Why I like anime
Aug. 28th, 2004 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greybetaApparently I needed to work a little harder on being a devil’s advocate. Check out Howard’s comment on my xanga.
How the mighty have fallen. Today, I’m referring to the USA men’s Olympic basketball team, one that will not earn the moniker “Dream Team”. How could we lose in a sport that we invented? First, the international game is very different from the NBA game. Second, most of our veteran players decided to stay at home. We would not have lost if we had a starting five of Shaq, KG, Kobe, Jason Kidd, and Tracy McGrady (yes, this is a team that would have left Tim Duncan on the bench). Third, we put in a bunch of young athletic guys who really didn’t know how to play the international game. Hopefully, American basketball will be humbled enough to send its truly best players to Beijing in 2008.
Today, I helped out at the international welcoming party today. I got to meet a lot of interesting people.
Random factoid of the day: Did you know that people who write in journals are four times less likely to get depressed? I got this straight from a psychology major. Now I can say that I’m giving my soul medicine when I’m writing these updates.
Okay, it’s time to convince the hardworking biologist Howard of the power of anime. Before, I explained that I liked Japanese cartoons. Now I have to explain why I like anime.
I prefer anime that follows a serial format. American television shows usually follow an episodic format, where each show is its own story. For instance, the characters in Friends change but each episode is still pretty much its own story. Anime, on the other hand, builds its story on each episode. If you miss one, you’ll miss a key development in the series. I really do like the fact that each episode builds into the conclusion.
Sigma Chi Howard Vernon thinks that anime is ridiculous. I agree. In fact, I love the ridiculousness of anime. If I wanted to watch some realistic stories, I’d go watch the news or something. I accept the ludicrous situations that anime comes up with because it’s entertaining. A main character who possesses omniscient insight is hilarious to watch because he’s not real. And because he’s not real, I can dream that I can have that insight. It sounds corny I know, but don’t we all pretend to be Superman at one time or another?
Third and final point: Good anime has a message. Phil, I’m going to have to spoil Nadesico for you.
In one of my favorite animes, Martian Successor Nadesico, the main character is a caricature of an anime fan. He absolutely adores a big robot show called Gekiganger III. The writers use this show to make fun of the conventions of big robot anime. The thing is he wants everyone else to love the show. So he has to learn that he has to enjoy anime for what it is. Also, the show’s characters see everything in black and white. There can only be good and evil, there can be only one righteous path. But, in the best animes, both sides have a good reason to fight.
And that’s the short version of why I like anime. Hope this helps my scheming roommate.
How the mighty have fallen. Today, I’m referring to the USA men’s Olympic basketball team, one that will not earn the moniker “Dream Team”. How could we lose in a sport that we invented? First, the international game is very different from the NBA game. Second, most of our veteran players decided to stay at home. We would not have lost if we had a starting five of Shaq, KG, Kobe, Jason Kidd, and Tracy McGrady (yes, this is a team that would have left Tim Duncan on the bench). Third, we put in a bunch of young athletic guys who really didn’t know how to play the international game. Hopefully, American basketball will be humbled enough to send its truly best players to Beijing in 2008.
Today, I helped out at the international welcoming party today. I got to meet a lot of interesting people.
Random factoid of the day: Did you know that people who write in journals are four times less likely to get depressed? I got this straight from a psychology major. Now I can say that I’m giving my soul medicine when I’m writing these updates.
Okay, it’s time to convince the hardworking biologist Howard of the power of anime. Before, I explained that I liked Japanese cartoons. Now I have to explain why I like anime.
I prefer anime that follows a serial format. American television shows usually follow an episodic format, where each show is its own story. For instance, the characters in Friends change but each episode is still pretty much its own story. Anime, on the other hand, builds its story on each episode. If you miss one, you’ll miss a key development in the series. I really do like the fact that each episode builds into the conclusion.
Sigma Chi Howard Vernon thinks that anime is ridiculous. I agree. In fact, I love the ridiculousness of anime. If I wanted to watch some realistic stories, I’d go watch the news or something. I accept the ludicrous situations that anime comes up with because it’s entertaining. A main character who possesses omniscient insight is hilarious to watch because he’s not real. And because he’s not real, I can dream that I can have that insight. It sounds corny I know, but don’t we all pretend to be Superman at one time or another?
Third and final point: Good anime has a message. Phil, I’m going to have to spoil Nadesico for you.
In one of my favorite animes, Martian Successor Nadesico, the main character is a caricature of an anime fan. He absolutely adores a big robot show called Gekiganger III. The writers use this show to make fun of the conventions of big robot anime. The thing is he wants everyone else to love the show. So he has to learn that he has to enjoy anime for what it is. Also, the show’s characters see everything in black and white. There can only be good and evil, there can be only one righteous path. But, in the best animes, both sides have a good reason to fight.
And that’s the short version of why I like anime. Hope this helps my scheming roommate.
