Let's Talk: Anime (Discussion segment)

        This was a journal I wrote during my Film Analysis class after viewing the short film "She and Her Cat". I actually got a bunch of extra credit points from my teacher after writing this response as it was not assigned. I basically highlights the general topic of Anime and its view with western audiences. Enjoy!


        From the recent viewing of the short anime film "She and Her Cat", I can understand why the film may have been different in the eyes of my class mates. Anime doesn't attract much of a western audience because it either hasn't been exposed enough in the community as only a few channels host it at the moment (mainly Toonami or Adult Swim), or it's just the group's overall reaction. Audiences in the United States are often put off by the overly complicated story lines of these shows, as well as the overall art direction.
        Let me just state that I am not a hater of Anime, I'm a supporter as there are a bunch of examples that stand out of the crowd. In terms of film, the work of Hayao Miyazaki has always stood out. In fact, one of the very first films I ever saw was "Princess Mononoke", a film in which I highly recommend. I was about five or six when I saw the original film in theaters and my parents took me to it thinking it was fun for the whole family. Instead, what we got was a film with graphic violence, well executed voice acting and overall, Miyazaki's best film in my opinion. The film is so good, I have it in my DVD collection. "Akira" is also another film that stands out which at the time, pushed animation to a new level while not doing great commercially. "Ghost in the Shell" serves as a great example of Anime being noticed as the Wachowski brothers were inspired by the "cyber-punk" atmosphere of the film and were able to recreate that sort of feeling but in there own vision in "The Matrix".  TV shows vary on the other hand as there are some that are good and some that need improvements. I tended to lose interest in shows that repeat the same plot structure and that are longer than 100 episodes but I try to be patient, waiting for deeper character development to hopefully come into play. Shows like "Bleach" and "Naruto" follow this kind of structure in order to not only hook its viewers but to follow the Manga as best as possible. Repetition is what hurts these shows. I don't need to see a fight that goes over the course of 15 episodes because that not only takes away excitement and suspense from these fights. It becomes monotonous and it begins to lose my attention.
        This doesn't necessarily apply to all Anime as there are some that are able to break from the sense of repetition and deliver new ideas but go unrecognized because of the common misconception that cartoons are for kids. "Death Note" is an example of the darker side in which shows can go as teenager, Light Yagami, is given the power to kill anyone by simply writing their name in a book, whether it be through a heart attack or through other means of torture. With Anime, artists are able to create a world to their liking and it gives the creator more freedom to their work. I can understand the turn off as audiences don't want to have a complicated story or annoying characters but it isn't all that bad. If you just get past these annoyances, there are truly some great hidden gems within the genre.