What Anime and Animation are you currently watching?

[phileas fogg]

nadia, the Secret of Blue Water

 

[alexvss]

In what sense?

Before reading anything about it, I assumed it was Western animation. It’s based on a Canadian comic, after all. But, as soon as I started watching it, I was surprised to hear a Japanese opening song, and I also saw that the cast was entirely Japanese. However, it does have that cartoonish feel.

 

[HareBrain]

But, as soon as I started watching it, I was surprised to hear a Japanese opening song, and I also saw that the cast was entirely Japanese.

I've just watched the opening, and you're right that most of the production/art staff (except some of the very top ones) do seem to be Japanese, which the IMDB page didn't tell me. But Japanese cast?? Kieran Culkin? Are you sure you hadn't just chosen the Japanese dub track?

 

[Swank]

Before reading anything about it, I assumed it was Western animation. It’s based on a Canadian comic, after all. But, as soon as I started watching it, I was surprised to hear a Japanese opening song, and I also saw that the cast was entirely Japanese. However, it does have that cartoonish feel.

I don't think "anime" is defined by the ethnicity of the production staff, but the style of the work. Lots of American animation has been done in Japan since at least 1969's Frosty the Snowman.

 

[alexvss]

I've just watched the opening, and you're right that most of the production/art staff (except some of the very top ones) do seem to be Japanese, which the IMDB page didn't tell me. But Japanese cast?? Kieran Culkin? Are you sure you hadn't just chosen the Japanese dub track?

Yeah I should've said staff

I don't think "anime" is defined by the ethnicity of the production staff, but the style of the work. Lots of American animation has been done in Japan since at least 1969's Frosty the Snowman.

Good point, but I call it anime when the animation studio is from Japan. Scott Pillgrim Takes Off is made by Science SARU. I wouldn't define it by the style because there are a lot of Western works that resemble Japanese anime, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, and no one calls them anime. And, last but not least, the Japanese don't differentiate. They just call any animation anime (it's short for animation btw), but we Westerners tend to call any Japanese animation "anime", regardless of style.

 

[HareBrain]

Den-noh Coil (on Netflix). Sort of like a cyberpunk My Neighbour Totoro, is the closest I can get. Just throws you into its initially baffling world of virtual pets and kids hunting fuzzy black viruses. So far (after E1) captivating.

 

[Mgellis]

Finished Citrus. Recommended. Excellent story. Not perfect, but some very interesting characters dealing with some important changes in their lives.

Also watched Police in a Pod. It was okay. Not "wow...this is amazing," but an interesting drama (with a fair amount of comedy) about being a police officer, what the work is like, dealing with all the things you have to deal with, etc. Problems ranged from the ridiculous to the deadly serious (e.g., responding to a traffic accident and realizing the little lump in the road with a blanket over it is a dead baby).

 

[Swank]

Yeah I should've said staff


Good point, but I call it anime when the animation studio is from Japan. Scott Pillgrim Takes Off is made by Science SARU. I wouldn't define it by the style because there are a lot of Western works that resemble Japanese anime, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, and no one calls them anime. And, last but not least, the Japanese don't differentiate. They just call any animation anime (it's short for animation btw), but we Westerners tend to call any Japanese animation "anime", regardless of style.

Well, Westerners use the Japanese general term for animation as a specific term for Japanese animation. And we use that term for non-Japanese animation of that style, like some of the current Chinese stuff.

My point is that animation isn't just making the individual cells, it is the character design and story. Frosty the Snowman, Thundercats and Scott Pilgrim were not stories or characters originating in a Japanese studio, and the producers were Western. By the same token, we don't call a Camry made in the US an "American car", and most would call it Japanese based on the brand ownership and design.

 

[HareBrain]

Whether anime or not, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is brilliant bonkers fun. I've watched the first four episodes and it's one of the most purely enjoyable things I've seen in ages: really inventive, well-crafted, imaginative and funny. The plot isn't the man feature, but it's good enough to hang everything on.

 

[ablackenedrose]

I'm currently working my way through the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Still excellent even after all these years, but it does suffer from what I like to call the "Twilight Zone Effect" - i.e. everyone else has been iterating on it, referencing it, deconstructing it or just outright ripping it off for so long that not much it does feels original anymore and its faults stick out a lot more clearly than they probably did when it released.

That's not Gundam's fault, of course - it tends to happen when your series is effectively the originator/codifier of an entire genre - but it is unfortunate.

 

[Swank]

Whether anime or not, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is brilliant bonkers fun. I've watched the first four episodes and it's one of the most purely enjoyable things I've seen in ages: really inventive, well-crafted, imaginative and funny. The plot isn't the man feature, but it's good enough to hang everything on.

Those books are pure magic.

 

[J Riff]

Hare+Guu hehheeHeH this one is wacky fun.

 

[HareBrain]

Those books are pure magic.

I haven't looked into it yet in case of spoilers, but I believe this isn't an adaptation of the books (which I haven't read yet), instead being an alternative version:

Spoiler

In the books, as I understand it, Scott Pilgrim has to fight Ramona's exes. In this one, he disappears during the first fight and Ramona then has to fight her exes in order to find what's happened to him.

I think this is an interesting approach, giving new stuff for book fans whilst also being completely approachable for newbies.

 

[Mgellis]

Finally got to watch Chainsaw Man. Very entertaining, although very violent. Good story, with some very dark moments and some truly inspired comedy (much of it related to the rather feral nature of some of the characters...growing up in a barn would have been a step or two up for a couple of them).

 

[alexvss]

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off wrap-up:

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, although an OK actor and one of my celebrity crushes, is a terrible voice actor. Sometimes her voice doesn’t match the character’s expression.

I like the drummer girl a lot, as she was much funnier in the movie. I don’t like this version of her very much.

Ramona actually has an arc in this version, and a very positive one. Gave me something to think about my own life.

All in all, this is the best version of Scott Pilgrim, but it’s not better at everything.

 

[alexvss]

Good Night, World. People with terrible lives immerse themselves in a VR videogame.

The thing about the first episode is that some people gather inside the game to pretend to be a family, but they’re actual family. It turns out they don’t know about their real identities, and that’s supposed to be the plot twist of the EP.

I decided to drop it. It’s not bad, but I got a pile of better things to do.

 

[HareBrain]

Finished Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Sadly the ending was far weaker IMO than the rest of it. It also struck me that the side characters were more interesting than the two leads. Scott's only characteristic is "puppy", and Ramona's is "cool", otherwise they're both pretty bland.

 

[Jeffbert]

Two silent 1923 animated films:
Century of Animation Showcase - 1923 & Walt's Early Wonderlands. Both were inoffensive and funny. The latter had sounds added in 1931, and had a live-action little girl:

Rather amusing misadventures. More than a few tongues sticking out, and even some

 

[Rafellin]

I'm re-enjoying Ergo Proxy, a flawed gem.

 

[HareBrain]

I'm re-enjoying Ergo Proxy, a flawed gem.

I have that on DVD, and am intending to rewatch soon.