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Anime

Dreamworks Delves Into Anime 162

Posted by Hemos from the honto-baka dept.
peter_gzowski writes "Dreamworks has acquired the license for the worldwide distribution of Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Millennium Actress. Satoshi Kon is best known for directing the anime classic Perfect Blue, but has also worked on Patlabor 2 and Roujin Z (the latter two from the director of Ghost in the Shell & Akira, respectively). Read about it from Yahoo! Movies or Anime News Network, whichever you prefer. I guess Dreamworks was feeling left out after Miramax (with Princess Mononoke) and Columbia Tri-Star (with Final Fantasy and Metropolis) got into the anime distribution business. Maybe Spielberg and company will fare better trying to convince North American audiences to watch serious animated films."
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Dreamworks Delves Into Anime More

Dreamworks Delves Into Anime

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  • let's just hope this'll have a positive effect on the way our blockbuster-loving country views anime. that is, unless, we see guinness, lexus, etc. advertisements written in...

    • Kinda curious about that actually. (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      not being a big anime otaku
      do any anime series in japanese have sponsors drawn in?
      • I have the DVD of "Gunsmith Cats," and it has commercial logos as part of the scenery. However, the story takes place in Chicago, so most of the stuff are American companies, not a perfect example.

        I do know that more geeky anime like "Otaku No Video" is filled with inside jokes and images derived from real life companies, and some manga have placements (like a Pocky reference I read in a Oh! My Goddess book.)

        Does this answer your question? ^_^

  • Macross Plus... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by JoeLinux ( 20366 ) <joelinux@gma[ ]com ['il.' in gap]> on Friday July 26, 2002 @02:27AM (#3956560)
    I've always thought that Macross Plus would make a kick-ass live action movie, or even re-released for American audiences in the movies, would make for something that they could follow.

    JoeLinux

    Strip Mining prevents forest fires.
    • I was raised on Robotech when I was a kid.... got me interested in anime - then Ghost in the Shell got be addicted.

      "You know you are addicted when you delete your pr0n collection to make room for Anime"

      - HeXa
    • Speilberg: So can i direct Starwars 3? Lucas: No. Speilberg: Please? Lucas: Still no. Speilberg: Fine, i'm going to japan, to show you how Scifi's supposed to be done. The World:

    • Re:Macross Plus... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by krmt ( 91422 )
      I've always thought that Macross Plus would make a kick-ass live action movie, or even re-released for American audiences in the movies, would make for something that they could follow.
      They already did. It's called Top Gun.

      Seriously, it's obvious when you watch it, and they even advertise it on the front of the DVD as the anime version of Top Gun.
  • Probably one of the best anime films I have seen sice Akira and Vampire Hunter D (Which is an amazing DVD). It would be great to see an American film company do this but I think on Miramax or Sony Classics could pull it off, I mean c'mon spieldberg and co think good film is better than crappy but big money maker, I don't think so, I think I smell another Pokemon movie.
    • I agree on Mononke! Oustanding film!

      The only problem with Mononoke was Mirmax did a horrible job of marking and distribution. Only Iron Giant was done worse.

      I am worried about how these clowns will do with Spirited Away since its slated for September 20 move and if correct, Oct 8 for video release!

      I wont get into the "Red Tint" problem from BV Japan pressing on the R2 DVD release of SA.

  • Anime. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26, 2002 @02:30AM (#3956570)
    This is a dangerous development. We all know that anime is like D&D, it leads to otherwise normal nerds, becoming arrogant and confident to the point where they feel big enough to act out their fantasies. These of course center around choke sex and tenticle rape that the moderators think about constantly.

    • Re:Anime. (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Actually, my fantasies revolve around using a Sakaba sword and really flashy techniques to LART luser Kenshin-style. Tentacle rape was never my thing; I always wished for a tongue like Gene Simmons of KISS had. >^..^
  • I'm quite excited about this movie, because I really liked Perfect Blue. I suppose this is a strange coincidence, but I checked it out and watched it for the first time on Monday. I just hope that they don't price it unreasonably.

  • Can't see how... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Chemical ( 49694 ) <nkessler2000@NoSPaM.hotmail.com> on Friday July 26, 2002 @02:41AM (#3956599) Homepage
    Can't see how this will be a good thing. The only good Dreamworks might do get some "well known" people to do voice acting (not that I care as I am a sub-snob) and perhaps get a somewhat large exposure at big cinemas. Other than that, this is more or less a bad thing. The American Anime-only distribution companies like ADV and the like by the fans, for the fans. They care about their fans and do their best to make their fans happy. Dreamworks and other Hollywood stuidos couldn't give a flying fuck about the fans and just want to make some cash. They will rape the movie any way they can if they think it will earn them a couple more bucks. Disney/Miramax wanted to rape Princess Mononoke by censoring it, and they would have if they weren't restricted by the contract. Tri-Star did an all right job with Metropolis but the translation was sub-ADV. I can't imagine what Dreamworks, another animation studio known more for "kiddie" movies, plans to do with this, but I don't think Dreamworks buying the distribution rights is going to be beneficial to anime fans.

    • Re:Can't see how... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Golias ( 176380 )
      You speak like an anime snob, yet fess up to watching Metropolis with the dub track. The cognative dissonance is a little much to overcome.

      Metropolis was the shit, by the way. A little slow to get started, but worth it in the end. Everybody go rent it, and be sure to watch it in Japanese.

      Back to your point: I could not disagree more. Big distributors selling anime is good news. For all your ADV snobbery, I am compelled to point out that some of these small distributors are doing a half-assed job at best. A friend of mine has had to return his Slayers DVD boxed set three times now because the audio track was all fucked up.

      • I don't want to start a flame here (although it's kinda hard to avoid when a bunch of people start talking about anime!), but it just appears that you misread a few things in the post you are replying to.

        He never said that he watched the dubbed version of Metropolis. He said the translation wasn't very good. This is correct. The SUBBED translation was simply horrible. Besides the fact that it could have been much smoother, they even changed the people's NAMES for no reason! "Litegong"?! You can't even pronounce that in Japanese! Even if you don't speak Japanese, you'd still notice something wrong with the translation if you paid attention, and that alone would make it a bad translation.

        But yeah, big distributors distribuing anime is good as long as the original compaines don't get screwed over in their contracts (see Princess Mononoke censorship example of what was narrowly avoided somewhere else in this thread). I really don't care how much they screw up the anime -- it introduces it to a new audience and if they care enough they can track down the better subbed versions and hear better voice acting themselves. I got into Dragon Ball Z by watching it on the Cartoon Network, now I can't stomach that stuff for even a second, but I'm happy -- now I'm a hardcore fan -- of the original Japanese version.
        • FYI, the English translation was done by Neil Gaiman of Sandman fame. When I heard he was doing it, I was surprised, since it seemed like it was very much out of his expertise.

          FWIW, I didn't think the translation was so bad. Granted, I saw the dubbed version (it was the only way I could see it on the big screen) but I didn't think it was so poorly done. Nothing glared out at me, but then, I'm no expert.

          • Re:Can't see how... (Score:5, Interesting)

            by JimPooley ( 150814 ) on Friday July 26, 2002 @04:46AM (#3956851) Homepage
            Actually, Gaiman didn't do the translation from the Japanese - someone else did that (in the subtitles) and Gaiman just re-wrote from the translation to capture the spirit of the Japanese text.
            i.e. - In the subtitles there's 'the deer god'
            In Gaiman's reinterpretation of the translation used for the English voice track, it's 'The great forest spirit' - which is more the meaning of what is said rather than a literal translation.
            • Nifty. Thanks for the clarification. My faith in Neil is restored! :-)
            • Having seen the DVD (thanks to my brother's copy of the movie I bought him for Christmas present =) ), I think Gaiman's iuterpretation actually works quite well. It does much to understand the cultural context in what is probably the best anime feature film of the 1990's.

        • Re:Can't see how... (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Golias ( 176380 )
          I really don't care how much they screw up the anime -- it introduces it to a new audience and if they care enough they can track down the better subbed versions and hear better voice acting themselves. I got into Dragon Ball Z by watching it on the Cartoon Network, now I can't stomach that stuff for even a second, but I'm happy -- now I'm a hardcore fan -- of the original Japanese version.

          Exactly. Even butchered anime can good for the genre in general if it builds the market. Look at how many Americans became anime fans in the first place by watching Robotech, which was a lazy re-edit of Macross. They know better now, but they may have never started watching had they not seen the chopped-up stuff first.

          Personally, I was a "Battle of the Planets" kid. I guess that makes me an "old-skool" anime nerd.

    • Re:Can't see how... (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      If there is one thing good about a big company like Dreamworks licensing Millenium Actress, it's the fact that it will actually get some international exposure without having to go to a local distributer or somesuch. I live in Australia, and it's particularly hard to come by anime in the stores (due to our just about single distributer) let alone the cinemas. Take for example Metropolis, the only reason why I can see it next week (albeit way later than people in the US but something is better than nothing) is because Tri-Star licensed it. Princess Mononoke was also shown here a while back, but as that got an R rating I couldn't see it at the time. I think that it's good that some of the big companies are paying attention, if only to get a little more screen time here in Australia and other countries other than America.

      meanwhile ive waited too long for my password to be sent so blah

      -lainster

      • I think it doesn't really matter that big companies are licencing anime these days. The fact is, anime is getting licenced before it is finished in production. The trend is going to where there is a bigger market for anime here than there is in Japan (due to the enormous cellphone bills the Japanese are ringing up).

        The only thing I've noticed that happens when big studios get involved in anime distribution/dubbing/etc is that they end up tailoring it to the lowest common denominator to sell more copies, but, in the end, does a great disservice to the original, and I think tends to alienate people. When some people watch a bad dub, they tend to wonder what the heck the fuss is all about. Don't get me wrong, some dubs are really good, and I'm not above watching them if they are that good, but I think that all the big excitement over more anime exposure is overrated.

        Once we accept that anime is a niche market, and stop trying to convert every single person into an otaku, I think things will be better off for both anime and its perception by people outside the know.

        The above information was derived from a panel on the State of the Industry at Anime Mid-Atlantic. I would provide quotes to back this up, but I haven't found one not blocked by our nice filter at work.

    • Just some advice here, an effective writer just doesn't toss the word rape around. Its like seeing the word 'fuck' in every sentence. Whatever point you were trying to make was drowned out by the little voice in my head telling me that you are an incredibly petulant little fanboy of no consequence.
    • I am opening a comics shop focussing on anime and manga here in Indianapolis, so I'd like to throw in my response to your message.

      I am thrilled to hear this news. Dreamworks has produced only excellent movies and T.V. series since they were formed, and I completely trust their ability to promote this movie. I *want* anime to be exposed. I *want* it to become popular.

      Anime tells stories in ways that American producers can't figure out how to mimic. Why shouldn't fans of anime want more people to learn and appreciate this excelling art form?

      Corinna

  • I don't care - honestly (Score:2, Informative)

    by Akor ( 596116 )
    Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Anime, but why should I care about some companies making money with it or not? Sure it would be a cool, if I could see my favourite Anime on the big screen, but I'm perfectly fine with fansubs! I think groups like Soldats are doing a great job atm.

  • Might not be easy after all (Score:3, Informative)

    by forgoil ( 104808 ) on Friday July 26, 2002 @03:11AM (#3956668) Homepage
    I do like anime myself, and I own a few DVDs (and japanese LDs). I did buy Mononoke Hime (twice;) LD/DVD) and I think it is interesting that American movie companies are getting their eyes up for anime.

    But it will not be easy, most of the target audience will not show up for an anime in theaters in the states. I just couldn't stand the horrible dub work for Mononoke myself, and the US audiences is not known for "reading" movies like some of us Europeans. The fact that it is !Disney and that it is animated will turn off a lot of people, making them go "I can watch cartoons on Cartoon Network, ok? I want to see ".

    One of the biggest reasons is that anime is not family movies in the states (like most of the Studio Ghibli movies are in Japan for example) and thus won't draw the important child+partent audience. And it is not "serious" enough for an older audience. Not because anime can't be good childrens movies or can not deal with very serious themes. Just because this is the view of it in the states.

    One very successful anime on the other hand is ghost in the shell, which is loaded with action and fits in well with the fairly young target audience. This is also an anime with a very good dub (I could watch the whole movie without wincing when actors sounded completely out of character the whole time). When (if?) they get around to do it, GITS2 could be a hit in the west as well.

    If anime wants to succeed it needs a few "flagships". Movies people remember and like, a TV series or two that they remember was good. My suggestion for this is to _not_ buy a movie/tvseries after it has premiered in Japan and is old.

    Dreamworks (etc) need to be a full partner and produce it together with the Japanese production team. Grab the American voice actors (for those seiyuu that can't speak English well enough) and send them to work side by side with the Japanese ones. Make the sequences that would be too culturally hard to understand into two sequences, one for US, one for JP (and use multi angles for something else than pr0n;)).

    For example, the new GITS TV series. Do what I suggest above and send it on prime time television and promote it. This would open up for anime and give subsequent TV series a better chance.

    (I would also like to see Dreamworks buy the rights for Studio Ghiblis movies, send them to THX for remastering, make real quality dubs, and put them out in out big blacing box. I would buy that for $250 on the day of the launch without a second thought (Except JIPPIE!). But I think that will remain a personal dream of mine since it is very unlikely that Disney will do anything good at all with them right now, since they own the rights in the west. I think that Miyazaki is unhappy about the situation, which is a shame because he is a very nice person and him and his team has made some of the most incredible movies of all times).
    • I for one would love to see every Studio Ghibli movie done since 1983 released in the USA in a combined sub/dub edition that was done with the quality of the Princess Mononoke DVD.

      Disney should seriously do a DVD of Kiki's Delivery Service that is done this way; this movie is far more indicative of the type of movie Studio Ghibli does. :-)

      By the way, I disagree with your assessments of the Princess Mononoke dub; the dub was written by well-known comic book writer and science fiction author Neil Gaiman, and he does an excellent job in the dub explaining the cultural context behind the movie.
    • ... and the US audiences is not known for "reading" movies like some of us Europeans

      I think you can shorten that to, 'the US audiences [are] not known for reading'

      :-)

  • I was going to say something about the comment "Maybe Spielberg and company will fare better trying to convince North American audiences to watch serious animated films.", I wanted to say "Dammit, there are so serious animated features that aren't Anime!"

    But then I tried to find some.

    And looking at this [cartoonresearch.com] list, I came to the realisation that... bugger... there really aren't any, at least no big films that are serious and aren't Anime... well I'll be buggered!

    I like Anime... at least some of it, but sometimes I think the quality of animation in the films is over praised... I feel that the fluidity and realism in many 'western' animated features far outdoes that seen in most Anime, which always seem to skimp on frames, or animates the bare minimum that's required to get the image across.

    I had a co-worker who LOVED princess Mononoke, but after watching it I was left quite underwhelmed.

    Ghost in the shell was pretty good... Ninja Scroll was fun, but I'm just yet to see something that really makes me think "Wow! So that's what they've been talking about!"

    Someone, please point me to the definative quality Anime so I can be proved wrong! :)

    • Re:Is Anime really that good? (Score:4, Informative)

      by krmt ( 91422 ) <therefrmhere@yah o o . com> on Friday July 26, 2002 @03:28AM (#3956702) Homepage
      there really aren't any, at least no big films that are serious and aren't Anime... well I'll be buggered!
      You ignored a few that are on the list there. There's Wizards, which was bizarre and psychadelic (a lot of R. Crumb-like influence in it) and animated, but not anime. It wasn't totally serious, but it had a serious message, and had a lot of mature content in addition.

      Speaking of Crumb, there's the Fritz the Cat movies (I didn't know there was more than one) on there too. I haven't seen them, but I know Crumb's work, and there's always that counterculture air. Again, not serious like Ghost in the Shell or Akira, but with some serious things going on. Also animated, but not anime.

      There's also the Hobbit cartoon and the unfinished Lord of the Rings animated movie. Similar category.

      Someone, please point me to the definative quality Anime so I can be proved wrong!
      You forgot Akira, which is my personal gold standard for best anime feature film. Others will probably point to Mononoke or Ghost in the Shell, but Akira remains my personal favorite.

      The thing about anime though, is that the highest quality work is not in feature films, but in the series made for TV. Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun, and Cowboy Bebop all have US versions available, and all are outstanding. I've heard excellent things about Serial Experiments: Lain as well. The feature films based off of Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion are also must-sees for fans of the series, but they aren't particularly good if you haven't watched the TV versions.

      The new series Vandread is excellent as well, in a quirky and funny sort of way. Not as mature as the others, but still good. Ranma 1/2 also has its fans, although I haven't seen it myself.

      Some people are pretty obsessed with Dragonball Z as well, although I personally couldn't get in to it, as it never seems to end. The other series clock in at one season apice, which means you can actually watch them to completion over a relatively short period of time. Not so with DBZ.

      Basically, most of the best anime will come out in the TV series. Take it upon yourself to start renting the Evangelion DVD's, or download the episodes online to try before you buy. Eva is incredibly deep and moving and very complex, and is generally considered to be the best "difficult" anime series around, so it may be best to start you there. I've neglected to list many above, mainly due to ignorance, but those should get you started. There's a lot out there. Good luck!
    • There is no definative quality of anime. anime is a medium not a catagory. there are good anime's and there are crap ones.
    • Uhm, if Mononoke Hime made you feel underwhelmed, then just forget about this Anime thing and go back to watching college movies...

    • Re:Is Anime really that good? (Score:5, Informative)

      by archveult ( 156867 ) on Friday July 26, 2002 @05:53AM (#3956966)

      Neon

      Genesis

      Evangelion

      Do NOT watch the dubbed version. I'm not a sub purist, but in this case the dub really is terrible. Young and inexperienced characters have mature voices, gasps become goofy gufaws, and the screams of torment and anguish sound like someone yelling "Fore!" before swinging their damn golf club. And I listened in every language on that damn DVD. Every other language sounds as poor.

      Do NOT browse websites for information on it. Wait until you've watched it through.

      And if you decide to watch it, WATCH IT ALL. Do NOT quit halfway. I don't mean in one sitting necessarily, but if you only watch the first half of the episodes, you're going to think it's just like every other anime, or worse. Big robot mechs, teenage heros, cute girls, save the world, blah blah blah.

      Mech pilots taking dance lessons to perform a ballet sequence in combat to defeat the latest enemy? Tracked to silly music? Spare me, NGE. This is mind blowing? Pft.

      Or was that episode something different?

      Why are the mechs in NGE so tall, thin, and dexterous when compared to the mechs in other anime series? It's because toy manufacturers have an easier time building short, heavyset mech models. Early mech designs of Gundam Wing (the most popular mech anime in Japan at the time of NGE's release) were modified to make those stupid little toys stand up better. The NGE crew didn't care about the commercial possibilities of their work, and the ballet episode was just a vehicle for that point. NGE is something more.

      After you've watched it all, then you can go online for the analysis. Have fun looking things up in the Apocrypha and Pseudopygraphia (sp?). Note that the symbolism is both blatant (big crucifixes in places) and subtle (character motivations, personalities, and relationships).

      You'll either love it and be blown away, or you'll hate it. I've not met anyone between.

      • NGE is not the kind of anime you want to present as an example in a discussion about bringing anime to a mainstream audience. It is a rambling and aimless series with a venir of meaning constructed from poorly detailed pseudo-religion, pseudo-psychology and pseudo-science. Good Sci-Fi is Good Sci-Fi wether it is hand drawn, filmed, 3d rendered, or written down on paper - and NGE is not Good Sci-Fi.

        Note:
        I did NOT watch the dubbed version
        I did NOT know anything about the series before watching it
        I WATCHED IT ALL in its godawful entirety, including the "we ran out of budget" ending to the series, the movie they tried to use to appease the mass uprising of irate fans, and the movie they used to shield themselves from the stones thrown by even more irate fans.

        Here is a clue for you: just because there are obfuscated plot details, shallow metaphysical discourse, and characters in emotional anguish does NOT mean that a work of fiction is in any way DEEP or MEANINGFUL.

      • You'll either love it and be blown away, or you'll hate it. I've not met anyone between.

        Well, you have now. I watched the first few episodes of NGE and mocked it constantly. I thought it was kind of dopey and slow. By the middle of the series I was hooked; the plot twists and constant complications kept me interested. About two disks from the end I thought I was a die-hard NGE fan.

        Then the ending came, and my basic response was: "WHAT THE %$^&*$!?"

        Now, yeah, I know all about the problems the NGE crew had with ending it, and all about the two movies that are supposed to explain it all, and all about how a completely incomprehensible Iron John group-therapy session of an ending is more intellectual than your average Dragonball Z spoon-fed fare, yadah yadah yadah. I don't care. I despised the ending, and it made me feel like a sucker for watching the first seven disks of NGE.

        So, I didn't like the beginning so much. The middle was terrific. The ending was terrible. So the end result comes out as very lukewarm for me. I DO recommend it (I think that overall, it's good), but I also tell people to stop watching at the seventh disk and just make up their own ending, because it will be better than what they'll see on the screen. Blame whomever you like; the writers, studio heads, or merciless Fate, but NGE is a really good idea with some serious flaws.

        And please, don't come out swinging telling me that I "just don't get it." I get it. I just don't like it. And yes, I plan on catching the movies when I can, to see if they can wrap the story up any better.

        Why are the mechs in NGE so tall, thin, and dexterous when compared to the echs in other anime series? It's because toy manufacturers have an easier time building short, heavyset mech models.

        Yeah, I can attest to that; a friend bought me an NGE model for my birthday a couple years ago, and it wouldn't stop falling apart. It's in a box in my closet right now, in several pieces, collecting dust.

    • The problem is that anime is less a genre (like comedy or drama) and more a medium (like movies or novels).

      Just as there are comedy movies, political movies, and historical movies, there are comedy anime, political anime, and historical anime. Imagine if a person walked up to you and said "I don't understand this whole 'movie' thing. Can you give me the BEST movie EVER?"

      Imagine trying to pick ONE MOVIE that has gripping drama, laugh-out-loud comedy, strong political overtones, a harsh message from the upcoming generation, excellent camera work, cutting-edge computer graphics, and suitable material for all ages. Tough job, right?

      Whenever someone asks me to recommend anime, I ask them what movie genres they like the most. Then I go from there.

      (BTW, the plural of "anime" is "anime", just like "series". This is because the Japanese language doesn't use plurals like we do; "animes" does not exist over there or over here.)
    • Anime--because it is done on generally much-tighter budgets than American animation--has a look that can be an acquired taste to people used to the fluidity of motion of American animation. That's why it takes about US$800,000 and six months of work just to do one The Simpsons episode.

      But the Japanese compensate by flat-out great storytelling and well-developed characters.

      For anime available in subtitled form I recommend you see these titles to prove my point of view:

      1. Akira. Now available in a newly-remastered DVD, it's a movie that has breathtaking visuals and really makes you think, to say the least.

      2. Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise. Flat-out GREAT storytelling, and has an excellent musical score by former Yellow Magic Orchestra member Ryuichi Sakamoto.

      3. The three Slayers TV series. Really nice storylines, and it's just so cute and fun to listen to voice actress Megumi Hayashibara lose her temper in almost every episode. =) Slayers Try, the third season, is probably the best of the three.

      4. The Vision of Escaflowne TV series. Nice storytelling, and amazingly good animation.

      5. Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series. If you can watch the whole series straight through, you know why it was simultaneously loved AND reviled at the same time.

      6. Sailor Moon S TV series. Easily the best of the five seasons of that TV series, with great storytelling in almost every episode. :-) This is where the Pioneer uncut DVD comes in real handy. =)

      7. Excel Saga TV series. The first episodes are just out on DVD, and if you want something just as wacky and zany as what the late Chuck Jones did during his zenith at Warner Brothers in the 1950's, this is probably it.

      There are many more I could mention, but it's a good starting point.
      • It seems common to rave about akira. But I am less than impressed with it as a whole work. To me, it is a potentially good story, with some really beautiful animation scenes here and there, mixed in with just too much gratuitous violence and grossness. I mean, the bike chase scene is beautiful, with great 'director' choices, with the trailing lights. but theres just too much focus on, "something is going to blow up/die/get twisted - lets focus on it in gruesome detail for as long as we can get away with it"

        Yuk.
    • The most serious Anime I can think of is Hotaru no haka (Grave of the fireflies) [imdb.com]

      Watch it if you can (well, and if you are not too depressed :) )

    • The closest thing to a serious american animated film I can think of would be Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000. And those were stoner movies, more or less.
    • I just thought it fitting to say "Thankyou" to all who provided a great list of titles and reasons for watching. (Well, all bar the twit who said "Uhm, if Mononoke Hime made you feel underwhelmed, then just forget about this Anime thing and go back to watching college movies...". Fine, fine stereotyping there sir. Fine work)

      I now have some definitive points to start from in trying to discover the wonder in Anime (Be it a medium/style/format... :)

      In regards to those who gave 'serious' American Cartoons... yeah, I had considered all the Fritz the Cat, Metal Gear etc... but all of them aren't really 'serious', they are just comedies like all the kiddy cartoons, only with a more adult bent.... and drugs.

      I shalst do my best now to hire some DVDs and sit down and watch these films/series.

      Thanks again. :)

  • A reality check, and short play! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gizzmonic ( 412910 ) on Friday July 26, 2002 @04:40AM (#3956847) Homepage Journal
    I'd like to take this moment to advise anyone who thinks anime is "deep" or "mature" to step back and take a long, hard look at themselves.

    Hey, we all have our bad habits, just fess up. I myself enjoy pro wrestling, Mike Tyson's punch-out, and redhead lesbian pr0n. And I'm okay with that. I don't try to convince others that these habits have any cultural value, because they probably don't.

    To help you along your way, I've written a short play:

    Anime, by Gizzmonic

    ANIME GUY #1: Hey you, Anime Guy #2. I don't like you!

    ANIME GUY #2: Well, I don't like you either!

    ANIME GUY #1: Shall we fight?

    ANIME GUY #2: No, I got a better idea. Let's like, grunt for a few minutes, okay?

    ANIME GUY #1: GRRRRRRRR!!!

    ANIME GUY #2: GRRRRRRRR!!!

    Five minutes later:

    ANIME GUY #1: Boy, I'm really not moving while I grunt. There's a few lines moving in the background though. Did I have a stroke?

    ANIME GUY #2: Nope, you're just poorly animated. Let's try something new-here, I'll zap you with this laser!

    ANIME GUY #1: Won't that hurt?

    ANIME GUY #2: Nope, but it sure will blow up some buildings that don't appear to be anywhere near you!

    ANIME GUY #1: Hmm. This is boring.

    ANIME GUY #2: It's not boring, here, I'll disembowel you!

    ANIME GUY #1: Zounds. I am disemboweled. (dies)

    ANIME GUY #2: You are dead, and now your spirit will become one with the land. You see, mankind shouldn't tamper with the forces of nature, otherwise they could unleash a great evil!

    SMOKEY THE BEAR: That's right, kids! And remember, stamp all fires dead out!

    ANIME GUY #2: The power is yours!

    • I was going to write a through and complex argument about common logical errors (Dragonball is, sadly, Anime but not all Anime is Dragonball).

      But then I realized all I had to do to refute this was to tell the troll to go see Perfect Blue [perfectblue.com], WHICH IS LINKED IN THE ARTICLE.

      A troll about Anime could have been done so much better...

      • Yes, we all hate Dragonball Z. Yes, I've been meaning to rent Perfect Blue for a while now. I still enjoy poking fun at some of the more common conventions of (bad) anime, and the conventions of good ones too. Even Ghost in the Shell has fan service and talky philosophy breaks...

    • You've obviously been watching Dragonball. While I feel your pain, I really do have to object to your characterization of all Anime as being like above. Cartoon Network is quite frankly a really crappy sampling. (Not that I claim it has any greater cultural significance than say, my penchant for Horror and SciFi movies. I just hate to see people judge anime on the basis of the crap that makes it to American television. And don't even get me started on what Fox did to Escaflowne....)

      Perfect Blue.

      Kenshin, OAVs (Known in this country as Samurai X)

      His and Hers Circumstances

      Princess Mononoke

      Grave of the Fireflies.

      Neon Genesis Evangelion

      Escaflowne

  • dreamworks link (Score:2, Informative)

    by XtAt ( 31970 )
    does that dreamworks link own your mozilla?
    i get instafreeze on 1.0 :\
  • Let's see, on the front page we have two stories. One is entitled "MPAA Requests Immunity to Commit Cyber-Crimes" and it's all about those evil Hollywood companies and how they're going to DoS you because you have a few MP3s on your box.

    Then, there's this story about how kewl all this new Anime is and how awesome it will be if Hollywood can bring more Anime to American consumers.

    You all are a bunch of f@#$ing morons. You can't even tell when your culture is being co-opted by THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO SCREW YOU. You're even freaking happy about it, like it will become BETTER when it goes mainstream? What? You think this world will be a better place if Hollywood owns the rights to all your precious kewl anime!?

    I simply can't believe the rampant, ignorant hypocrisy of this forum. It's like it's nothing but a bunch of 1337 5cr1p7 k1dd135 talking shit about "anarchy" and "f@#$ the man" while they're pumping every last dollar into the latest shiny entertainment trinket the local Best Buy has to offer.

    • Let's Try Not To Oversimplify (Score:5, Insightful)

      by krmt ( 91422 ) <therefrmhere@yah o o . com> on Friday July 26, 2002 @05:56AM (#3956973) Homepage
      I hate this troll. How many times a day do we see people posting about the so-called hypocrisy of slashdot? It's such a disgusting oversimplification that I can't tell if the people posting are really just trolling, or if they're simply short-sighted idiots who just want to hate slashdot.

      Slashdot is a big and complicated community with a lot of different posters from various backgrounds, countries, and outlooks on life. Because it is not a monoculture, you get many different posts with many different opinions. Some people will ferverently boycott the RIAA and the MPAA while others don't care in the slightest and will continue to spend their entertainment dollars as usual. Many fall somewhere in the middle, concerned about what is happening but not so concerned as they are about other things.

      The entertainment industry too, is a large and complex entity. Many people feel that, while they don't agree with the entertainment industry's actions in the political arena, they enjoy what the entertainment industry produces enough to overcome this distaste. It's a question of priorities, and because this is a large and relatively diverse forum, you get a variety of feelings and actions on the subject. Others simply don't care at all about the politics, so long as they are able to buy products that satisfy them.

      Even the editors are not of one mind. Most of the stories against the RIAA and MPAA are posted by Michael, while most of the anime ones are posted by CmdrTaco. There is no reason why, on a site such as this, that hardly pretends to editorial professionalism (no matter how much many posters would want it) there should be one single overriding features of all stories. No, wait, I take it back. There is one overriding feature of all the stories, and it's "News for Nerds". Now, the term nerd is a fairly loose one, and as such it encompasses many people with diverse opinions. As such, we get stories posted on different subjects with differing slants. Now, any thinking person would never take this as gospel, but would instead use the differing opinions to weigh out their own viewpoint. Do I want to boycott the MPAA, or do I think their product is so good that it outweighs the politics? By asking this sort of question, we are able to make better decisions about the world that we live in. I, for one, appreciate it, and am glad that both sides are presented.

    • Re:Why Slashdot Sucks Now (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Before you start whinging about us being morons, you might want to do some fact checking yourself. Most of the US anime importers are not MPAA members, and have no connection to it. Most of the voice actors aren't even SAG members. There are exceptions, now that some big companies are getting into the picture (Disney, Columbia/TriStar), but the main anime companies like ADV have nothing at all to do with your complaint.

      And all the Studio Ghibli movies (the ones Disney has licensed) can be purchased from Japan, since they've basically all got english subs on the R2.
  • For proof, check out this awesome poster for Spirited Away [aint-it-cool-news.com], Buena Vista's (ie Disney's) first foray into the world of Japenese animation on a wide-release scale since Princess Mononoke. The film has broken all kinds of records in Japan and I hope it does the same here as well. The poster looks great, I've heard nothing but fantastic stuff about it, and this should easily top Millenium Actress if the marketing push works.

    Here's to hoping it does.

    ps - and I hope they don't screw up the DVD and force an uproar like Princess Mononoke did :)

  • "Delves"? (Score:3)

    by Pseudonym ( 62607 ) on Friday July 26, 2002 @08:07AM (#3957200)

    Dreamworks was making Anime five years ago. Doesn't anyone remember Invasion America [primepictures.com]?

  • It Is All About The Okane (Score:3, Interesting)

    by EXTomar ( 78739 ) on Friday July 26, 2002 @10:16AM (#3957989)
    Dreamworks sees these niche movies that cost next to nothing to distribute and always make money in their limited runs. Sure they'll never play as big as MIB2 but they are a hell of a lot bankable.

    Dreamworks also wants to break into animation so it is also about marketing. THE IRON GIANT is a very good movie...the kind of stuff Dreamworks wants to make. But as Warner Brothers found out they couldn't drag people into THE IRON GIANT because of the stigma of US Animation. You only take kids to light and bubble US Animation while THE IRON GIANT definately was something different. Anime however has a different aura around it. People expect slick visuals and complex themed stories from Anime movies. While Dreamworks can make movies like SHREK they'll never be able to market anything they make as "anime style" at the moment or it will be such a tremendious risk that no producer will back them even if Dreamworks fronts the production facilities. The next best thing to do, and by far safer, is to get the real stuff from the source.
    • Actually, the reason why The Iron Giant failed in theatrical was the fact that many Americans felt the movie had too much of a politically correct tone, which really hurt its chances to be successful among the majority of American viewers. (It should be noted that many reviewers that otherwise liked the movie had this criticism, too.) If the producers had avoided that cliché it probably would have done quite a bit better in terms of box office revenues.
  • That was a great movie. I was fortunate enough to see it at the world premiere at the Montreal 'Fantasia' Asian Film Festival [google.com] a year ago. Dreamworks deserves congratulations for picking this up.
  • I read (on big apple anime site I think...)that Tri-Star also picked up Cowboy Bebop. But the article also said that it was dubbed in English. They didn't bother/didn't want to dub Metropolis...but does anybody know anything about the Cowboy Bebop dub? Did they hire the great voiceactors from Bandai (who dubbed the TV series)?
  • I know, I know... Princess Mono, but this really is a bad omen... Mark my words... Of course, i could be paranoid at this point... A company the size of Disney would represent a large cash infusion into the genre... But it's DISNEY!!!

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