Tom goes "extra-sensory" to answer an anime question.
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Leveling up between seasons? Psha… these guys leveled up between commercial breaks.
Kashif1 : What do you think of the way character’s powers level up between seasons? Like how in DRAGON BALL Z, Freeza was a galactic conqueror one season and then beaten in 1 episode (a record for DBZ) in the next.
I don’t think I’m going to be shocking anybody if I say that the worlds of anime and gaming are tightly intertwined…
Actually, here’s a personal anecdote. I got a haircut last Saturday, early in the morning, and some kids were watching YU-GI-OH there on a block of cartoons. I suppose you could point the same finger at all the shows I grew up on (*COUGH* POWER RANGERS *COUGH*) but, good lord, that toon was one big advertisement for the card game. They’d literally stop to show a new card and explain precisely how many points of damage it inflicted. There might as well have been a phone number or URL on the lower third with ordering info.
Back on point (and, perhaps, on a less cynical note) isn’t powering up the most sensible course for the storyline, anyway? You wouldn’t expect the heroes to get progressively weaker as a show progress, would you? Part of the fun is seeing them evolve and grow from where they were at the beginning… and, yes, that includes leveling up.
DBZ does get ludicrous with how much those Saiyans power up but, seriously, the entire show is about powering up. Close your eyes, think of DBZ and what do you see? Probably Goku crouching and flexing, the veins throbbing on his forehead, as he’s summoning his chi. That being said, all this does make the times when these invincible characters do have to get thwarted feel a little harder to swallow. It’s hard to believe Goku can get punked by some random new alien when he just threw a planet of energy at some bad guy.
I’ve seen some of this in the shows I’ve been watching. Ed and Al’s progress has been charted on an almost step-by-step basis, with them slowly beating or stallmating foes who trounced them on their first encounter. GURREN LAGANN’s knuckleheads always seemed like they were a constant stream of “leveling up” until they’re basically kicking the universe’s ass in the finale.
In the spirit of this, I’d say I’ve just reached level three of trivia while Kashif1 gets +500 honorary XP points for asking a good question. If you find some valued honorary XP points yourself, send me a question for this column PM. I will answer it.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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Are they all steamed, or just full of hot air?
jlanzer : Is steam punk more of an anime genre or a real world fashion statement? As far as I can tell there are very few animes that fit into the steam punk genre (steam boy, desert punk, letter bee, last exhile) and there is more of an impact on fashion modernizing early 1900′s aviation wear. Along that note, do you see any other anime fashion leaking into the real world outside of anime conventions?
Even though I’d probably add FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST to that list, I do need to explain that steampunk isn’t a genre specific to anime. It actually started in science fiction novels in the late 70s, early 80s, with novels like William Gibson’s THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE. The name was a pun on the cyberpunk stories he’s so known for pioneering. Then again, it obviously had some ancestors in the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, which were basically, I suppose, “regular” science fiction. fiction at the time. I actually answered a question similar to this on Comic Vine, which goes to show you, again, how it isn’t specific to anime.
It’s definitely a genre, but nobody’s going to dispute that a lot of the appeal has to do with the fashion. Few can accessorize like that anymore – - you really can’t get away with wearing monocles and petticoats these days – - so it’s a natural choice for cosplay. Hell, I even see cosplayers who aren’t even dressing up as specific characters at conventions, they just wanted to throw on some aviator goggles and a top hat.
As for anime fashion leaking into the real world? Do hipsters wearing snarky t-shirts with anime logos and characters on them count? I’ve seen plenty of people with huge, wildly-colored hair in LA, but I don’t think they’re modeling themselves after anybody from DBZ. That’s just how they want to dress. I do remember there being a banner ad for some men’s health website with a picture of a girl dressed like everybody’s favorite loli goth Misa. They didn’t seem to get what she was dressed as, so there you go. Leakage into the real world.
Still, we’ve got a broader pool of perspectives here. Have you lunatics seen any examples of anime fashion in every day life? More importantly – - should said fashion stay in that anime, for the love of good taste?
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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She’s a girl… she’s magic.
Somebody asked me a while back (and a mea maxima culpa for missing the name) about what happened to all the magical girl shows. To be totally honest, I kind-of neglected the question because I didn’t know what the terminology was in reference to. Oddly enough, I got reminded of the question while reading THE TICK recently. My friends, Benn and Liz Robbins are doing a special “mangalicious” take on the hero and, in their afterward, they discussed how magical girls show were an influence of the comic – - the joke being that it’s this big dunderheaded superhero traveling to another world instead of a cute girl.
So, correct me if we’ve got it wrong, but magical girls shows are about a normal young girl getting transported to fantasy realm where they she, or may not, transform into powerful version of herself. I know ESCAFLOWNE fits the bill, and I imagine that FRUITS BASKET and SAILOR MOON do too – - though I’ll confess to not being a devotee of either.
Snap reaction – - I don’t know if these can ever go out of style? Isn’t that the basic girl’s-oriented fantasy premise anyway? I remember comparing children’s literature in college and seeing the scenario I described above typically fit the mold of THE WIZARD OF OZ, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, PETER PAN, et al. I don’t remember if I read some commentary on this or if it was my own conclusion, but there’s usually a revelation that the girl’s parents aren’t her plain ol’ suburban ‘rents, but are really kings and queens from a far away land who had to send her away. Though, I suppose that’s a standard for male’s fantasies (STAR WARS) too?
Once again, I’m turning the rhetorical mic and the metaphoric spotlight to you more seasoned lunatics in the Anime Vice community. Have I been informed correctly, here? Is it my assessment about right? Or am I way off? Are magical girls shows actually on the decline? Or is it just in our highly-fantastical imaginations?
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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All that time, he really should've been saying “I MUST run away!”
Samjaz: You ever got up in the middle of the night, walked to the fridge, then suddenly realize something about an anime that just throws the realism of it completely out, like why they always let the Saiyans transform into Super Saiyans? Alternatively, have you ever had a similar experience, only something that didn’t make sense before suddenly does? Like the reason that Shinji was so good at piloting his Eva was because it’s powered by the pilot’s desire to run crying home to mommy?
Heh… I don’t need late night fridge raids to have these kind of revelations. They happen every waking minute I’m watching an anime. That’s what I enjoy about it. These shows aren’t slaven to realism – - they’re slaven to what’s interesting.
But yeah, to be a little less lofty, I’ve known since I was 11 that nothing in DBZ makes a lick of sense. More recently, I don’t know if I ever reconciled L’s position in the reality of DEATH NOTE’s world. Shinigami and death notes… those are all fine. But they never actually explained why L had higher security clearance than basically anybody in the planet.
Not that I minded…
THIS ragamuffin was the most trusted man in America.
As for the later? Undoubtedly, the strongest example of that happened when I reached the end of EVA and got to consult the more seasoned experts in this community about the secrets of the show. I really can’t even remember the last time I had that kind of mind job over a story. The nature of Shinji’s aforementioned AT field, the true identity of the Evas, the related explanation of why the pilots were all kids, the nature of human instrumentality, and so on and so on. I could also feel my brain twisting around to comprehend this new, all-encompassing way to look at the series.
I had a similar experience with the revelations about spiral power towards the end of GURREN LAGANN. While that wasn’t as much of a mind job, it did remedy a lot problems I had with these show earlier on. What I initially perceived as overly dumb fun ended up being a very cogent argument for the indomitable power of positive thinking. Even though GURREN LAGANN was less sophisticated than EVA on the surface, in hindsight, I think it expressed a much more applicable and clear message.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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Maybe this image ought to erase all doubt.
EganTheVile1 : Optimus Primal is the reincarnation of Optimus Prime and is clearly seen in Beast Wars as merging with the spark of the Big Rig version of Prime, yet in Beast Wars II Optimus is destroyed, his remains crash to Gaea, he is reincarnated as Leo Prim… Transformers Continuity seriously needs to have some discussion in Almost Otaku 
I’ve always been a little curious about whether TRANSFORMERS has a place in otakus’ hearts – - and if it does, which specific atrium, specifically? Does it qualify as anime? Since “Generation One” the nationality of the franchise has been a bit complex. The whole thing started with Microman and Dyclone, toylines from a Japanese toy company. But it was Marvel comics personnel who gave those toys identities like Optimus Prime and Megatron; and invented the whole mythos of the Autobots. The cartoon was American, sure, but it always had that anime look. And if you think it’s tricky keeping track of all the latter series and generations, keep in mind that you’re probably disregarding all the spin-offs that aired exclusively in Japan. I never even got to watch those, but I remember the rumors and hearsay from when I was a kid… and the plots still sound four kinds of insane.
So yeah, for my money, TRANSFORMERS qualifies as anime. Anybody doubting such should seriously take another look at the legions of shinigami in BLEACH and come back trying to tell me that they don’t remind you of the army of Autobots. Transformers is almost like a regent baby that’s been sired by another country’s prince – - it simultaneously fulfills multiple titles and bridges the gaps between old divisions. I’m sure that this was “the gateway to mecha” for many of you lunatics.
I abbreviated EganTheVile1’s question because he gets into some more extensive detail – - more than we have room for here. I, too, find Transformers continuity to potentially be more tangled than the Gordian knot. I suppose it’s a consequence of a franchise that’s both successful enough to run for multiple decades and willing enough to hit the “restart button” every few years (and the two are probably related.) Sooner or later, somebody’s going to want to try reconciling all the different iterations and such an effort will inevitably create some confusion. I’ve seen it in countless superhero comics, I’ve seen it in STAR TREK, I’d probably see it in GUNDAM if the Sunrise every tried to combine all their parallel universes. It’s just a natural outgrowth of long serialization.
Anyway, I’m sure we’ve got some fans in the Anime Vice community. Have you found a way to make sense of all these intersecting universes that have so befuddled EganTheVile1? Or did you give up a long time ago?
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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I don’t think this could EVER get stale.
Sotyfan : Ok, there have obviously been a number of anime about the same topic (ex. samurai, Gundam/mech, harem, etc.) and some seem to be stale with their stories as they seem to be repeating just with different animation, voices, and characters. I think the question can be summed up as: Anime: still refreshing or getting stale?
It’s still refreshing to me . That’s for damn sure.
Look, I’ll take the “scenic route” to answer this…
A number of users have commented that they’ve appreciated the focus of Anime Vice as being free of any “doom and gloom” about the anime biz dying. I don’t presume to be a journalist trying to report on the realities of the industry. I’m just a fan with a platform, so I suppose I’m more-or-less immune to what’s happening to the business.
Is anime getting stale? Are sales diminishing? Are Japanese studios getting too risk-averse in a hurting market and a tight economy? Maybe. Who knows? I don’t have any control of it, and I haven’t seen much, if any, effect such questions have had on on my experience. What I do see is an overwhelming mountain of anime and manga for me to explore – - a mountain I probably will never even get through in my entire lifetime, even if (a ridiculous worst scenario) production totally ceased by next year.
This is starting to sound like one of this guy’s pep talks.
News is news, sure… but having gone thorough a number of circles, I’ve noticed that every branch of entertainment always indulges in a lot of debate about how the stuff that’s out now just isn’t as good as the stuff used to be. Comics, music, movies… swap out the relevant nouns and you’re going to hear the exact same conversation you’re likely to have heard about mecha and samuarai and harem tropes getting over-recycled. While some of that probably has to do with Sturgeon’s Law and its 9:1 crap percentage, I suspect it’s got more to do with the old notion about how “if it bleeds, it leads.” Basically, it’s more interesting to talk about a threat than it is to talk about ”business as usual.”
Anime could very well be getting stale on the whole – - but, as Mom often says, I’m not going to borrow that trouble. All I know is that I’ve been enjoying the hell out of GURREN LAGANN and COWBOY BEBOP and so many others series; I’ve had barrels of funs going to anime conventions (watch out for me in New York this weekend!); and I’ve relished this opportunity AV’s afforded me to learn from all of you.
And all of that has never ceased being refreshing.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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You’re to blame for all of this!
Cogito: What effect has American Culture had on the development and creation of anime?
Doesn’t this bring us all the way back to the very beginning? Isn’t there that old chestnut about anime’s signature “big eyes” being a carryover from early animators’ very conscious attempt to emulate Mickey Mouse’s over-sized peepers?Obviously, this is all about cross-cultural exchange – - artistic symbiosis. American toons influence earlier anime, which in turn influenced American toons in the 80s.
I had the great opportunity to meet one of the directors of G.I. JOE: THE MOVIE (the cartoon one from the 80s, not the live action one with Darth Maul) and he told me that all the animators on that project consciously looked at anime to borrow techniques. And that was in 80s! I’m sure there were hundreds of similar exchanges that happened between then and now, but if you want a really recent example of the ball getting served back…. look at PANTY & STOCKING. It looks like something you’d see on NickToons, right?
As for American culture in general? I’m sure everybody’s already aware of the curious ways that Japan takes from US pop culture.When I went to Tokyo in the 90s, I remember seeing teens trying their best to look like greasers from the 50s – - because, apparently, that was cool at the time. I’m sure there’s a sociology paper out there somewhere that gets into more eloquent detail than I can, here. Suffice it to say, we live in a world that’s ever-shrinking. Influences are flying freely across the Pacific – - so much so that it’s a lot harder to say who influenced whom.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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Compare…
Constantryan: When watching an anime do you feel the colour palette helps create atmosphere. For example as you’ve been watching Cowboy Bebop, I think that it’s desaturated (is that the right word?) look helps convey it’s Old West feel, even though it’s set in space.
I definitely do think the palette’s important to creating atmosphere and it’s something that’s often overlooked. Interestingly, Cracked had an article addressing something similar to this (although I disagree about the negative assessment they give.) GURREN LAGANN has a very lively, saturated palette that stands in marked contrast to the more muted, subdued palette DEATH NOTE used – - and that really isn’t rocket science. The former’s an encouraging 10,000 watt dose of fun and sun while the other’s a thicker-than-soup serving of gloom and doom.
…and contrast.
However, I wonder sometimes if the mood of a show’s specific palette is sometimes just a reflection of the time it was made. In the case of COWBOY BEBOP, for instance, the blown-out, washed-out palette reminds me of life in urban Asia. If I close my eyes when I think about it, I can almost feel the buzz of the kind of halogen lights. I have similar synesthetic associations when watching CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO and GALAXY EXPRESS 999, though. Both shows’ flat color choices evoke a specific mood from me. However, I’m not sure if that’s just a by-product of the coloring technology they had at the time. Maybe they were just trying to go for 1:1 “normal” color scheme, without any agenda, and I’m just having these associations on account of where I was when I first watched them.
Maybe these same technology advances I mention have also allow animators to make more deliberate decisions when it comes to their color choices. Maybe that’s it. Hell, JIN-ROH had a nigh-omnipresent bleached-out overcast look that covered every single with a sense of dread. I’d be curious if the previous entries in that anime’s universe had the same kind of flexibility.
I’m sure you Anime Vice lunatics have got a greater context than I do. Can you think of cases where the color scheme enhanced or diminished your viewing experience with a specific anime? Or is that all ephemeral?
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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The giant on whose shoulders so many others have stood.
Frieza: Upon the Mecha genre, what is the biggest mecha anime? What has had the biggest influence and impact upon the genre? Personally, the first one that comes to mind would be Gundam. I feel that it is the originator of mecha. Why? Well, let’s say that perhaps if Gundam wasn’t popular, probably mecha wouldn’t be popular as a whole. Was there a mecha before Gundam that had an impact to the genre like Gundam did?
I imagine that GUNDAM’s the biggest mecha, as well. Again, it’s that old debate about who did it first versus who did it most memorably. GIGANTOR, TRANZOR Z (and even some possible roots in Heinlein’s STARSHIP TROOPERS) may precede, but they’re not the same kind of mecha empire we’re talking about here. GUNDAM might not be a the favorite mecha of a lot of you lunatics, but facts are facst and the series has been running for decades, almost continuously, with who-knows-how-many spin-offs and gaidens and alternate reality stories. Actually, I think the true decider of it being the biggest mecha is the fact there’s actually a restaurant in Japan that’ll serve you 1:1 scale fried GUNDAM.
That trumps pretty much anything else, no?
The true biggest mecha of them all.
You know, the funny is that I got a question a few weeks back who manga’s answer to Superman is and, while the fun answer might be Goku, through another lens, it might actually be GUNDAM. The conclusion I’ve reached from watching all these shows is that mecha is mor-or-less the equivalent of superheroes in Japan. The boy’s power fantasy genre that’s been well-explored, deconstructed and reconstructed, referenced and homaged. I’ll leave it up to somebody else – - somebody more academic than I – - to determine what the significance is of the man being super-powered vis a vis the giant suit being super-powered, though.
Then again, you could also look at this question as asking which mecha is the physically biggest of all time. After watching the conclusion of GURREN LAGANN, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a giant robo bigger than universe-dwarfing Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
Pffft… and you think Evas were impressive for being as big as skyscrapers.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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So if I liked Nia from GURREN LAGANN, does that qualify as lolicon?
Zaldar: And to ask another controversial question (I just love stirring the pot) when Japan was trying to outlaw loli manga, the argument from many of the people against it was that it keeps the people with the urges from doing things to real children, since they can read the manga instead. One mangaka even did that argument in manga form. Crazy argument or maybe some merit? (And I promise to ask a less icky question next time).
An icky question indeed.
I already address this a bit in an earlier column but, considering how my stance caused some debate, I figured I ought to clarify again. First, I think that the nomenclature for this kind of thing needs to be revised. If “lolicon” really is just a broad term for an interest in young characters, while “loli” specifically refers to the fetish – - the same way, I presume, you can be a fan of funny animal cartoons without necessarily being a furry – - then using the title of LOLITA, an novel about pedophilia, as a root word probably isn’t the best idea.
Questions… questions… questions…
The question of whether entertainment can serve as a sublimating outlet for harmful, base urges is a debate that stretches across every kind of a media. Do violent video games mollify or foster aggression? Do crime thrillers glorify breaking the law or simply reflect reality? And so on, ad nauseam. Any legitimate psychologist I’ve run into will freely admit that psychology isn’t an exact science, so we may never get an all-encompassing answer to this. My answer is that deciding the barriers between fiction and reality, as well those between sympathy and interest, comes down to individual discretion. For instance, I enjoy a lot of stories where the leads are absolutely reprehensible human beings, but I personally don’t like most gangster movies because they real do feel like they’re celebrating the mob.
Luckily, if you disagree with me, my individual tastes doesn’t decide the laws you have to live by… and that’s how it should be.
So, again, I’m personally repulsed by manga that sexualizes children.. I’d rather not think about the stuff or speculate over the reasons why its fans enjoy it or debate about whether it’s an outlet for urges. Fortunately, I don’t have to. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. However, it isn’t against the law (not yet, anyway) and until it’s actually hurting anybody, then no, I don’t agree with the censorship of it.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
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These brawlers took their time… with everything.
makes_me_mad: How do you prefer an anime handles things when it catches up to the Manga? Filler episodes, making up their own ending ala Claymore, or just ending like Berserk?
Considering how much longer it takes to produce a cartoon than it takes to make a comic, I’ve always found this thing kind of amusing. I suppose it’s usually a case of an individual artist’s workflow (which can be sidetracked by whims, sickness and other circumstances) faring against the relentless production machine of an animation studio – - a train that must have new tracks laid in front of it once it gets moving.
As a fan, I say that, once again, this is obviously something that must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. You’ve already got the usual concerns-of-change that come with any sort of adaptation, but an adaptation-in-progress introduces many more angles. Sometimes the portions that the anime makes up is worse than the source material, sometimes it ends up being better. I’m sure that, a lot of times, the producers end up kicking themselves when they see what the manga does when it finally comes out – - because they liked it better than what they came up with, themselves. And vice versa. Wasn’t that part of the reason for FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD? A second go-round that could afford to be more faithful to what the manga ended up becoming?
Regarding filler, I find DRAGONBALL Z KAI especially hilarious because it’s an answer to something I noticed for years, but never really understood. See, if you were an American kid watching DBZ as you grew up – - even if you were an ardent defender of the show – - you had to admit that its pacing was slower than molasses. Fights were stretched over 30 episodes, entire episodes were devoted to Goku getting his constipated face on while he powered-up to throw just one punch… I just accepted it at face value until I found out later on that all of that was a result of the animators stretching the available material they had once they caught up with the manga. In other words – - it was padding. It was such a problem that they had to go back and recut the thing for KAI so it’s actually paced reasonably, now.
So yeah, I guess the short answer is that I don’t like filler. Who does? If you run out of material, then go in some bold new directions. Do some gaidens, but do them quickly, please.
Go on and send me more questions as private messages, everybody. I’ll answer all of them… within reason.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE .Order them on Amazon here & here .
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We’re going to make you look pretty, Marcus!
fullmetalgeass What video game/ movie/ whatever franchise do you think REALLY needs to get adapted into an anime?
We did something about what movies should become anime a while back, so I’ll focus on the vidya games, here. Right off the bat, there should definitely be a GEARS OF WAR game, as it’ll finally broker a truce between the camps who want manly men or pretty boys as their heroes. It would be absolutely grin-inducing, gut-busting hilarious to see a thin, androgynous Marcus Fenix with highlights in his sole patch. Kidding, kidding… nobody freak out.
I also ought to mention, again, how thoroughly I dislike ADVENT CHILDREN. Good lord…
Back on topic… this is kind of tough question. There’ve been so many adaptations already. Even just recently we got DEVIL MAY CRY and that HALO LEGENDS DTV project. I have strong memories of watching the STREET FIGHTER and FATAL FURY animes on VHS when I was a kid, and those might be examples games maybe not having enough story or context to make for an interesting toon. I think the issue a lot of times is… of how compelling is the story, in itself, and how much of it just works in the context of the game mileau? For instance, I love the BROTHERS IN ARMS games, but that’s because they’re interactive. An anime based on them wouldn’t be that special. It’d just be a BAND OF BROTHERS take-off.
Alright, alright, alright… enough beating around the bush. Here’s a quick list…
DEUS EX – - coincidentally my favorite video game of all-tiime. Its conspiracy-filled world is so complex that it’s just begging to be minned. And since the entries are so few-and-far-between (we’re only just now getting a third game) I really feel like the surface has only just been scratched. Plus, I’m pretty sure GHOST IN THE SHELL fans are going to dig this… a lot.
METAL GEAR SOLID – - with 40 minute long cut scenes, Konami obviously wants to make this an anime. They should just go ahead with it and make it official.
CAPTAIN COMMANDO – - an odd choice, perhaps, but the arcade beat ‘em up made a HUGE impression on me as kid. I think the MARVEL VS. CAPCOM games have shown everybody how fun CC and his posse are. I could easily see a toon with all the ridiculous set pieces and wild,manic, contradictory sci-fi and fantasy ideas colliding in one place. C’mon… you’ve got a baby piloting a mecha suit! That’s an anime in itself.
MARVEL VS. CAPCOM – - this is kind of no-brainer. Both companies have had anime adaptations (or they’ve got ones in the works) so why not combine the two? It’d finally put my loves of comics, anime and video games together in one tidy place. And just look at the cinematics for game #3! They’re just begging for a full length feature in that style.
GOD OF WAR – - Another favorite of mine. It’d be great to see an anime getting a little more into the story of Kratos, now that he’s, you know, wiped out all the Olympians. As I said with GOW3, they totally need to do more adventures where he puts the hurt on all the other pantheons of the world. Easy choices are the Norse and the Egyptians’. This might a fun way for Kratos to take on the weirder or less well-known mytholgoies like the Maya’s while delving a little deeper into the psyche of this rage-embodying warrior.
This is fun! Let’s keep going. Give me your picks, Anime Vice lunatics!
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE .Order them on Amazon here & here .
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This really could’ve been longer.
kashif1: Here’s my question, what do you think is a good length for an anime? On one hand you have Bleach which is now almost 290 episodes, Then there are the fullmetal alchemist animes which are both around 60, and then you have stuff that is 27 or even 14 episodes long. What is the best length to tell a story?
This is the fundamental dilemma of all serialized entertainment, isn’t it? When do you stop and when do you keep it going? The standard length seems to be somewhere around the 26 episode sweet spot (which none-too-coincidentally corresponds to a half-year, or two seasons. )That’d seem like the easy answer, but this obviously a little more complicated. Anime and manga are notable for generally being more disciplined about staying finite, even despite pressure from fans. This definitely isn’t a case of one size fitting all.
I’d have to stay up for a day and half straight to watch all of this show.
We explored a similar topic a while back – - when have shows jumped the shark? – - but this one extends a little broader; it encompass shows that were actually too short. If you like something, your first thought once it’s finished is that you want to see more of it - – or, at least, something like it. That’s just natural. And I think I’ve definitely seen some cases where brevity actually works against something.
I thought FLCL, for instance, was something that was cut off a bit too earlier. I think it could’ve been twice as long. I realize the whole thing was supposed to be a less-stressful goof for Gainax, but I still think the show could’ve used more space to explore all the relationships and crazy ideas it only just broached in the show. Eri, in particular, got short-shifted a bit and we really didn’t get to see enough of Haruko’s added interstellar intrigue at the end. As a result, the whole thing felt like a glimpse of a story rather than full-fledged experience.
On the other end of the stick, I’m honestly hesitant to pick up watching FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD because 60 episodes is just so daunting a number to get through. That’s at 20-30 hours of material! Then again, considering how complex the world is, only 17 episodes in, I’m sure they need that many episodes to explore the Elric brothers’ universe. I don’t begrudge ‘em for that, but that’s just a sign of it being a different animal.
I don’t know. Sometimes series get long-in-the-tooth and drift too far from what made them interesting in the first place. Other times, an extended run allows for interesting complexities and “happy accidents” when creatives play round robin with an idea. And sometimes stories are squished into a box that’s too confining. Like I said, no one size fits all.
What do you lunatics think? When has a series go on past its natural life span? When has it been cut before its reached its prime? What’s the ideal length for a show?
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE .Order them on Amazon here & here .
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