Close to six months ago, I found I had time on my hands and went on a mini 'anime crusade'. That is, I systematically drew, from a LIST, the animes with the silliest names, and watched, or attempted to watch, them on YouTube. I found material from almost all of them and watched my fill of a surprising number of them. Afterwards, I wrote a short report, which I was asked to reproduce here. I find myself, currently, with a little time and, thus, thought I'd re-write my report with fresh links and fresh material that I have learned of since writing the original. My thanks to the work of the tropers at TVtropes (above link) for their sum knowledge.
In writing this list, I have excluded the better manga/anime canon items: like Akira, Studio Ghimli films, such as Whispering Heart, Princess Mononoke and the Gainax TV series Neon Genesis: Evangelion (as well as the films). I suggest you turn to these first; this is an exercise in ad-hoc sampling and not a means to finding the best of the medium.
What follows is the list of anime titles. I chose 30 because that was the number of silly names I found to the nearest ten. Surprisingly, some material on ALL THIRTY of these shows can be found on YouTube, though not all are in any way completely represented. If you have witnessed some anime, a few of these titles may not be new to you. Rest assured, they were all new to me.
Before we begin, a few disclaimers. Do not be thrown by the funny names: most of these shows are not as funny as the names suggest and will merely waste your time. There will be comments, as well as some asides about generalities. Some do not deserve comment. Neither comments nor asides are meant to be comprehensive, but are merely points of interest.
1. Boogiepop Phantom
Episode 1, parts 1, English Dub:
COMMENTS: Interesting - but a bit of an obvious replica of the so-called "Mind Screw" anime (e.g. Neon Genesis - Evangelion) but without the same sense of authorial 'high-weirdness'. Likely it’s just the bad acting leading me to say that. It’s a pity it’s only available (for free) with the English dub. Anime is often better with original sound. Still, suggestions of better things.
Quote: (close up on girls eyes as she thinks, dead-pan) "He was probably killed... by Boogiepop."
BEN’S COMMENT: This seems a lot more dull and angst-ridden than something called ‘Boogie-Pop Phantom’ has any right to be.
2. Cowboy Bebop
Episode 1, parts 1, English Sub.:
COMMENTS: Original. Best of the bunch. A simple plot that can be told well through the limited medium of the cartoon. Excellent music. Episode 20 (I think; the one in the amusement park) is an insane gem. It seems to squeeze-in aspects of every genre, especially Westerns, Detective Noir and Science Fiction without really breeding a new genre, as some of its fans will claim. Hence, you can't really put your finger on a template used to construct Cowboy Bebop, but, at the same time, it provides no guidelines for its replication (so to speak).
BEN’S COMMENT: I watched this a few years ago. Ok, it is indeed pretty good, but, foolish westerner that I am, I’m still infuriated by the lack of either cowboys or bebop.
3. Coyote Ragtime Show
Episode 1 Trailor (English dub) & Strange clip (Japanese):
COMMENT: None, really. Doesn't seem terribly earth-shattering. Then again, hard to tell with so few clips that aren't in Spanish. The second link leads to the interesting sight of the '12 sisters' (robots, apparently) raiding what seems to be the prison of the first clip. They are dressed in costumes that, I am informed, are examples of GOTH LOLI: short for 'Innocent Gothic Lolita', which is a 'goth' version of dolls clothing.
BEN’S COMMENT: This is just about the greatest thing I’ve seen in my life. All hail Coyote Ragtime Show!
4. Doctor Slump
"the Super Driver" - part 1. English Sub.:
COMMENT: When I did my original survey, there wasn't much on this. However, I infer from YouTube posts, that there is a new version in the pipeline. This is an older Japanese cartoon (as a cartoon, one for kids: you remember those). One thing I've noticed about Japanese cartoons is that the older they are, the more incomprehensible (with some exceptions, qua Bobobo, #30 below). This is an example.
BEN’S COMMENT: Wow, this is insane and wonderful! Like a psychedelic Japanese Hanna Barbara show! Makes about as much sense as ‘Stop The Pigeon’, but it’s a thousand times more visually imaginative – I love it.
5. Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor
Episode 1, part 1/1, English sub.
COMMENT: Anime these days can look very impressive, and usually borrows pop music from the Japanese charts. Fafner seems to be an example of this. It wasn't on Youtube when I searched previously. A giant robot caper in the manner of Evangelion, though, in the 1st episode, without the strangeness. Bland, at first glance.
BEN’S COMMENT: Hmm… this one isn’t doing much for me. Seems like an over-earnest rip off of ‘Independence Day’ or something?
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1 comment:
This is an inspired idea. I've never yet really got to grips with Japanese anime or manga--perhaps I just need to learn to love the dementia.
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