the narrow american animation view

i was just debated the merits and downfall of anime on another forum, whom many of you may already subscribe to, called AWN, or animation world network.
it was amazing to me the amount of ignorance towards the artform and japan itself. so much so that i almost got banned for voicing my opinion on american animation. have any of you encountered this hostile attitude towards anime on other forums? it boggles my mind that american animation professionals and fans
cant see the profound nature of anime in all its diversity. made me very sad.
it seems the overwhelming concensus is that animation should be homogenous and geared toward "the general audience". they will argue with you of course that thats not really the point, but it is, isnt it? i have never encountered such a massive group of narow minded animation fans. they seem "as adults" to be completely happy to watch nothing but generic little cartoon bunnies and cute little un-offensive charictatures of human beings engaging in dry humor and banal dioloug. very very frustrating, being that i am american, and facing the daunting task of becoming an anime animator, here in the states, to produce and animatefull length theatrical film, in the anime form.
plz give me soem feedback on similar experiences if you have any. im p****d
off that americans are that narow minded when it comes to anime. jerks.

ah. an anime fan who types a lot. no feedback sorry......but keep your spirit up.

Well, babar-san, to throw in my two cents worth, don't be too harsh on us. I've heard that all before and don't get angry about it. Trust me, it's not worth spiking your blood pressure over. For decades, Americans have been conditioned (or brainwashed, depending on your point of view) into believing that animation is only for little kids and can't (or won't) be taken seriously as an art form. As for the generic, little cartoon bunnies and cute little un-offensive charactatures of human beings engaging in dry humor and banal diolouge and whatnot, blame Walt Disney for that. It's what generations grew up on.

Another factor to take into consideration here is our insanely puritanical approach when it comes to entertainment mediums, i.e., TV and movies. Because Americans subscribe to the narrow mindset that animation is only for kids, they demand animation studios produce stuff that's as unoffensive and nonviolent as possible as so not to shock the poor little kids who watch it so they won't be horribly traumatized and grow up to be deviants. At least that's what they think. Parents groups and bible thumpers are particularly obsessed when it comes to being watchdogs and protecting our youth from all evils, either real or imagined.

Point three: This is just my opinion since I've never visited AWN, but I suspect American animation fans are secretly jealous of how gorgeous Japanese animation is, and that leads them to hate the medium because they know deep down that the slop we produce will NEVER come close to even matching, never mind surpassing what the Japanese produce. Of course, we're not all narrow-minded, if we were, anime wouldn't be a fraction as popular as it is today with fans hungering for more like a drug. So, babar-san, just ignore those idiots and leave them to their foolish viewpoints which only exposes their ignorance for all to see.

I hope my opinions are of some help to you.

I agree with the fact that americans (and most occidental as well) are realy narrow-minded on the anime issue. But it dosen't explain the poor quality of american animes. I'm talking of the drawings, not even the scripts and personnages. I watcha lot of Japanese animes and It is realy a shock when I see americans anime on tv. I can't believe they satisfy themself with such crap...

Well, the only thing I can say is that I LOVE anime.

noxlord said:

I agree with the fact that americans (and most occidental as well) are realy narrow-minded on the anime issue. But it dosen't explain the poor quality of american animes. I'm talking of the drawings, not even the scripts and personnages. I watcha lot of Japanese animes and It is realy a shock when I see americans anime on tv. I can't believe they satisfy themself with such crap...

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Well, I'm no expert on this subject, but I suspect that because of our narrow mindset, Americans probably think, or rather, delude themselves into thinking that what we produce is top notch stuff when in truth it's anything but. I for once can't bring myself to watch American made animation anymore. Can't say that saddens me though.

Sadly, Disney remains #1 choice with the soccer moms out there. It's safe. It's mundane. It's PC.

And I, too, share bitter experiences with acute hatred towards anime on other forums. People tend to think all anime is like Dragon Ball Z, and don't really give it a chance.
To come clean, I shared this same attitude when it came to Japanese anime just two years ago! Oh the shame.

I have noticed that there have been a few American manga style shows coming out, so anime is affecting some animators in the states. Fair enough they are still mundane childrens show. Surly this must been seen as a plus. What is depressing is that in order to get non-american animation shown in the states to a large audience is to make it sound american as in the Crab Twins - produced in Britain with american voices to sell it. Gerry Adams did the same with his series of Thunderbirds and others. It is unfortunate that the American culture seems to dominate the media and what we watch. It remains up to a minority to spread the word about better programmes to others.

Edit: What do I mean Gerry Adams? I meant to say Gerry Anderson. I can't really see an Irish politicain doing kids shows

i tend to disagree with the comments that i am hearing here...

who is to say that american animation is poor..? there are some fantastic american animations that i have seen recently that have been brilliant:

The Animation Show

OK so not all of them are american, but there are some gems in there...

i also quite like dinsey's animation - especially Pinocchio...

my 2 cents - slate me at willl

Ah! But we are talking mainstream TV, Yorkii. I refuse to believe Amrecians are incapable of creating good animation. It's just the limitations that are posed upon them by the network executives.

To eleborate further on Mycernius' post, there really are some decent "Japanized" American shows. Personally, I like Teen Titans and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. They are just less rigid and turn cliches to their advantage.

I know I'm 34, but I admit to liking Teen Titans.

f0rk0 said:

Ah! But we are talking mainstream TV, Yorkii. I refuse to believe Amrecians are incapable of creating good animation. It's just the limitations that are posed upon them by the network executives.

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fair point there then....

ill have to agree to that mate,

sumimasen for mis-interpreting the thread

flashjeff said:

Well, I'm no expert on this subject, but I suspect that because of our narrow mindset, Americans probably think, or rather, delude themselves into thinking that what we produce is top notch stuff when in truth it's anything but. I for once can't bring myself to watch American made animation anymore. Can't say that saddens me though.

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Let's see we think we have better cartoons, better tv shows, better movies, better cars, better guns (don't get me started on that one), and a slew of other things. Personally I hate American animation. I mean when you were a kid it was fun to watch, but of course I watched a lot of Japanese animation as a child as well on a slew of different channels. With that in mind, I was always more of a fan of Japanese animation even at an early age because of the profound philosophical meanings behind quite a few of them. Ghost in the Shell would be one of the big ones for me. ^____^

Anyway, the point I'm trying to get at is that American animation sucks as do most of American products. You just can't get anything good anymore because big business, bible freaks, and idiots have ruined it for us. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be fantasizing about Sig Sauer handguns while watching Saiyuki. ^________^

Doc:ramen:

i just watch and read whatever my country gets

Kiyomi said:

i just watch and read whatever my country gets

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POOR YOU!!!


im sure you've never downloaded any anime

Ren and Stimpy. Pure freaking genius.

Doc said:

Let's see we think we have better cartoons, better tv shows, better movies, better cars, better guns (don't get me started on that one), and a slew of other things. Personally I hate American animation.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to get at is that American animation sucks as do most of American products. You just can't get anything good anymore because big business, bible freaks, and idiots have ruined it for us. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be fantasizing about Sig Sauer handguns while watching Saiyuki. ^________^

Doc:ramen:

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Well, I don't hate anything. Takes too much energy to hate, and at my age, I need all the energy I can get.

I can still remember when I was a kid (way back during the Jurassic period!) and rushing downstairs to hop in front of the TV on Saturday morning and watching cartoons while scarfing down sugar-loaded cereal and bouncing off the walls the rest of the day. Looney Tunes, Popeye, Superfriends, so much stuff! Ahh! What fun! I loved cartoons back then.


Of course, things have changed drastically since those good ol' days, and not necessarily for the better. American animation has gone to hell, thanks to the aforementioned parents groups and bible thumpers who insist on non-offensive stuff so our kiddies don't turn into legions of psychopaths. I know, rubbish, but that's what people believe. But nobody says a word about all the advertising attached to cartoons these days, screaming at kids to buy this and buy that.

Speaking of weapons, Doc, isn't a Sig-Sauer Mirielle Bouquet's gun of choice on Noir? I'm not sure!

cacawate said:

Ren and Stimpy. Pure freaking genius.

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hahahaah!!!!! you got me there, i have to agree, ren and stimpy was one of my favs for a long time, alas, the new ones they put out just didnt deliver, was not funny at all, but ahhh the good ole days

so i have recieved some good feedback, but for sure, animation in america just doesnt hold to the japanese. sure, disney animation is "well animated", but the context is boring, geared for the family, kids, etc. my problem is that im going to school to get my degree in animation, here in the states, and im worried about the reception i will get when i produce my thesis film. whitch undoubtedly will be anime thank you all for your responces