(no subject)

[timepiececlock]

I had someone on the Adult Swim board today tell me emphatically that Inu Yasha and Ranma 1/2 were shounen anime.

Let's stop and think about this. Now, "shonen" anime means "boy" anime. Intended for young-adult or teen male audiences.

For example, Naruto. Dragonball Z. Anything Gundam.

But IY or Ranma 1/2 ?

Yeah, Ranma had a lot of fighting. And yeah, IY has a good amount of fighting.

And yes, they might be or have been run in a shonen manga magazine (I don't know if they have or not, but it's certainly possible.)

But anyone who thinks that Rumiko Takahashi is writing for boys probably doesn't know very many girls.



Also probably hasn't seen/read very much of either series.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ri/]

I finished watching Bebop just now. That series is soo awesome... and yes, now I'll say it's quite seinen. I reconsidered because I got the idea of maybe not having to place everything into categories, particularily such anime series', as I mentioned that it's much easier to sort mangas due to the type of magazine they were published in, and animes tend to be more "general", but that's stupid. And also, the "model" seinen is normally seen as gloom doom and firm plot from beginning till end. Then again, Chobits and Love Hina are also said to be seinen, so... that shows just how broad the definition is. So yeah, Bebop is seinen. Never took that back, just reconsidered in confusion. Silly classifications. But I can't help to get all fixated on 'em.

I went and checked in which kind of manga magazine Bebop was published in, it's a sort of "general" one (funny enough, it seems shoujo titles have been published in there too).

Trigun... you just told me who got together (which I find lovely, even if it's just hinted at; I liked Milly), but not the circumstances of how it came to be, so that's alright. I will finish the series one day, I just need to find out how. *is not rich enough to buy the DVDs*

You mentioned that Bebop and Trigun both have a lot of slapstick. The way I see it, Bebop has much less of that, sure it has it's fine share of comedic moments throughout the series, but they're more toned down than the beginning of Trigun and are more attitude-like; a lot of the humour also has to do people you see in general society. I remember that my father immediately found Bebop was "just awesome" and wanted to see more, whereas Trigun he dismissed as "silly and violent". If Trigun becomes deep and serious nearing the end, then the first episodes really do a deceiving job. I did come up to the point where Wolfwood shows up, but I can't remember more.

I'm not watching FMA at the moment, can't get any films to work on my computer anyway, but I'm trying to get my brother and his other Naruto-loving friends to download it because the way I see it, everyone who likes Naruto tends to like FMA as well. So if they get it, I'll want to watch with them; I did enjoy episode 8, because of the believable display of Edward's fear, as opposed to the usual young shonen "I'll beat you down no matter how dangerous you are!!" approach.
But FMA is licsened now, isn't it? Wonder if they can find the early episodes, someone told me that'd be a bit of a problem.

part 1

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

You most definitely have to finish Trigun. You didn't even get to the part where the Gung Ho Guns show up in episode 11, did you? That's where the whole big snowball into hell really takes shape. I got three words for you: head in bag. ::shudder::

Yes, Trigun is very deceptive in its beginning. It's deceptive about the characters, about the world they live on, about everything. But what you don't really understand until you've finished watching it (this is not a spoiler, just an observation), is that the entire series, from start to finish, is a deep character analysis of Vash. It's all about what's going on his head. You get sucked in by this goofy guy, but then you realize you're not seeing the whole picture at all. It was really amazing to me the first time I went and rewatched it from the beginning having seen the entire run... there's so much there that I didn't pick up at first in terms of foreshadowing and vague little hints dropped.

And oh my god, the angst. Trigun was the angstiest anime I had ever seen until I watched FMA. At first I thought Fushigi Yuugi was sad. Then I watched Trigun, and I realized I knew nothing about pain until I tried this dude's life. And then I watched FMA, and I realized that not only do you have a few main characters of mind-blowing angst... EVERY character has mind-blowing angst. Main or minor characters.

I think the fact that a lot of people who like Naruto like FMA is more a timing coincidence than anything: both are smart, exciting shows with interesting plots and smoothly developed characters, and they're both airing in Japan and being fansubbed right now.

At first I compared FMA to Trigun, because the extreme tones of tragedy mixed with humor is very similar, as is some of the settings in FMA. And the style or well-developed characters with clever dialogue is similar, and the fact that both shows occur in English-speaking worlds is similar. That's mostly about tone and atmosphere.

But in terms of storyline, FMA has a much larger scope to it that, yeah, could be compared to Naruto. All the politics in FMA, and the large cast of characters... that's kind of like the politics in Naruto, and the many individual characters. Trigun is about Vash, and to an extension about the people immediately around Vash because of how they affect him. It's a small set of characters with plot focused tightly on one person. FMA is like Naruto in that it's about not just the main characters but the entire society that they live in that matters. And sometimes the main characters are only a small piece of the overall big picture of events.

FMA might be the very best anime I have ever seen. Depending on how these last upcoming 4 episodes go... if the ending is as fantastic as the whole, FMA will be peerless.

part 2

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I did enjoy episode 8, because of the believable display of Edward's fear, as opposed to the usual young shonen "I'll beat you down no matter how dangerous you are!!" approach.

I know. My head is always breaking for Ed and Al, because they have so much fear and pain and guilt and grief. And if you got a kick out of that... wait till you get to episode 15. Or episode 22. Or... gah! There's so much to talk about with this show. And it's so sad because they are really only children when the plot begins, just 12 and 11. And any 12 year old in Ed's situation would be terrified.

That's what's really great about FMA. It's very believable...realistic. Not the alchemy part, but just that the characters behave in a very realistic manner for their situations. Ed when he's 12 acts like a real 12 year old. When he's 15 he acts 15, and Al acts 14. And the adults act their age too.

This is a common gripe I have with some anime shows-- having 15 year old kids behave like adults for inexplicable reasons. GW was like that, though I love that show to pieces. :) Thankfully that's another way FMA and Naruto are similar... just when I think Sasuke's acting so unbelievably stoic and mature, he does something to remind me that he's only a boy and not half as in control as he wishes he was.

Cowboy Bebop I thought was okay when I was watching it (I was mostly in it for the music), but I only started to love it once I saw how it ended. I think in many ways CB is superior to typical anime, but I think it fell just short of being the greatest of great (the way FMA and Escaflowne are great) because the flow of its main plotline was not well mixed with the subplots... you had the bounty episodes and then you had the Spike episodes. I still can't decide if I thought it should have been cut back by a few episodes, or a few more episodes added. Thankfully the last three episodes managed to tie most everything together, at least everything really important and were beautifully executed. Also, I admire any show that can kill its hero off in such an old fashioned literary way. Cowboy Bebop is a show I enjoyed retroactively more than when I was watching the bulk of it.

FMA is liscenced now, yes, so a lot of sites don't carry it, or only carry the latest eps. But you can download a pack of episodes 1-40 on www.suprnova.org.

Re: part 2

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ri/]

Thanks for the link! I'll pass it on to my brother and his buddies for download. I'm definitely interested in seeing more FMA.

I pretty much agree with you on everything you said abaout Bebop there; on a side note, I too think Spike had died in that last scene.... only after the credits, the words "You'll have to carry that weight" (in place of the familiar See You Space Cowboy) I find weird, because if he's dead he won't need to carry anything at all anymore... hrm.

By the way, have you ever heard of the anime series "Now and Then, Here and There"? Reading about what you like in anime series', and if you're interested in seeing what is said to be one of the most psychologically heaviest anime ever, well, maybe it could be of interest for you.

Re: part 2

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

only after the credits, the words "You'll have to carry that weight" (in place of the familiar See You Space Cowboy) I find weird, because if he's dead he won't need to carry anything at all anymore... hrm.

dude....Right click, Save As.

And then, go to http://www.spikeisdead.com. And don't cry, laugh.

By the way, have you ever heard of the anime series "Now and Then, Here and There"? Reading about what you like in anime series', and if you're interested in seeing what is said to be one of the most psychologically heaviest anime ever, well, maybe it could be of interest for you.

Heavier than Evangelion? ::raises eyebrows:: What's it about? I've only heard the title before.

Re: part 2

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ri/]

I don't suppose it's purpouse that the URL isn't working? '_'
But at least I know where the quote came from, thanks.

It's difficult to say whether NTHT is heavier than Evangelion, because the angst type is kinda different... there aren't such things as "Internal Angsting Out Loud", but it's still pretty damn heavy.
The main character is this highly optimistic 15 yo boy, who would be an "I'll beat you down no matter what!!" shonen type, but the thing about this is, things don't exactly go the way he wishes them to when he suddenly gets ripped from his homely world of Japan and finds himself again in a strange, new world, which is dominated by war and misery, due to it's lack of water supplies. A Rei-type girl, whom the boy has taken on himself to protect, can control/create water, which is why this dictator (who is arguably the greatest nutcase in anime ever) is eager to get his hands on her.... and as the process of having the water created doesn't go as quickly as it should, everyone seems to blame the boy for their suffering and make him feel for it...
The thing about this series is, that the characters are mostly children. Child soldiers being forced to live in a militant hierarchy and to sacrifice their lives for their fanatical leader. It's very well animated, but not very well known, prolly due to it's lack of commercial value or maybe because it got fansubbed back when downloading anime wasn't as popular as today, so it the word didn't spread much. It's long been licensed and has 13 eps.