Friday, March 20, 2015

Fandom Friday: ANIME

Anime is Awesome, Neat, Interesting, Magnificent, and Exciting!




 For those of you who may not know, or fully appreciate the Japanese cultural phenomena that is anime; here are five reasons why you should be watching it.



1. AWESOME STORYTELLING!
Every anime that I have seen or heard about tell the most interesting, action packed, romantic, or crazy stories.  The story lines are so well written, that people are always begging for more.  No matter how outrageous or just plain weird an anime is, the story is compelling enough to keep you invested.






2. NEAT CULTURE EXPOSURE!
When watching an anime, you not only get invested in some pretty epic stories, but you also get a sense of the Japanese culture through their storytelling, character design, dialogue, and animation.  I am not an anime "purist," I watch anime that is dubbed in English, not the ones with the original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles.  No matter how you watch it, you pick up on the Japanese language and culture in a very fun and unique way.



3. INTERESTING CHARACTERS!
 I can't tell you how much I absolutely love several anime characters!  Every character is complex and complicated, but in the best way possible.  Also, anime loves to play with gender and stereotypes.  Don't be surprised if your watching an anime and you come across a character that is transgender or agender.  And since anime characters are written so well and so realistically, it is easy to become very attached to them...so if anything happens to those characters, you feel it too.  I have cried so hard, so many times over the trials and deaths of my favorite characters.  So many feels! 


4. MAGNIFICENT WORLDS!
The imagination and the clear dedication that goes into making a whole new world for each anime to take place is absolutely astounding!  No two anime worlds are the same.  Each one is unique, no matter if the anime is fantasy based, action/adventure based, or  romantic based.  From all the anime that I have seen or heard about, each one takes place in a special, remarkable world and it is so much fun learning all about those worlds and how they work.


 

 5. EXCITING ANIMATION!
Alright, let's talk about the animation for a minute.  Each anime has its own unique animation style, but what makes anime fun is that the animators are not afraid to break from that style for the sake of humor.  There are definitely some animation stereotypes like line blushing and glasses flashing white when the character moves, it's all fun.  Even the more serious anime will have moments of absolute absurdity and it will be intensified by a slightly more cartoon-like animation style. 


 So the anime/manga fandom: or otaku is one that is dedicated, loyal, obsessive, weird, and hilarious and being a part of it is just so much fun.  It is like being a member of a secret club, especiall ywhen you make specific anime references...but it is like that with every fandom.  Anyways, have you watched any anime?  If so, which one(s) or if not WHAT ARE YOU DOING, GO WATCH SOME ANIME!  Keep an eye out for my next post and I will see ya when I see ya!
 

 

8 comments:

  1. Yay! Anime! can't help but say that except "Fairy Tail," I've watched all other anime you showed above!!! I am a SUPER anime fan! And I became that since I was 10... The anime that drew me into this crazy world is Naruto. The show always remains the top in my heart and I have been following it for 11 years in my life...I almost feel like I grew up together with it... What is your favorite anime?

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  2. My experience with anime is mostly limited to the ultra-violent stuff from the 80s and 90s like Vampire Hunter D and Ghost in the Shell. My friends and I were really into them in high school. I just re-watched Akira recently. The animation is still breathtakingly beautiful, but wow are some of those older titles sexist, if not downright misogynistic. It's crazy. I need to watch some of these newer anime movies and series. I've heard many good things about Attack on Titan and Full Metal Alchemist. Do you read any manga?

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    1. If I had all the money and time I wanted, I would read all the manga...but alas, I have not been lucky enough to read any manga yet. I will read some someday.

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  3. What a great list! I don't have any experience with anime, but when I was in junior high my friend loaned me some manga that she was loved, so I have some experience with that. What would you recommend to someone who is brand new to anime?

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    1. It really depends on how comfortable you are with some weird and sometimes graphic scenes. If you are into silly romantic stuff, I would recommend Ouran High School Host Club. If you want something with more plot and deeper characters that is still silly a lot of the time, I would recommend Fairy Tale. If you really want to delve into a whole new world and become seriously engrossed with the characters and the overall storyline, I would recommend Full Metal Alchemist.
      Out of the three I listed, Full Metal Alchemist has made me cry the most, and Fairy Tale is a mixed bag of laughter and tears, just a heads up.

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  4. So I've never been big into anime, but I have to admit I love Dragon Ball Z possibly to the point of obsession...so I'm just going to leave this comment here now...

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  5. Aside from Soul Eater and Fairy Tail, I've watched all the shows you listed above as well as Naruto and Inuyasha. I think Inuyasha was my first introduction to anime. I remember watching it on adult swim when I was in high school and it in turn led me to Naruto which I am still watching. I've almost made it to episode 200 of Naruto: Shippuden. During Spring Break I managed to watch a whole season and spent several hours bawling because of one particular story line.

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  6. Ah, sweet, sweet anime, how I love and loathe you. I've always had a very strange relationship with anime, because as much as I love it, there are some very common character archetypes that I cannot stand. The Moron is one of those that will make me stop watching a series entirely if they show up once too often, except everyone else seems to love them. I just can't. I've tried, but it's just not happening.

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