anime fans tend to understand how that sort of thing works better than many other average people.
Anime only makes up for between 1% - 2% of America's entertainment industry. That's why every little bit hurts.
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Yeah, Anime fans need to buy
Yeah, Anime fans need to buy DVDs to support the work they love. It's just like games and movies only the market is so much smaller that piracy could kill the industry.
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?
Not bad
I totally agree with you. Been a fan since 1996 and have no intention of giving it up. I also really agree with you on fan subbing. You don’t know how many shows I bought because I watched a few episodes online.
Good blog
I appreciate blogs on this kind of topic. I know you didn't want to speak of the quality of anime, but I would definitely be interested in reading one if you wrote it. Since your arguments are well thought out and explained.
As much as I hate the Kirby
As much as I hate the Kirby dub, I do admit that there are good things about it. The transformation music is awesome, and I really like Escargoon's voice. Also, while a lot of the puns and gags are lousy, some of them are really funny. There are certain episodes of the Kirby anime that I actually prefer the dubbed version. (Such as Watermelon Felon) I also say that you should watch the dubbed and the subbed versions of anime as each version usually have something better over the other. It's just such a shame that they didn't keep any of the awesome soundtrack from the Kirby anime.
So true about the Japanese vs Dub thing!
Sure some dubs are a bit meh, but there are some really top-notch ones [i.e. Cowboy Bebop, FullMetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion].
Come and check out 'ScrewAttack g1s Unite", the UNOFFICIAL ScrewAttack g1 chat room.
Ah yeah, FullMetal Alchemist
Ah yeah, FullMetal Alchemist had a great English voice cast from what I remember. There needs to be more high quality anime's like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo etc.
You missed one. 6. "Most new
You missed one.
6. "Most new anime are for showcasing 12 year-old panty shots."
I know that's not the truth, but it feels like it. That's kept me from checking out some of the newer series.
I'd have to disagree that
I'd have to disagree that the industry is still strong, it might not be in an immediate crisis but things have steadily been getting worse and sooner or later its going to end up collapsing in on itself. DVD sales have been in decline and despite how much subbing is part of the culture bottom line is it hurts profits. Most of the money those companies make have to come from DVD sales, plushies and keychain accessories aren't really going to help much =P
Ask any person who works in that business and they are going to tell you one of two things needs to happen in the next few years to turn the situation around.
-First option is that fansubbing and illegal downloading need to stop completely, and it'll be a cold day in hell before people give up free goods.
-The second is that the industry itself needs to change and adapt, possibly gravitating more towards digital downloads and a kind of "iTunes" service for anime where you would have to pay a small fee per episode.
If your a fan of anime, try to support the people who make the stuff. Buy a DVD every once in a while from your local store, every bit helps. To be frank, if your someone who downloads everything and has never bought a DVD then your part of the problem.
I agree with this.
I agree with this. Even if SOME DVDs are still selling, digital downloads still hurt profit to some extent. However, I don't think we'll be able to stop fansubbing and illegal downloading in its tracks, but I do think that the industry can, will, and is making their way to a digital medium, which will help them in the long run.
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Well I like DVDs sitting on
Well I like DVDs sitting on my shelf so I hope that if they go digital I'll still be able to buy box sets. In English dubb of course.
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?
That's true, I will STILL
That's true, I will STILL prefer to purchase DVDs over going digital because the collection looks that much more impressive, and it's something I can be proud of.
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One thing
Not to say anything but the people who watch episodes on tv and don't buy dvds would be part of this "problem" as well. There's a chance that don't help piracy at all. How did anime companies survive before the time of buying tv shows like movies. Even though it would help the companies if ppl like us supported them through buyng dvds and plushies and what not, i think the main problem could lie somewhere else....not in us buying shit from them
This is how TV anime makes money.
An anime company like ADV sells their show to a TV channel like Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network sells advertising time during those shows. People watch the shows, see the ads, and buy products. The more popular the show the more money the network charges for the advertising and the better the renewal contract is for the anime company.
That's the theory. Ratings factor in and since everyone in the US isn't tracked by Nielsen Media Research good shows unwatched by the few tracked families get canceled while crap shows they do watch stay on the air. Things are changing thanks to independent market research and cable/dish tracking and TIVO.
If anime was more popular in North American and if more anime was on TV than their respective companies wouldn't need to sell as many DVDs. Make profit on a TV series and DVD/Merchandise is all just gravy.
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?
What really bothers me about
What really bothers me about dubs, is that some animes get sensored and/or changed when they are dubbed. Mostly because religious, sexual or regional prefrenses. Usually fansubs stick to the original story more.
What I really enjoy as fan subs are the tokusatsu's. For examble Kamen Rider Den-O is one of the best television shows I have ever seen.
Also because I am finnish, I am used to reading subs, because nothing gets dubbed in here (except some childrens shows). It is like second nature. You do it with out thinking about it.
Exactly!
Here in Portugal its the exact same thing. Only kids shows and movies are dubed.
And as you say, it is like second nature, you arent paying that much attention to the subs to the point of not seeing the actual show/movie.
Lol, anime industry dieing
I think anyone who says that needs to take a look at Sunrise, they're doing amazingly even through the recession. With titles like Code Geass, Gundam 00, and other things on their horizon to come out they're not going to be hurting for a long time in any way.
It's all about whether or not they can get the big shows, and there's always going to be big shows in Japan and to a lesser extent here in America so no, anime is not going to die.
EDIT: Also in Japan anime DVDs are like 60-70 bucks, they're not something that tons of people buy, they're just a collectors thing that companies don't really rely to much upon for revenue.
Sunrise does so well because
Sunrise does so well because they, unlike ADV, don't license everything under the sun. They're being smart and licensing big name stuff that people will surely love, not every big breasted, panty shot infested piece of crap they can find.
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The hole dub debate in anime
The hole dub debate in anime was never a big deal to me. I prefer subtitles, but since most dvds contain both English and Japanese voice tracks, I don’t see how a viewer could not be satisfied with that.
Great Blog
Great blog, it's been a while since I've talked about anime, mostly cause alot of new anime just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I need more Neon Genesis Evangelion, Escaflowne, Slayers, Dragonball, and other shows like that. Where are the giant robot shows of late? I mean what if a giant monster attacks earth again? We need more giant robots. I prefer dubs myself, but I watch either, even if I like the Japanese actor better, I want to focus on the art and actions of the show, not read a book. Oh and if anyone can tell me of new similar shows to the ones i listed, please feel free to list them.
You may want to give code
You may want to give code geass and gurren lagann a shot,They defiantly sound like They’d be right up your alley. PS. gurren lagann would make for one hell of a game…in the right hands of course!
Hands
Those hands being not the people that make the Gundam games *shudders*
I herd that capcom made some
I herd that capcom made some good ones.
There are three Gundam games
There are three Gundam games I like. The Blue Destiny trilogy for Sega Saturn and Rise From the Ashes and Federation Vs Zion for the Dreamcast. Capcom made that last one, it's kind of like an arcade game.
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?
Gurren Lagann game...
There actually is one, it's just Japanese only and was quickly made because Gainax likes to make great series and then a ton of crap about them afterwards to just get money out of them.
But I agree that if a good company tried a TTGL game could be awesome.
Nice blog ; )
2. God bless fan subs. Some are really way over the top and far better then the ones showed on TV around here. Some even have side notes on cultural and language references! Dont know about the States or other countries, but I have never seen such detail on subs made by "pros". Other thing happens with subs made for the few anime showed on TV around here, and its something that I absolutely hate: try to had something to the subtitles that arent being said on the anime in the first place in a effort to make it "sound" better but just fails and ends looking off place.
3. Now with this I cant completely agree, since this isnt true for every country, including mine. Here in Portugal it isnt half as easy to find box sets, and when you do find in specialized stores, normaly are imported versions and so way over priced. It isnt exactly hard to find anime, but normaly its only one DVD with 4 or so episodes, almost never Box sets. And buying separated DVDs rather then BS, that becomes even more expensive.
5. This is other great truth. As you and many others, I choose subs from dubs any day of the week, but I also consider that some series and movies have great English voice acting. Besides the ones you have already mentioned, Hellsing for example.
The argument that "I want to watch something, not read a book" that many people seem to use, I cant understand, but thats because I have been "reading books" on TV since for ever, so I am already so used to it that isnt a problem.
Having almost completely "dubed free" TV is something that I have only seen in my country. And you know what? This has been one of the things that helped me greatly to learn english, french, japanese and a bit of german.
EDIT: wait, now I know other country that treats subs and dubs like mine, Finland. Thanks LocuraMortal :P
Haha
Almost read my mind!
~Stan
Just to add something a
Just to add something a little bit off topic, I have just noticed that the popular subbing group Dattebayo announced that they are ceasing to sub anymore episodes of the Naruto series out of respect for the new legal ways to watch it online.
I respect them for making that choice, hopefully this will be the start of licensing companies following Viz's example and offering alternative/legal ways for people to watch their favorite shows online.
For the record, I am not a
For the record, I am not a huge anime fan. I watch some and I enjoy what little I see but I am to big into it. But I enjoy this blog cause it made me look at things in a differant light. Especially about the fansubbing.
Anyways, about the voice acting part. I agree that people need to give both a listen before they decide which is better quality. But it also comes down to what you are used to for a certain character. For instance, my first time watching Evangelion it was all fansubs. WHen I eventually bought the DVD I tried listening to the English voice over. It wasn't bad by anymeans but since I already had Shinji's and everyone else's voice already known so hearing it in a differant voice sounded awkward.
Its like watching an anime in English with a certain voice cast then halfway through the show they hire new voice actors. Same thing. Doesn't matter if its from Japanese to English or vice versa or just plain old English. If you are used to a character sounding a certain way that is what you are used to and will more likly prefer.
Yeah I hate when they change
Yeah I hate when they change voice actors in the middle of a show or even just for the movie. Some of the Slayers movies did this and I totally prefer the original English voice actor of Lina.
Japanese voice actors don't stick with me for some reason. If I watch an anime in Japanese and then switch to English it doesn't effect me. It all sounds like gibberish to me and I forget what it sounds like as soon as its over.
I prefer even mediocre English voice acting to anything in another language. Subtitles seem pointless to me in anime since lip flaps are easy to time English dubbing to. Live action movies and to a lesser extent 3D animated films are a different story since the lip syncing issue is much more problematic.
It really seems like a non-issue to me since most anime DVD releases come with both audio tracks. I do hate how elitist otaku act like if you don't watch the original Japanese track you're not really an anime fan.
I say the Japanese get to experience anime in their native tongue so it's only fair that I experience it in the same manner, in my native tongue.
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?
I see your point. As far as
I see your point. As far as I am concerned, if you like the anime and are enjoying it, then consider yourself an anime fan. Nobody can tell you otherwise no matter what language you watch it in.
When it comes to non animated films, foreign films and such, that is where I would definatly prefer sound to be in the original language. Cause like you said, the dubbing with the lip sync looks horrid but I also find that watching it in whatever langauge can help immerse you in the world that the film is portraying. Especially if the film takes place in said country. But that is my preferance.
Off topic on anime, I know. But on topic for subbing/dubbing. So there :p
Subbers almost never stop subbing
In any anime I've watched, the subbers have never stopped subbing due to licensing issues....for example bleach, naruto, xam'd, d.grayman (even though I'm not sure if it's started here....I do know it's licensed though), etc. I know I'm pointing out pretty mainstream animes (minus xam'd I think) but it proves my point even more....If the companies aren't going to stop the subbers with these huge animes, y would they stop them with small ones
Just my 2 cents
As an fansubber. This all
As an fansubber. This all depends on the group who is doing it and what kind of people are working on it. A lot of groups continue shows under different names but a lot drop them as well. As in the groups I have worked we were all people from different nationalities and we found US license which did not apply to a lot of us since they are not worldwide. So this was not reason to drop our shows. As there are other people out there were these shows do not reach them. We do give people the choice if they wanna keep working on the show after licensing or if they wanna drop it.
There are also a lot of subbers who keep going until they get C&D from one of the companies. As happening now recently Funimation is sending out C&D's for japanese companies.
I personally don't like
I personally don't like anime all that much, at least as a genre. I normally get the whole "You just haven't found one you like" thing, but that's not it. I've seen a few enjoyable animes in the past, don't get me wrong there are some good ones, but I like to look at any type of animated media equally. It doesn't have to be anime to be good, there's so many different art styles out there and it doesn't matter what it is as long as the content is good.
I wish all animated media was looked at as equal forms of entertainment, as a single industry, not as different genres although the only one with a name that I can think of is anime. I know that's a long-shot, and I'm probably wrong as I'm not an anime expert, but that's my perspective on it. I'd rather see lots of animated shows with different art styles, all being successful, as opposed to an oversaturated genre all in one place.
I wouldn't call anime a
I wouldn't call anime a "genre". I would call anime a style. Anime covers lots of genre. Maybe you just don't like the animation? How many different genres in anime have you covered? Do you just not like them all?
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I just don't like the style,
I just don't like the style, although there are times when the style fits the story perfectly.
And you're right, it's more of a style than a genre. However when I look anywhere online or in a store at dvds there is Drama/Horror/Comedy/Cartoon/Anime, and after seeing that so often I tend to consider anime it's own little genre.
As for animes I have seen, I can't even name them off the top of my head since it's been so long. I started in the 90s watching vampire-themed anime from the 80s, and Ghost in the Shell, and some others that I was interested in particular.
I know you didn't name very
I know you didn't name very many, but the couple you named seemed like sci fi/fantasy. What genre DO you like? I admit to not liking a lot of things other people love, but I've always found something I can enjoy. Then again, that's just me. I also consider myself to be a person who always HATED anime until about 5 years ago, most notably the animation style. But when I found what I liked, I was hooked.
I know you said that people always give you the, "You just haven't found the right one," schpeal, but I just wonder if perhaps there IS something for you out there...? If you know what kind of stuff you like outside of anime, there just might be one of its equivalent within anime, too.
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I really don't have a
I really don't have a particular genre that I like in anything, I'll watch almost anything as long as it's decent. A couple animes I remembered were Vampire Hunter D and Warrior of the Wind, as well as Cowboy Bebop.
I'm just not much of an anime fan, I don't particularly like the style at times, especially considering what the guy who commented below mentioned. What he said are the major turnoffs I come across with anime, it's just not my thing, other times it's simply that I'm just not impressed by it.
As far as the art style goes, the more detail that's in it, the better. I'm somewhat turned off by the superdeformed characters, even though there is obviously so much detail put into the beautiful backgrounds and areas, I can't help but wish that detail was put into the character models.
I don't mean to disrespect anime in general, or to sound shallow, it's just rare that I find an anime I like.
I know you're probably not
I know you're probably not looking for recomendations but if you ever get the chance to check out Monster, do so. It has almost NONE of the things people usually hate about anime.
NO annoying big heads when characters get angry
NO humor based off Japanese puns
NO fanservice (exploitative shots of women in compromising positions)
NO children as lead characters (there is a kid, but he's just a kid, and he's not annoying like most anime children tend to be)
NO excessive Japan-ness (takes place in Germany)
The story is about a doctor working in Germany who saves the life of a little boy, only the boy ends up becoming a serial killer. Now the doctor who has been caught up in a massive cospiracy goes off to try and find this kid. Along the way he weets several different characters, each one mature, well rounded, and fully realized, and the whole story sort of weaves itself together beautifully. It's one of those shows that gives you more the more you watch. It's also very slow paced, a thinking person's anime. It's the very definition of mature universal storytelling in animation. Give it a look see if you can.
Also if you enjoy it and feel like reading, 20th century boys by the same author is not only one of the best mangas, but one of the best graphic novels period I've ever read.
"Between believing a thing and thinking you know is only a small step and quickly taken."
Thanks for the
Thanks for the recomendation, I'll definitely check it out since everything you listed is a main turnoff that I have with most anime.
I also suggest Grave of the
I also suggest Grave of the Fireflys. In the list above, none of that is in the film so that's a bonus. The film takes place in World War II. A Japanese boy and his little sister try to survive a WW2 Japan. There is no anti-nuke or anti-war propaganda like you might expect from a Japanese themed WW2 film. Its just a boy and his sister living their lives trying to survive it. The movie made me smile, it made me laugh, and it made me cry. Animated or not, the movie has a great story to tell.
Animation
"NO annoying big heads when characters get angry
NO humor based off Japanese puns
NO fanservice (exploitative shots of women in compromising positions)
NO children as lead characters (there is a kid, but he's just a kid, and he's not annoying like most anime children tend to be)
NO excessive Japan-ness (takes place in Germany)"
But I love all that stuff!
My first anime was Akira and I loved it, than came Ghost in the Shell and I loved it even more. That was back when we still called it "Japanimation". Anyway I didn't really get into anime until I watch Galaxy Express 999, it's sequel, and the rest of the Harlock saga/universe. After that I found myself preferring stuff like Miyazaki's work even though I'd still watch more adult anime and I'm a huge fan of original Gundam as well as some of the newer Gundam. Right now I'm primarily buying and watching comedy anime like Azumanga Daioh, Full Metal Panic!, School Rumble, etc.
I don't really have a point so I'll just make one up. Anime is so rich in sub-genres there really is something for everyone, even for followers of "Rule 34", ewwww
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I'm an old school gamer, but I'm still hip. Wait, when referring to oneself as, "Hip", does it reverse its meaning?