Anime changes the face of animation

Anime changes the face of animation: Blog 10

I really agree with the reading by Luca Raffaeli on that the characters in anime are so much more relatable. They have in-depth personalities and one can become very attached to them. The reading talked about how Disney follows clear cut rules and always has a happy ending. Though they try for realism they always have a routine plot. It also talked about the lack of a father figure in Disney and how a lot the kids in anime are orphans. Anime is about overcoming hardship, believing in yourself, and hanging on.

I have to say I’m a huge anime fan and I’ve seen many different series. I started out watching Tenchi Muyo on cartoon network and ever since then I can’t get enough. The reading by Brian Ruh talked about the growth of anime especially in the United States. I really liked seeing how it developed with Astro Boy. One thing it talked about was censorship. I’ve noticed this in a lot of series like One Piece and Sailor Moon. In Sailor Moon there is lesbian couple which is completely censored out. I also knew a lot of the things in Pokemon were censored. It’s really not the same story. I started watching One Piece when it first aired but it was so heavily edited that I stopped. Adult Swim and other networks like Funimation or so much better so I mainly watch anime from there.

Now that I think about it a lot of series I watch do have orphaned protagonists or the parents seem to be nonexistent. In Full Metal Alchemist, Edward’s father left him and his mother died. In Higurashi, the main character finds himself in this twisted town. He is fighting for his life and even though his parents are there they don’t know what’s going on and don’t try to help him. I believe anime shows so much more emotion than Disney and Raffaeli nailed that it’s mostly about struggle. There are exceptions like in Death Note. The protagonist Light is a serial killer. His father is a police chief and influential in his life while is mother is caring. The series follows Light as he becomes more and more twisted. The audience may even grow to hate him. Things for Light also turn out tragic.

Here’s a link to part of a Death Note episode.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4soWFqvJTCs

Magen Thornhill