From: dan@spiff.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Dan Parmenter)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.animation,rec.arts.anime
Subject: Re: Defending anime (was Re: Cheap animation)
Date: 15 Dec 92 18:50:01 GMT
Article-I.D.: spiff.DAN.92Dec15135001
Organization: /home/fsg/dan/.organization

Hitoshi Doi mentions the fact that the reason that "girls with big
guns" are perceived as popular is that most Japnimation fans either
are, or have the mentality of, teenaged boys.  To a certain class of
teenaged boys (or older boys with this mentality - I know some who are
pushing 40), there is nothing, NOTHING more appealing than a show
about cute girls with guns.  I've been over this territory here on
r.a.a. many times and I'll state it again.  It never ceases to amaze
me that people go on about how "mature" and "sophisticated" Japanese
animation is and then as examples, we get Gall Force (how aptly
named), Bubblegum Crisis and Dirty Pair.  

In a sense, this mirrors the early days of Japanimation fandom in
America, where the shows touted for their adult virtues were Macross
and the like - another show seemingly aimed at teenaged boys of all
ages (and it doesn't take a PhD in Psychology to take notice of the
sexual symbolism and significance of the emphasis on REALLY BIG GUNS,
and Macross had some of the biggest).  

Interestingly enough, actual adults in Japan and elsewhere, watch a
wide variety of shows.  It's pretty telling that people on this list
seem to be gasping in amazement at the prospect of shows about cooking
or sports.  To my mind however, such topics seem like perfectly viable
subjects for an animated show.  In Japan, animation is not only a
viable way to explore adult subject matter, this fact is taken for
granted and it isn't thought of as any big deal.  I recall seeing one
of the baseball shows from the seventies, and it was very exciting
with some pretty interesting animation.  One of the most popular
manga/animations from the pst was Tomorrow's Joe, the story of a young
boxer.  The epdisodes I've seen were exciting, well-paced and even had
some very idiosyncratic animation in a style I haven't seen since
(very rough, pencilled outlines that emphasized the brutality that we
were seeing in the ring).  

One problem in Japan as I see it, is the rise of OAVs, which can
survive without much broad appeal, by targetting specific markets
rather than a general television audience.  One would think that this
would lead to really outre, experimental stuff (and in some cases it
has), but as in the case of the American direct sales market in comic
books (where comics are sold directly to comics shops rather than
through newstands), it has produced if anything, more girls with guns
and violent, ugly pornography (has anyone else noticed that the
average Japanese porn cartoon is about 10 times more brutal than ANY
American pornography of any sort?  I've never seen such an obsession
with brutal, dehumanized rape, which is unheard of in mainstream
American porn) than material of lasting quality.  

Me, I only watch Lupin III and old Time Bokan or other old Tatsunoko
cartoons.  And Miyazaki.  And old Tezuka (grin), and hell, old
Matsumoto-based cartoons too (Galaxy Express et al).  Are there ANY
nostalgists in Japan for this typee of stuff?  When I talk to modern
residents on IRC on the anime channel, I feel like one of those French
people going on about how great Jerry Lewis was - people are generally
surprised that anyone cares about those old shows.  

My favorite bizarre Japanese animation/manga genre though is still the
bishonen genre - those shows/comics aimed at young girls that feature the
adventures of cross-dressing gay men.  I defy ANYONE to come up with a
show more bizarre than Pataliro, with its diminuitive shape-changing
boy dictator and his friends, an androgynous male couple who were
involved in various bizarre intrigue.  I couldn't make out enough of
the plot to tell if it was any good, but in the shear weirdness
department, it beats Twin Peaks hands down.  

- Dan

--
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| Dan Parmenter       |"I'm waiting for a time, when I can do without these  |
| dan@gnu.ai.mit.edu  | things that make me feel this way all of the time"   |
|                     |                            - Spiritualized           |
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