People and Anime

Oooooookay. After my last post of emo-ey goodness and a brief hiatus from e-life, I have returned.

And to distract my self from various lovey-dovey feelings that I don't trust and am not comfortable with, not to mention the fact that I didn't buy cigarettes, I have decided to start delving into why I love one of my great loves: Anime.

Why anime, you may ask? Or you're not asking?

Well, I've always gotten crap from other people about my love for "those cartoons". As in, "You need to grow up and stop watching.... those "cartoons". Or, "You mean like Pokemon? My kids used to watch that all the time! haha!!!"

I'm kind of embarrassed for those that have that kind of mentality. But it's not their fault. Day in and day out, they've been bombarded with shows such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Power Rangers, etc. that don't exist as a means of mental stimulation or entertainment. These shows only exist to program the need to have a product to impressionable minds. This has gone on with anime since the '80s, back in the age of Voltron and Robotech (Macross).

The other thought of the uninitiated mind is that anime is nothing but robots, ninjas, naked girls and bloody violence that you can't get out of American cartoons. The thought of a cartoon showing such things has somewhat of a perverse attraction. But once again, this is the Euro-American mentality at work.

What a lot of people DON'T see is that the best of Anime tells stories that are so rich, mature and complex that they are by nature designed to go over the average watcher's head. And no, beating a villain (who will later be a good guy), losing to a new villain, training for 200 episodes and beating said villain with your new technique does not equate to great storytelling. Okay, fine! I admit that I used to enjoy this brand of Anime (DBZ, Bleach, fucking Naruto), but there was copious amounts of marijuana involved. And no, it DOESN'T matter how flashy the fights or new techniques are. These stories are all the same, no matter how many times someone is rescued, how many times someone is injured, or HOW many times someone "dies".

The greatest of Anime will more than likely not even be seen by the casual watcher. If it IS seen by the casual watcher, it's meaning will be GROSSLY misinterpreted.

How can one watch Elfen Lied and not see that it's an incredibly deep and involved study on the total array of negative human emotions, what shapes them, and their effects on others?


How can one grow up using the internet and not relate to Serial Experiments Lain?


How can someone claim Death Note is boring? It's one of the greatest studies of power, responsibility and morality I've ever seen or read! Not to mention one will be hard pressed to find a greater story of cat and mouse.


Do people have to have tits and ass bounced in their faces, blood and guts and fights to be entertained?


Is it so distracting that people miss the point so easily?


It's like people don't read the stories, they only see the pictures. When did thinking become the most horrible thing in the world?



Gods, I need nicotone.