So my latest blog entry started as most of them do.
With a discussion with a friend that got me started thinking.
The Discussion was over. "What is Anime?" You see most people who contest to have a definitive answer... well have no idle what they are talking about. Because the real question is. "Who can really give a answer?" The Japanese? Because almost no one agrees with there definition out side of Japan.
American Fans seam to fall into many different camps. And other fans around the world seam to fall into out of two camps as well. People who are known as "Officials or specialists" on the matter are for the most part, like people who call them selves authority on UFO's. That is they are self proclaimed authority.
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So the question comes down to a discussion of.
#1. Geography.
#2. Style.
#3. Content.
#4. Conjecture.
So the first part is the answer that most Rapid American Anime Fans / Fanboy-Fangirls give. That is to say the people who annoy the crap out of you at conventions and know six words of Japanese that they think are VERY IMPRESSIVE WHEN USED!
And that is the Opinion that. -It must be made in Japan to be Anime!- Now this is actually not a really odd idle, the problem is that the Japanese would disagree. The Japanese in fact call all Cartoons Anime.. Even the old Disney black and white ones. And really the Japanese think the question is rather silly. And many of them use the porn argument of. "I know it when i see it."
The other problem with this idle is that, ANYTHING animated in Japan would then be anime. And there are quite a few American Cartoons that are drawn in Japan. So they would be anime by that idle, And the same people who hold this. 'made in japan' idle dear would lay a brick if you contested that these shows are Anime.
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So then that would support to a large degree that Style would make something Anime or not.
That is to say that anything done in the basic style of anime, is anime. The problem with that being that Anime has ALLOT of different styles and American / Japanese Animators seam to go back and forth with one another.
Case and point look at old anime. (I mean Gigantor and Astro Boy) Look around at US animation at the time. Or crap just listen to the people that made them, they had a heavy influence in Disney at the time. So they would not be Anime by this definition.
Also some shows that not many people would call anime would also have to fit into this area as well. But over all this is a much better answer then the -Must be from Japan- Idle.
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Content.
I have seen allot of people argue that Content is what really makes something anime or anime like. That anime treats it's viewers with a little more respect then Western Animiation.
Now there is some serious truck sized holes in this idle.
A: There is very kiddie oriented Japanese Anime... Pokemon.. Digimon... Well really anything with the world Mon in it, also stuff like Hamtaro could really be used as a western show without much help.
B: There are some pretty serious Western Animations. Batman: The Animated Series for instance NEVER pulled punches considering it was a Kids show. (I mean it was still made for kids) So no death on screen, but when some one went out they didn't just elude to it. You knew it happened.
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So then the question is.
"So what do you think makes anime?"
Well hear is my take on the question.
It's really a matter of consensus.
Because hear has been my experience with it, almost all people who have one of the openions above, have some wiggle room in what they do and do not think is anime.
So really i think its a matter of Style and Content.
And i have found that allot of people will openly admit that some American. (And European)
Cartoons are pretty much anime.
Batman the animated series.
ThunderCats. (American)
Teen Titans. (Even Picking a Japanese Band to do the opening theme)
Kim Possible. (It and Teen Titans were the #1 Cartoons in Japan at one point)
Avatar: The Last Air Bender. (Very anime like, and highly rated in Japan, but is animated in korea)
W.I.T.C.H. ~Deep Breath~ This is a French/Italian Cartoon based on a Disney Comic made by a Italian women. Originally distributed by Italiono Disney. Then Dubbed for Spanish/American Viewers. And Distributed throw Jet-X. (Disney) And if you watch this show.. Well lets just say this is basically what Sailor Moon Would have been like is it was Italian and made by Disney. (Complete with colored in / basically nude transformation scenes)
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So i guess the answer really is the porn answer.
But i like to say this.
If it looks like Anime.
And Sounds Like Anime.
And has a following of drooling anime fan-girls or fan-boys.
Then its Anime.
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