Ask about Anime

[doormouse11]

wait, wait.... You've seen ALL of hamtaro??! For everyone who has never seen hamtaro....

[i_h8_evil_stuff]

Not all. Most of it.

By the way, the japanese text over that picture reads as Hamutaro.
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[i_h8_evil_stuff]

Updated first post. I've alphabetized the shows, and I've added what I've started watching recently:

Finished:
.hack//Infection

Not yet finished:
.hack//Mutation
.hack//Legend of the Twilight
Happy Lesson
Initial D
Steel Angel Kurumi

Mangas:
Tuxedo Gin ('Gin' pronounced with a soft g, not like the drink.)
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[i_h8_evil_stuff]

http://www.greylabyrinth.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=6635
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[Tyrannic]

Ohh, where to begin.

Anime has a rather interesting history which I think is lost on a lot of modern enthusiasts, which is a shame in my eyes, because understanding the culture behind it makes most Anime series a lot more interesting. The Manga movement started in the mid 1960s as an underground form of rebellion, before that Manga was basically just comics for kids. The deep stuff came out around this period. Anime is quite simply a moving adaptation of Manga style, when Animation was introduced from the West, hence the katakana word 'Anime' (derived from Animation, duh).

Because the basis of the Anime genre feeds from the original rebellion, most Anime series have a very strong feel of incongruency, serving to bolster the escapism. This is why Anime series like Fruits Basket, FLCL, etc. seem to be so incredibly over the top - because they are written that way! This is not lost on the Western fanbase, it's the same reason why some people watch soap operas. I just prefer Anime

One of the more interesting Feature Films, I think, is Spirited Away. The dubbed version does not do any justice to the original, so if you have a choice, it's subtitles all the way, baby. It helps to have some background knowledge regarding Japan's history, particularly Edo Japan and the Yoshimaru pleasure district. There are a lot of facets in Spirited Away that are related to Japanese history, and you will take a lot more away from the Film, I believe, with these facts in mind.

Otherwise, Neon Genesis (of course) is great, RahXephon, Ninja Scroll (ever the classic), Slayers, Slayers Next and Slayers Try are a lot of fun as well. And I'm aware these are not Anime, but Ringu, Ringu 2 and Ringu 0: Birthday are fantastic! The western remake was pathetic compared to the original.

Oh, and there is no acute on the e. Sorry, but there isn't. Katakana script exists in Japanese to account for adapted words. The word as it is in Japanese, when adapted in Romaji (Romanised characters) becomes Anime.

Oh PS: I only know this because I have been speaking Japanese for the last 10 years, and studying Japanese History and Culture for the last 4. Just mentioning that so you know I'm not talking out of my ass or anything.
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Fury said to a mouse, that he met in the house, "Let us both go to law, I shall prosecute you! Come I'll take no denial, we must have the trial, for really this morning I've nothing to do!"

Said the mouse to the cur, "Such a trial, dear sir, with no jury or judge would be wasting our breath." "I'll be judge, I'll be jury," said cunning old Fury, "I'll try the whole cause and condemn you to death!"

Lewis Carrol

[Vinny]

Hi Tyrannic, welcome a board!

Mind posting a few Japanese historical/culture ties in Spirited Away? I know that they were there but don't know enough about Japaneses history & culture to recognize them. I get the general hinting of historical ties, such as the abandoned Theme Park (Japan has lots of these), the traditional bathhouse, some of the spirits that visit, the power of a name, etc, but anything more specific that you can point out would be awesome!

[Vinny]

[edit]oops, forgot about post 156[/edit]

[Tyrannic]

Historical references eh? Hmm. *thinks*

There are a lot of throwbacks to the Yoshimaru district, and what was known as the "floating world" (Ukiyo) which is sort of similar to the way montmartre is portrayed in the film Moulin Rouge. The Yoshimaru district was in Edo Japan (modern Hokkaido) and was the pleasure district, full of tea houses, restaurants, theatres, and more. This was a world of decadence and hedonism, full of lavish fabrics and rich colours, very plain to see in Spirited Away's bathhouse.

One of the many residents of old Yoshiwara were the courtesans, called Tayuu (or Oiran, depending on their rank. There was a heirarchy you see), and the 'Slugs' as the waitresses are referred to in Spirited Away, retain a lot of the same characteristics. You will notice that they don't wear socks with their sandals. As with Western culture in the 18th and 19th century, the foot was seen as something forbidden and sensual, so while the Geisha were always extremely modest and well dressed (and NOT courtesans, despite what you may hear) the Tayuu didn't really have much cause for modesty!

Something else of note is the speaking style. I don't know how many of you can speak Japanese but there are three styles of speech. Teineigo, which is pretty much just everyday Japanese, Kenjougo, used when referring to yourself in a humbling matter (like when speaking to your manager for example) and Keigo, which is extremely polite speech used when speaking to higher-ups and customers. The 'Slugs' and 'Frogs' in Spirited Away speak primarily in Keigo, something quite remeniscent of both Yoshiwara and the modern Hostess bars of Tokyo. Speaking in this style is rather massaging to your guest's (whom is usually male) ego, making him feel very important and powerful.

I think that's the bulk of it! Oh, also the gods that frequent the bathhouse, are (I'm pretty sure) Shinto gods, Japan's first religion before the Portuguese came and introduced them to Christianity (which never really took off). If anyone was wondering how there could be eight million gods frequenting this bathhouse, it's because even though Shinto is a polytheistic religion, they bear more similarity to the English word spirits rather than gods. What I'm trying to say is that there can be more than one of the same kind. This is why you see groups of spirits who look the same, a handful of water spirits here, a gathering of tree spirits there, etc.

And just as an interesting side note, the Raddish spirit has a soy sauce dish for a hat. I think that's really cute
_________________
Fury said to a mouse, that he met in the house, "Let us both go to law, I shall prosecute you! Come I'll take no denial, we must have the trial, for really this morning I've nothing to do!"

Said the mouse to the cur, "Such a trial, dear sir, with no jury or judge would be wasting our breath." "I'll be judge, I'll be jury," said cunning old Fury, "I'll try the whole cause and condemn you to death!"

Lewis Carrol