Anime and reality

Borstj · Post by **Borstj** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:15 pm

One thing i've been thinking about a loong time, is why anime rarely make realistic movies, I mean there are good examples like Monster or Jin-Roh (kinda) but they are an exception. (or do you have any other examples?)

Is it something about Japanese narrative that favors more fairytale style storytelling. or is it just because large part of the anime world is stuck in a stylistic choice and breaking loose would be gambling (gotta make money over there to)

NOW i'm not saying that anime of such sort is worse or not as good as Jin-roh or the likes of such... just sayin (or should I say wondering)

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:23 pm

My understanding is that the Japanese enjoy a certain degree of departure from reality in their entertainment. But don't we all?

There's a certain amount of titles which are realistic, but there's enough of that in the movies and, well, in real life. I think they quickly get bored and decide to explore the potential of the medium for over-the-top antics impossible in reality.

***

I don't think it would be gambling. I think it would be just... different. There's no reason they can't succeed at this, but there's no specific reason they would want to do it on a mass scale.

And yea, I am one of those people who enjoys anime realism

GaavTheDemonDragonKing · Post by **GaavTheDemonDragonKing** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:25 pm

well i dont know if this is why, but this is my opion and i use it. I think its because their is all this stuff and its the same everyday. we all live in a world of "what if" and this is where it gets good. they make anime to escape reality and go byond anything that will ever be done to show some great new things that wont (or mayby) be done. Life is so boring and they just try to show diffrent ideas, diffrent worlds. to me this world sucks, me wants to live in a world from anime but me cant. anyways the reason why they dont make realistic anime is because its boring. the real world suks. the only really good anime that is alot like life would be Phantom of Inferno. rell really good and i bet ya it could happen

Bulghod · Post by **Bulghod** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:25 pm

Also, it's kinda expensive to make an animation, so if you're gonna blow the money on it, make it like big and fancy. that and now, with many anime, that level or surrealism is kinda expected. but if you're lookin for good realistic anime, check out anything by Satoshi Kon. specially the new Paranoia Agent series when that comes out.

Borstj · Post by **Borstj** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:36 pm

"because their is all this stuff and its the same everyday. we all live in a world of "what if" and this is where it gets good. they make anime to escape reality" but here is the thing the ones that makes the anime could they be considered a part of the rat race of Japans working class or as your point would then mean that they are profiting from making these escape from reality flicks, and is it really a mean for THEM (the makers) to escape. is the style then made for giving people what they want.

a parallel could then be drawn to the birth of the super heroes which where born in the depression era USA as a mean of cheap escape from the reality.

and to make it more sinister, is all form of escapism just a way to avoid facing the issues. instead of uniting the middle east we have Vin Diesel blowing it to shit while on a snowboard

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:43 pm

I don't think it's neccesarily escapism on the extent you're talking about. A lot of anime tries to deal with things allegorically, so to say. Even some of the silliest shows often provide fairly direct questions to people about their own life.

Japan is indeed in an economic depression right now.

Frankly, I don't think there's a way to make real-world politics entertaining. There's always going to be escapism in this regard.

Bulghod · Post by **Bulghod** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 11:04 pm

Borstj wrote:"because their is all this stuff and its the same everyday. we all live in a world of "what if" and this is where it gets good. they make anime to escape reality" but here is the thing the ones that makes the anime could they be considered a part of the rat race of Japans working class or as your point would then mean that they are profiting from making these escape from reality flicks, and is it really a mean for THEM (the makers) to escape. is the style then made for giving people what they want.

a parallel could then be drawn to the birth of the super heroes which where born in the depression era USA as a mean of cheap escape from the reality.

and to make it more sinister, is all form of escapism just a way to avoid facing the issues. instead of uniting the middle east we have Vin Diesel blowing it to shit while on a snowboard

hmm, wonder if they're going to seriously play with the anime fantasy, like superheroes in "The Watchmen" "The Sandman" and other such things.

on a side note, i'd love to see a series that deals with catgirls and catboys with a segregation theme, like about racism, sexism, segregation and whatnot.

Borstj · Post by **Borstj** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 8:38 am

hehehe i didnt mean to be so overtly dramatic. but I find the whole thing intriguing.

But I don't agree with you about real-world politics being a boring subject for entertainment. I mean michael moore has done a pretty good job I must say, or does anyone here remember the movie "Wag the dog" that one was pretty neat

Bulghod · Post by **Bulghod** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 9:59 am

oh, for real world politics, look for a manga called Eagle it's about the first Aisian President. the books are huge by the way..

Borstj · Post by **Borstj** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am

yeah or why not the whole Sanctuary series, Adolf