ANIME VS AMERICAN ANIMATION Essay Research Paper — страница 7

characters in anime series will act totally out-of-character. Some anime fans will try to get you to believe that this is because the characters are dynamic. The truth is that these regular characters act out-of-character, just because they’re needed for a specific purpose to move the plot along. The difference between this and being dynamic is that realistic characters change over a period of time. Not all of a sudden for no applicable reason. That’s human nature! What about the continuity of American-based plots? Well, it actually works out pretty well a lot of the time. Even though different writers write different episodes, there is still is a whole hierarchy of “checks and balances” in the production of each episode. Overall, I’d have to say that the quality of

individual episodes of American series is much better than it is in the Japanese series. Also, most American series don’t live to grow as old as the anime series do. When the flow of creativity is over, it marks the end of an American series. On the other hand, a lot of anime series will carry on for many seasons after they’ve grown old and weary, simply because the producers are still making money off all its fans who will flock like geese to anything that carries its name. Another question I have to ask, is why are characters’ emotions displayed so blatantly in Japanese anime? Does everything have to be spelled out to the viewers, as if they are little kids? If the script is any good, you should be able to feel the emotion for yourself, without help from the character.

Does a character always have to breakdown and cry just because it’s a sad moment? What about when a character has to clue you in by telling you how he feels? For example, a character who’s anxious might say something like, “Gee, I hope everything’s going to be alright.” Now, I’m thinking that some of you might think this contradicts what I said earlier — yes, animated characters are supposed to be emotional by nature. However, it is not enough to just show a character giving off emotions like a bunch of Hallmark cliches with some J-pop in the background. Have you ever heard of dramatic irony? ANYTHING ELSE? There are certain factors which cannot fairly be judged as having to do with quality, but make American animation more enjoyable for Americans to watch. How

about all the pop-culture references made in American cartoons, but left out of Japanese animes? In my opinion, Japanese idiosyncrasies and folklore are no substitutions for this. And what about the voice acting? Most people agree that English dubs of animes are simply horrible, but what other choice is there? The non-Japanese-speaking anime fans will tell you that the voice acting is better in the originals. If they cannot understand it, how do they know? Listening to a bunch of gibberish you can’t understand with words flashing on the screen? You might as well be deaf! Some people like anime because it has more violence and sex than American animation. It touches subjects like death which a lot of American cartoons don’t. This does not make it better in any logical sense.

This should not even be an issue. What really matters is plot and character development. I don’t think having people drop like flies makes it any more realistic either. When it comes to character development, some Japanese animes have a lot of “flat characters”. Well, I do realize that most characters from American cartoons are also flat. Even so, the character should have a strong and unique image with easily associable character traits. Instead, in Japanese anime, a lot of the characters are instead based off of exaggerated Japanese stereotypes, some of which make little sense and can even become irritating. CONCLUSION There you have it. I have shown you the strengths of American animation, and I’ve pointed out many flaws with the anime style used in Japanese animation.

For some it may be easy to tolerate these flaws, but it’s important to know that you do not have to! Not if you want to find quality animation — you do not have to import videos from across the Pacific Ocean. It’s closer than you think. It’s right here in America, and the funny things is, you’ve probably overlooked it. But it’s still there! Yes, you might find more selection in Japan, but that can change. All you have to do is show your support for the many great animators we have here and keep their dreams alive. Animation is the only great art-form that was born in America! It is worthy of respect. Why not show your true pride for the red-white-and-blue? RECOMMENDED READING Television: Critical Methods and Applications by Jeremy Butler, Ph.D. — Become a smart