sunday afternoon smoothie
Categories: anime, commentary
Tagged: gurren lagann
18 Comments »
Gah, busy week. Finally got a bit of time to sit down and enjoy some anime with a Berry Lime Sublime. Hopefully, I can get through this post with a minimum amount of blatant product placement.
(Yes, I was annoyed by all the product placement in Transformers, but it was just inexcusable for Order of the Phoenix. Seriously, Nike logos just take me out of that fantasy world… can you imagine Frodo and Samwise stopping and saying, “Whew, climbing up this mountain was tough, and we sure couldn’t have done it without our PowerSauce bar!)
I’ve been in F2HPM (Full Fledged Harry Potter Mode) for the past week trying to catch up for the new movie. One thing about Harry Potter is that the books are pretty much about being outcast and about fitting in, which is something pretty much all grade school students deal with. Creating fantasies where people overcome their outcastedness with some sort of gift, well, it’s a common theme in teenaged sci-fi. You can talk about X-Men being about race relations till your blue, but, in the end, it’s all about fitting in. Anime, though, is slightly different. In anime, the outcast and typical losers don’t overcome through magical powers but rather through random hawt nubile chix0rs that magically appear in front of them. (See Belldandy, Miharu, Mahoro, Ayumi, San, Shana, Louise, Nia/Yoko, etc.) I mean, Saito goes from pretty damn normal Tokyo student to the Wilt Chamberlain of Halkeginia. Now that’s fitting in.
The thing about this formula is that it always works. Growing up through school is an awkward time, and everyone feels alone or isolated during that period. Writing fantasy books where people overcome this isolation through friendship and fellowship and market it to that grade school crowd, well, it’s a going to be moneymaker. One thing though that Harry’s adventures does that anime just doesn’t do is the development of characters– people’s personalities change and develop as they age, and it’s apparent in the books and movies (more so since Harry looks like he’s 25 years old DOT COM bust than a 16 year old mage), but it doesn’t happen that way in anime beyond the typical tsundere character. For example, Luffy’s been looking for this damn one piece for like a decade now, and he’s not any different at the 400 episode mark than at episode 4. While his original audience has grown up (and maybe grown out of) his original exploits, he has to continuously attract newer and newer generations to keep his Going Merry afloat. Meanwhile, Harry ages and grows with his core audience, taking them along with the ride of life… things like relationships and loss, etc, are all tackled in reasonable chronological terms. Harry doesn’t have to attract new audiences as he keeps his audience with him and… the beginning of the ride is always available to the new.
It’s a very smart move from Rowlings, and despite manga and anime that span many years, such development and growth just doesn’t occur. I’m not saying it should nor is it fair to compare thousands of pages of well-thought out literature to comic books of nubile schoolgirls in seifuku, but it would be interesting and different. I look at Doraemon now, a series I enjoyed as a child, and I know it no longer appeals to me like something like Gurren Lagann would. Probably not as much for a comedy series as they have legs, but for a series where there’s a destination at the end, wouldn’t it make sense for the characters to grow up a little? I guess that’s my rant for Toriyama-styled series… growing means a bit more than just gaining the next level or bankai, and maybe that’s the kick needed to make an evolutionary jump for anime.
Okay, enough ranting. I hope to get at least two more posts written in the next twenty-four hours.
18 Responses to “sunday afternoon smoothie”
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“growing means a bit more than just gaining the next level or bankai”
Well said, although I wouldn’t have mind getting bankai after puberty.
[quote comment=”152134″]I wouldn’t have mind getting bankai after puberty.[/quote]
Seconded, although I’d rather add another girl to my harem of 0.
Note that boarding school fiction is an entire genre in England. It is a genre convention to have one book per school year. (There are also series that happen exclusively during summer vacation, one book per summer.)
Of course, you need a new sword too! bigger one! xD
And the most impacting thing I took from this? We’ve got a Jamba Juice-consuming blogger.
hahah, that’s what i like about hikaru no go.. the characters actually show signs of aging. (physically and mentally :P)
Reasons the japanese will never embrace this type of character development:
1. Lolis
2. Puberty
plus they’ve prepared various deus ex machina to deal with this; dokoro-chan’s future, persocoms, just drawing the chick like shes freaking 12 (she’s 18! we swear!) etc…
[quote post=”1118″] In anime, the outcast and typical losers don’t overcome through magical powers but rather through random hawt nubile chix0rs that magically appear in front of them.[/quote]
Well if you’re referencing X-men, then remember that most ‘heroes’ in western literature have attained their abilites or skills by birth/genetics (X-Men and Superman too) or accident (Spiderman) rather than by training and dedication. This isn’t that different from the old stories of heroes being descendants of gods, but it’s extremely limiting and even racist at times. From what I’ve seen, the Harry Potter series falls into the trap of making magic ability genetic (you can train, but you can’t gain it if you don’t have it), and unfairly stereotype muggles (non-mages) as being lazy, stupid and unimaginative.
Anime is very good at showing powers and skills as a result of training (Dragonball-Z, despite power level emphasis, actually showed effort necessary); as for length vs. character development, stories that have a definite end are going to have changes more definite and compressed, whilst longer series spread things out more.
Damn right Jason… maybe I complain a little about the movie, but regarding the books I think the same as you. Shows like Pokemon, One Peace, Detective Conan (maybe this one is an exception) and such keep with the same thing over and over again. I drop it off Pokemon 4 years ago, never saw One Peace (and never will), and the same goes for Detective Conan. Look at Ash, he has the same appearance since the first episode; hell with it!
Good look with Harry Potter.
Meh, I still don’t get what’s the big deal with Harry Potter. It’s just another children’s fantasy series that somehow became a hit overnight with no apparent reason (maybe because of the internet). Just give me Narnia any other day.
And Luffy manga rocks. The anime is just plain shitty and has long caught the “Naruto Drag Syndrome”. Any anime that goes over a hundred episodes just plain sucks in the end.
It’s hard to compare Japanese anime stories since they’re usually talking about stuff that happens everyday in a span of maybe a year or 2. How do you expect people to mature in 2 years?? Harry on the other hand seems to be growing up in what 4, 5 years? Luffy now has only grown 2 years. I seriously don’t expect him to change much in character except grow stronger in skill.
doraemon was a great run
“Meh, I still don’t get what’s the big deal with Harry Potter.”
I dunno… maybe because it’s fun to read?
[quote comment=”152198″]“Meh, I still don’t get what’s the big deal with Harry Potter.”
I dunno… maybe because it’s fun to read?[/quote]
Really? I got slightly bored with the first book. It’s just another children’s story book to me. I had more fun reading Narnia when I was young. Or maybe I’m just too old for this sorta thing now.
[quote comment=”152172″]Meh, I still don’t get what’s the big deal with Harry Potter. It’s just another children’s fantasy series that somehow became a hit overnight with no apparent reason (maybe because of the internet). Just give me Narnia any other day.
[/quote]
I’m going to have to disagree with you there, on the grounds that C.S. Lewis talks *down* at you in Narnia, while J.K. Rowling at least respects her readers.
http://www.revolutionsf.com/print.php3?id=953 Epic Pooh.
Also, the Harry Potter books aren’t trying to sell anyone on a religion. Just saying. =D
[quote comment=”152202″][quote comment=”152172″]Meh, I still don’t get what’s the big deal with Harry Potter. It’s just another children’s fantasy series that somehow became a hit overnight with no apparent reason (maybe because of the internet). Just give me Narnia any other day.
[/quote]
I’m going to have to disagree with you there, on the grounds that C.S. Lewis talks *down* at you in Narnia, while J.K. Rowling at least respects her readers.
http://www.revolutionsf.com/print.php3?id=953
Epic Pooh.
Also, the Harry Potter books aren’t trying to sell anyone on a religion.
Just saying.
=D[/quote]
Right. To each his own.
And btw, I’m not Christian, I’m Buddhist (not strictly of course). I didn’t read Tolkien or Lewis for the religious and war undertones. In fact, I didn’t even bother about them since they don’t concern me. I read them because they are nice books. And seriously I don’t give a rat’s ass about all that literature “epic pooh” discussions. I’m just saying that I enjoyed Narnia more than HP as a children’s book.
As for the “aren’t trying to sell on a religion” comment, well I look all around me and see at least 8 out of 10 kids are going gaga over HP. I just shake my at the immense success of marketing and I say to myself “Thank whoever-up-there-in-command there’s nothing religious about this”
Looks like you’re reading a bit much into my side comments and setting aside the crux of my comment.
Know that I’m not so much pro-Rowling as I am anti-Lewis. (Which is, yes, Ironic, given that Rowling lists Lewis as an inspiration of hers.) Well, you can hold the Potter books in disdain all you like, but I look at C.S. Lewis and his hackery, and “I just shake my at the immense success of marketing.”
It’s alright if you don’t bother with the Epic Pooh essay, because it looks at people like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, and does what the fanboys refuse to do:
Call bullshit on them. And it does so very well–as it should, its author, Michael Moorcock, is the same man who brought us the Elric series. Now *that* is awesomeness right there.
But if you’re really interested in “nice books,” I’ll have to toss my towel on the side of Ursula K. LeGuin, Robin McKinley, and Terry Pratchett. And Rowling, too, though I’m fondest of the later Potter books.
At the very least, they can tell entertaining stories without the sort of simple hackery that prevented me from ever liking C.S. Lewis when I was a *child*.
…
I’m sorry if I came off a bit abrasive, I guess I’m just getting my “nerd” on. I apologize if you’re a Lewis fan, but this sort of nerd-argument is already rather common on the internet–so I’m not too guilty in indulging my bad habits. I think. ^^;
Actually, I’m not a Lewis fan at all. I’m just saying I prefer his books to Rowling’s. I’m just being very neutral and I don’t hate HP. I’m just at a loss of words at Rowling’s immense international success at a book. Last time I checked, the Tamagochi was taking kids everywhere by storm. I mean the Tamagochi is a novelty but HP is just a book out of a gazillion and for some reason, every kid in the world chooses it as their icon at the same time. Lewis’s books are “classic” yes, but I don’t recall kids all over the world spreading the fervent word at some point of time.
.
And oh, I’m quite the fan of Terry Pratchett. Read all his books.
Ah, I see.
Sorry for misunderstanding, my inner nerd was getting all up in arms as per the internet standard.
And good point on C.S. Lewis’ market share. If the situation with Lewis and Rowling were reversed, however, I would be even more annoyed with Narnia than I am now.
… So actually, I think I see how you feel. XD