Are the Japanese brainwashing us?

[Gil]

Seriously, what is with everyone and this anime obsession? :dunno:

I can't understand it for the life of me.

 

[FittedForME]

Well, not everybody likes anime; most teenagers though grew up liking things like Pokemon, Digimon, Sailor Moon, Gundam, etc. Older generations either grew up with American-made shows, or no TV at all. As such, teenagers and kids today have a much larger choice of shows to watch, and may find the anime-style shows more attractive to watch. It's been proven that people find things that have large heads and big eyes cuter than small heads and proportionate eyes, something the Japanese have apparently realized as well.

 

[dinorider]

Modern Japanese culture is just very aesthetically appealing to a lot of people. Then there's their different way of storytelling that seems to fascinate us. It's something very different from what we're used to, and as such hold a lot of appeal.

On a less serious note, this thread remind me of a certain South Park episode; Chinpokomon.

 

[Fire_lupine06]

Mainly cause We just like them...and most US made cartoons since 2000 have been utter crap ?

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

This thread makes me realise I have no idea why I liked Pokemon as a kid. Aside from having a pet with superpowers, it doesn't really seem all that appealing. I suppose the adventure of it all is what gets people.

 

[Mesmerale]

This thread makes me realise I have no idea why I liked Pokemon as a kid. Aside from having a pet with superpowers, it doesn't really seem all that appealing. I suppose the adventure of it all is what gets people.

.... Wow... Good point..

I don't know why I love Pokemon, but I do!

 

[Mako]

People like anime because the way stories are told, you want see it as much uniqueness in a lot of the shonen dubbed anime here since most of it is dumbed down to be "saturday morning friendly". It still deals with a lot of coming of age stories that really appeal to kids and teens.

Me, I've been into girl anime lately, more character driven. Watching Princess Princess at the moment ^.~

This thread makes me realise I have no idea why I liked Pokemon as a kid. Aside from having a pet with superpowers, it doesn't really seem all that appealing. I suppose the adventure of it all is what gets people.

It's the classic story of the loser boy underdog, with a really unique twist.

 

[Fire_lupine06]

try nanaka 6/17 ..trust me..if your on this site...it just makes sense

 

[Mako]

But mines about boys dressing up as girls to be the school's "princess's" ;P

Aishiteruze Baby is another adorable anime about a highschool boy taking care of his 5 year old cousin. ^-^

Second reason for japanese culture brainwashing, japanese school girl outfits are hot.

 

[Fire_lupine06]

i know nothing about that....
Anime is just a nice escape ...like games or comics

 

[Fire2box]

Seriously, what is with everyone and this anime obsession? :dunno:

I can't understand it for the life of me.

Whats is your obsession about other peoples obsession?

 

[SteveC1981]

Actually, I'm with Huggies on this...about the closest I've gotten to anime was the Inspector Gadget cartoons on Nickelodeon when I was a kid (apparently, now that's a long time ago...)

Maybe we can fight fire with fire and brainwash the Japanese with reality TV :laugh:

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

It's the classic story of the loser boy underdog, with a really unique twist.

Well, looking at most anime (which I admittedly don't watch), there are quite a few recurring themes in all of them. Notably,

• An amazing, life/universe-altering adventure of some kind,
• Destiny, and/or subsequent fulfilment of,
• Superpowers, advance technology, paranormal, advance physical/mental skills, etc... all the interesting, self-empowerment sort of stuff,
• Cute, lovable or adorable creatures, animals or people,
• A struggle between two or more forces,
• An underdog as the protagonist, who usually becomes a hero or heroine (either through self-sacrifice or eliminating their opponents, or some form of general conflict resolution).

Not they they share all of these, but I'd be surprised if you could name me one that didn't have at least one or two (or even three) of these.

To me, it appears anime is a way to escape into another realm of fantasy, sci-fi, alternate universe or something else where we can relate to the characters on a personal level, whilst sharing their experiences, changes, epiphanies and adventure. They all seem to present a universe with elements that are a lot more appealing than our own and that really plays tricks on our own personal desires and emotions, which is really no different than escaping into the world of a novel or any other film. Even imagining ourselves as the characters gives us a sense of purpose.

That's where the appeal comes from.

 

[Gingy]

Yes. The Japonese are indeed brainwashing us.

Remember the Pokemon episode that all the kids got the seizures from? Believe it or not, it wasn't the red/green flashing background. Infact it was the frame in between the red and green ones... It contains a subliminal message that tells the childrens bodys to have seizures. The episode was created in an underground military research facility in Tokugawa. Then tested on the Americans. They are still in the process of fixing the bugs so they can place the frame in all sorts of shows. Starting with Dora The Explorer.

So yes... The seizures, just like ADD and ADHD, aren't real.

 

[timmahtherebel]

Yeah. Almost every other vehicle I see on the road nowadays is Japanese.



Those cars are terrible...

People may think they're reliable but they only are reliable because they do regular maintenance on them... Do maintenance on ANY car and it will run forever..

Rather stick with my Ford anyway... which now has 212,439 miles on the clock..

( yeah I drive a lot, but I feel like it so w.e )

 

[Mako]

Well, looking at most anime (which I admittedly don't watch), there are quite a few recurring themes in all of them. Notably,

• An amazing, life/universe-altering adventure of some kind,
• Destiny, and/or subsequent fulfilment of,
• Superpowers, advance technology, paranormal, advance physical/mental skills, etc... all the interesting, self-empowerment sort of stuff,
• Cute, lovable or adorable creatures, animals or people,
• A struggle between two or more forces,
• An underdog as the protagonist, who usually becomes a hero or heroine (either through self-sacrifice or eliminating their opponents, or some form of general conflict resolution).

Not they they share all of these, but I'd be surprised if you could name me one that didn't have at least one or two (or even three) of these.

To me, it appears anime is a way to escape into another realm of fantasy, sci-fi, alternate universe or something else where we can relate to the characters on a personal level, whilst sharing their experiences, changes, epiphanies and adventure. They all seem to present a universe with elements that are a lot more appealing than our own and that really plays tricks on our own personal desires and emotions, which is really no different than escaping into the world of a novel or any other film. Even imagining ourselves as the characters gives us a sense of purpose.

That's where the appeal comes from.

This is more typical of shonen anime which is uses action to drive the story. It's the most common in america, and is what many are first exposed to, especially ones aimed at younger pre-adolescent kids. It's what first visible, but its usually a gateway to the more mature anime's.

Many of them will still carry themes, but it will also include much more indepth story telling then what you'll typically see in american cartoons. I'd recommend Pom Poko as a beginner anime, as it is dubbed for lazy people (though the sub is more emotional to me), it's a movie so you don't need to commit to a series, it's has anthro racoons, and it is a taste of the story's outside of the typical "saturday morning" anime.

Though if anyone wants to get into a series, even though the fan girls make me want to tear my ears off. Death Note is still a skillfully written, character driven shonen that deals with the moral quandaries of justice with a super natural twist.

I still like my girly stuff though <3 Lucky Star ^^!

 

[ShippoFox]

If you don't understand anime, then don't worry about it. It's probably just not your kinda thing. Give it a try if you want, but if you don't like it, then you don't like it.

 

[BabyWolf]

Some anime can be quite good and well-written. Most is crap. The problem is that the networks over there are willing to air nearly anything, so it's a big idea mill, people pumping out one garbage show after another. As long as it's a complete half-hour episode, they'll air it. And much of it makes it over here in one form or another. It's all about greed; people looking to make quick money so they'll produce and air anything if they think it will sell.

As for Pokemon, well, I have a response for people who mention it that involves letter substitution. Take the word "Pokemon". Relace the P with an F, the first O and the E with U's, and you get my response. Yes, the first part IS pronounced like a major swear word. . .

 

[Matrix Blade]

Hmmm... Now that you put it this way, they might be brainwashing us. Run for your lives it's an invasion lol

But for real, Anime like Naruto and Pokemon seem to combine action, adventure, and drama better than other cartoons.

BTW, the pokemon episode that caused seizures can actually be seen on youtube and there's another video of the one part looped. I watched under my light a couple feet away, and it does crazy things to your eyes.

 

[MixyNyxi]

Funny this is my first real post, and it’s about anime. No, I’m not obsessed at all

And this is all my opinion, so take it or leave it, I don’t think I’m an expert at all :twocents:

But seriously, I am one of the brainwashed, I guess. I’ve been into this stuff for a while, thanks to some friends in high school/college. I guess this was when the big anime invasion was gearing up, right before it exploded and became really, really popular at the end of the 90’s, beginning of the 2000’s. Never have been able to stop watching it.

But anyway, yeah, a lot of anime can be escapist (I’m a huge escapist, so that speaks to that, I guess). I agree that there are a lot more (and I mean a lot, a lot) terrible anime shows than gems out there, especially after the boom and the rush to make as much money as possible, but they are out there.

Lukie pretty much has a lot of the popular anime shows pegged. Like Mako said, those elements are more common in the shonen (boys) anime. Although the cute/adorable characters are kind of everywhere. There’s usually at least one that can be described as such if the rest isn’t present. But the anime shows that are less popular (or less marketed), such as the slice-of-life genre, can avoid all of those. Of course, most of the American audience that aren’t anime-obsessed wouldn’t go for these as much. Azumanga Daioh is a good one if you like weird comedy, but I don’t think any of those are beginner anime (lots of cultural stuff/jokes newcomers might not get or find funny), but maybe that’s just me.

But really, I think there is an anime for everyone, although some people might have to dig, heh :detective: They do cover all sorts of areas, from action, to drama, to romance, to comedy, and can go from kiddie, to very adult themes. The thing about the Japanese culture is that animation/cartoons aren’t seen as just a kids medium there. Some of them can get really complex. And the story telling in many of them is really good.

In America, with some exceptions, generally only comedy shows like Simpsons or Family Guy are made for adults. The rest is mostly kids shows. Anime is made for a wider audience than American animation. Same with gender. American animation/cartoons generally are aimed more towards males, with a few exceptions for the girl-geared Saturday morning cartoons. There is more of a balance with Anime/Manga, although most of the popular stuff that ends up here is shonen.

But, in the end, even after all of that, it boils down to preference. Anime just clicks with some, and some won’t go near it. Same with any kind of book/movie/tv show. I’m obsessed, but that doesn’t mean everyone will be. Although if anyone is interested, I can give some recommendations, but this isn’t the time nor the place, since no one asked.

On that note, later.