No Right Answer: Best Animation Style Ever

[newwiseman]

I want Dan to list some western stuff he has seen and likes and I'll show him some Anime in the same genera that will dominate it.

I will say that most anime carry themes that are very Japanese and Japan is still one of the more closed off cultures considering how far their content spreads. This does lead to scenarios that can easily confuse westerners. Most of our themes are from old fairy tales (Der Bruder Grimm) and then the ancient epics from Greece then Rome.

 

[Alakaizer]

I have to recommend Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit.

 

[DrgoFx]

I would say the English dub of anything with Johnny Bosch, those are some pretty good Animes. You're starting with Trigun, from there I'd go to Wolf's Rain which a fair amount of fans prefer the English dub of that, infact the English opening is far more popular. One I recommend skipping, especially if you don't have the time for it is Bleach. I never got into it due to the huge amount of episodes, but it is a good series. If you like games, specifically MMOs, I suggest the .hack series. Mainly .hack//Sign and .hack//ROOTS but also get into the games, they're pretty good PS2 Roleplaying games, fairly fun action too, Haseo's weapon swapping system is real fun.

 

[esperandote]

And it seems that the anime defenders are lining up to express their outrage. Not that this was unexpected.

Seriously, can you not just take this show for what it is as a comedic argument series without getting offended that someone has a different opinion than you?

This is supposed to be comic? Where are the jokes? Where's the fun part?

I do not mind the fact that guy dislikes anime, I do mind he says ignorant things to other people like it was true. Making the watchers dumber.

I don't know about a cat in paris and Chico& Rita but Rango beats Kung fu panda and Puss in Boots any day, Toy story 3 totally kicked ass, i dont know about the other contenders in 2009 and in 2008 wall-e is definetely better than bolt and kung fu panda. Now that i think of the category where i agree the most in the oscars is animated feature.

Now, if we say that not enough eastern films are nominated then that i agree to.

 

[remm2004]

Someone please restrain Dan and make him watch Madoka and Gurren Lagann (subbed). If that doesn?t change his opinion on the wide range of things that anime can accomplish, then he?s a lost cause.

 

[TheGroovyMule]

All this talk of Western animation and no mention of WB's Golden Age of Cartoons?

What of 'Pinky and the Brain', 'Freakazoid' and 'Animaniacs'?

This might just be my nostalgia talking, but particularly with the old WB cartoons, I still find them hilarious to this day. They were topical, informative (The Geography Song!), and had jokes for both the kids, and adults. There's also older Disney ones like 'TailSpin', and 'Darkwing Duck', which were fantastic in my books. Again, could be enjoyed by adults. There are a few examples of western animation that is not aimed at children or families. It's French, but the film 'Resistance' is an excellent example.

On the other hand, I've watched my fair share of anime. I think part of the issue many have with it is the cultural barrier. I started off with fairly non-Japanese anime (As in, characters, settings, and culture are decidedly -not- Asian), which I believed helped with the transition. It's gotten to the point now that most cultural aspects don't phase me. These include the points Dan mentioned such as the giant robots, over-the-top fight scenes, and the school girl thing, so it might just be an adaption one has to make.

The reason for the extremes might be due to the fact animation seems to be more so accepted as an all-ages format in Japan, then in North America. Though we have cartoons such as 'The Simpsons', most I talk to assume cartoons equals children or family friendly, particularly in the realm of film. Anime on the other hand can stretch a wide range of topics, including adult themes.

The reason is that anime is not a genre, it's an art style, just like Western animation is. But unlike Western animation, does not limit itself to one audience (children), and is not limited to one topic (comedy, romance, drama, ect), because it's simply a way of animating characters. Admittedly, some genres get milked to the point the udder is dry though (Aka, Giant robots). And perhaps it's a lower bar of entry as the ratio of 'garbage to good' seems to be worse in Japanese animation, then Western.

Final word though, there certainly is good Japanese animation, just that there is also alot of crap animation too. Western animation is very similar in that you can find alot of good animation, just there seems to be less animation in general, so there's not as much trash to sort through to find the good bits.

EDIT: Oh right, gotta recccomend something...
Anime: Last Exile, Planetes, and Baccano!
Western: Everything I mentioned above!

 

[somonels]

First NRA I've started watching and stopped almost immediately after.

Western Vs Eastern animation are not comparable by quality; also, the financial gap is so vast that East will simply win by the default for having made so much more of it.

Good thing Kyle was smart enough to not participate, that crafty... no, this was not a South Park reference, I really meant he was smart enough not to participate.

 

[217not237]

The statement Dan made at the end: that is what my dad should try saying. He doesn't know I like anime, since he's been harsh towards it, but that's because the only anime he's ever seen is Pokemon back when I was a kid who was obsessed with that crap. Now, he refers to anything Japanese as "that Japanese crap." Open minds! Of course, I don't expect him to have a good opinion since he called Portal boring and A Clockwork Orange stupid...

 

[Kapol]

Going by style, I think Western is more Diverse. But it's really hard to say one is better then the other when they both can look amazing in the right hands. The Miyazaki films are an amazing example of this. I thought Ponyo was... alright. Not great, but pretty good compared to a lot of things. But the artwork I felt was just beautiful and made the film much better.

And I do agree with Chris that Eastern is more adult oriented or at least has more adult-oriented (by which I don't mean XXX, but things with more mature storylines and the like). I tried thinking of something more focused on aduly audiences in Western Animation (not including CGI, though even that's not easy to think of one) and there isn't much. Especially not in terms of series. I can't think of many animated series beyond maybe South park, Family Guy, Simpsons, and that kind of thing that could be really considered aimed towards older audiences. And notice that all of those are comedies and something that 'mature' normally doesn't apply to. Especially South Park and Family Guy.

A couple good anime I think for Dan would be Trigun (Or GunXSword which is kind of smiliar, but sounds like it has stuff Dan doesn't like about Anime), FLCL (and perhaps Paranoia Agent, though I haven't seen the full series), Case Closed, and maybe YuYu Hokisho. The first two are series that aren't like Dragonball and that kind where they were made to go on and on. They had a set goal for number of episodes and stuck to it. Which means there much less padding. In fact I would say the series that you can normally buy one box set of all the episodes (normally 26 or so for an entire series) are the best. They don't worry about padding the series out for the most part and most episodes serve some purpose. I like them at least.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I was gonna get my huff on and suggest Cowboy Bebop, but the end discussion cut me short. No giant robots, no obvious exasperation sweatdrops, none of the usual tropes found about, just bounty hunters in space.

Oh, and thou shalt not dis the name of Miyazaki. The man's works might as well be proof that there's a goodness to the universe.

 

[ph0b0s123]

'No Right Answer'. This episode should have been called 'No Good Argument'. I was really intrigued to see this debated with some really good and thoughtful arguments. Boy, was I disappointed.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Watch Usagi Drop - it's an anime about a man raising a girl he adopted. One of the most heartwarming animes I have ever seen. You wont see any of your mentioned cliches and it has a beautiful artstyle.

There is another Anime I watched recently called Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. It's short like the Usagi Drop anime, but it deals with the ordeal of 2 young kids in the aftermath of an unprecedented earthquake. The reason why I quoted you to bring this up is due to it's similar "this is life" vibe. While Usagi Drop is based around themes of family values and social sacrifices, Tokyo 8.0 follows the trials, both emotional and physical, of a Brother and Sister in the event of a disaster.

It's a bit of a grind from the first 2 or 3 episodes as the lead (the Girl) is a bit of a whiner, but her angst and naivety get a brutal shock pretty early on. From what I understand of Japanese youth culture, this short seems to be well thought out and remarkably in touch.

It was done on a low budget, clearly, with a generic non-eccentric quality and no particularly noteworthy sequences. But the voice acting of the young boy and girl are well performed (in Japanese) and possibly done by proper child actors rather then squeaky voiced women, and the story, though awkwardly paced, has a rare kick to it, particularly in the latter half of the series.

As for the Topic on hand, I expected more of a technical analyses rather then a pure subjective analyses. Disappointed, but not really that surprised. Personally some of the opinions flung about could, in proper context, be used against EVERY medium/genre/sub-culture in existence.

My opinion? Everything from literature to video games and all the genres in existence, have things that are overwhelmingly dull, generic or just plain awful. But that does not diminish, for me, the gems that actually do things right and make stuff great. To dismiss something so broad entirely based on blatantly low exposure, diminishes your experience in life... everyone has their own taste and rightly so, but being open minded is a virtue this world needs to embrace.

It does not degrade you as a person to sample work made through another cultures philosophies, trends and social nuances. Some of the most intriguing games, books and films I have ever read/watched have been from a very foreign source (in style and context). I like to think I have a more enlightened view of life, as minor as it may be, by the simple act of watching/reading/playing things from wildly different origins. If that isn't true, I can definitely attest to having a much wider palette then most people I know personally.

 

[Drakmeire]

Good anime that is subtle without any of the cliches that Dan brought up.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom- Great dub, very realistic,about two people forced to be assassins the main characters are only blessed with heightened survival instincts and nothing else.

Katanagatari- Samurai epic about the hunt for 12 perfected blades by a expert martial artist who can't use a sword and an unpredictable strategist who guides him. Over-the-top action when it needs to have it but a varied story that shifts between tragedy and witty banter.

Baccano!-Takes place in the 1920's with three intersecting stories about The mafia, street gangs, ditzy criminals and a group of immortals. Balances comedy with a serious tone quite well.

Grave of the Fireflies- SOOOOOOOO serious

Tiger and Bunny- About superheros competing on a game show to see who can save the most civilians while being treated like sports legends. Feels similar to Batman: The Animated Series.

Actually just watch Batman the animated series if you haven't yet. Why aren't shows like that anymore?

 

[Souplex]

Two things:
1: Pixar doesn't count.
2: No late 90's/early 2000's love for the west? Where's the Genndy Tartakovsky/Bruce Timm love?

 

[minuialear]

The big "rain drop" as you call it is supposed to be a sweat drop and it usually signifies exasperation. You'd have to be an idiot not to be able to figure that out, esp. considering when it appears the character usually has an exasperated and/or annoyed expression on their face to go with it.

Imma just say:

He could also be referring to the Eva-like devices girls wear on their heads sometimes in mecha/sci-fi shows, or the similarly-shaped hair clips girls sometimes wear that are of ridiculous size.

Plus, assuming he is referring specifically to sweatdrops: considering sweatdrops are pretty isolated to anime, someone wouldn't necessarily be an "idiot" if they saw it once or twice and didn't get what it was, exactly. It's lot like real people have massive perspiration fits whenever they're annoyed (well, most of us don't). It's something you learn the significance of as you become more acclimated to the style.

And even if it wasn't, it doesn't help anyone to act so pompous just because someone didn't get a trope from a niche art style that you know more about.

 

[The Random One]

Nope, Chris won. Chris won at 0:19. Everything else is just excess.

Dan, if you think Western animation is cool because of Aeon Flux, just watch Ergo Proxy. They are the same thing. I know because I haven't watched either.

 

[Beryl77]

I never like it when someone asks me "Do you like anime?" It's like asking "Do you like movies/books?" It's just a redundant question for me. Just like with movies and books, I like some animes and there are other animes which I don't like. The same goes for western cartoons.