Anybody into anime?

I used to watch them all the time when I was a teenager, not so much as an adult. It's not because I think I'm too grown up, I just haven't seen much that's worth my time.

In case anyone doesn't know, anime is the name for Japanese animation.

Originally posted by vivify
I used to watch them all the time when I was a teenager, not so much as an adult. It's not because I think I'm too grown up, I just haven't seen much that's worth my time.

In case anyone doesn't know, anime is the name for Japanese animation.

i liked spirited away and akira was interesting, really liked some of the anime stuff done for the matrix animation dvd and i remember watching dvd with 3 short films on that was good. one about a guy who was killing people with his body odor and another about a society that lived in a town where every building was designed to have as many cannons and guns as possible built into the walls. other than those, cant say ive enjoyed that much anime. like asian cinema, when they do it well its amazing but you have to sift through a lot of crap, for every 'oldboy' there seems to be a mountain of 'tokyo gore police'. i guess the same could be said for western movies and animation.

Originally posted by vivify
I used to watch them all the time when I was a teenager, not so much as an adult. It's not because I think I'm too grown up, I just haven't seen much that's worth my time.

In case anyone doesn't know, anime is the name for Japanese animation.

I teach classes on it along with other aspects of Japanese art and culture. Am very fond of the late Satoshi Kon's work; he was a major figure and it's a great shame that he died so young. Perfect Blue is a really haunting psychological thriller and shows anime is not just for kids!

Originally posted by Teinosuke
I teach classes on it along with other aspects of Japanese art and culture. Am very fond of the late Satoshi Kon's work; he was a major figure and it's a great shame that he died so young. Perfect Blue is a really haunting psychological thriller and shows anime is not just for kids!

I first saw Perfect Blue as a teenager in the 90's. Great movie. Though when I bought it on DVD years later, I was kind of annoyed with the whole "It was just a dream" mechanic...but that could just be because it's since become a cliche. I think you'd enjoy Elfin Lied.

Very interesting that you teach on anime. Must be fun. Is it just me, or is Miyazake a little over-rated?

Originally posted by vivify
Very interesting that you teach on anime. Must be fun. Is it just me, or is Miyazake a little over-rated?

Yes, I agree, Miyazaki is not the greatest director of anime. Indeed, I think a case could me made that his studio Ghibli colleague, Isao Takahata, has made some appreciably superior films!

Originally posted by Teinosuke
Yes, I agree, Miyazaki is not the greatest director of anime. Indeed, I think a case could me made that his studio Ghibli colleague, Isao Takahata, has made some appreciably superior films!

Really? I've never heard of him (or her, I can't tell with Japanese names). I'll look into some of his/her films.

Also, I seriously dislike Mokoto Shinkai (I'm probably spelling it wrong, but a newer, and very "aclaimed" director). His (or her) films are soooo pretentious, and try so hard to be "deep" and "moving"...like "The Place Promised In Our Early Days". Even the title makes me roll my eyes. His other film, "Five Centimers Per Second" is even worse: just depressing, lackluster, and very emo.

Originally posted by vivify
Really? I've never heard of him (or her, I can't tell with Japanese names). I'll look into some of his/her films.

Well - watch Grave of the Fireflies. It's terrific. Isao is a man's name! A lot of Japanese women's names end in "ko' or 'yo' or 'e', that's one clue.

Perfect Blue takes me back to when I was a teenager as well. Good flick.

Originally posted by Teinosuke
I teach classes on it along with other aspects of Japanese art and culture. Am very fond of the late Satoshi Kon's work; he was a major figure and it's a great shame that he died so young. Perfect Blue is a really haunting psychological thriller and shows anime is not just for kids!

Satoshi Kon will remain one of my favourite directors. I think Paranoia Agent is one of the great tv series. Genius!

Originally posted by Teinosuke
Well - watch Grave of the Fireflies. It's terrific. Isao is a man's name! A lot of Japanese women's names end in "ko' or 'yo' or 'e', that's one clue.

I've seen Grave of the Fireflies. I agree, excellent film. I'm now curious as to what else Isao has made.

Concerning names, I used to watch one popular anime called "Ruroni Kenshin", and among the main cast of characters was a woman named "Misao". That name ends in "isao", which is the name of the man you told me about. Another main male character from the same anime was named "Sanoske", which ends in "e". It's reasons like this, that I'm not always sure about the gender of names.

But since you're a teacher, I'm sure female names ending in "ko", "yo" or "e" are reliable general rules. I'll keep that in mind.

Originally posted by neilarini
Satoshi Kon will remain one of my favourite directors. I think Paranoia Agent is one of the great tv series. Genius!

Paranoia Agent is made by the same director of Perfect Blue? Wow. I should've guessed, since the art style and tone of the animes are similar.

Now I have two directors to search through for good films.

Originally posted by vivify
I've seen Grave of the Fireflies. I agree, excellent film. I'm now curious as to what else Isao has made.

Concerning names, I used to watch one popular anime called "Ruroni Kenshin", and among the main cast of characters was a woman named "Misao". That name ends in "isao", which is the name of the man you told me about. Another main male character fr in "ko", "yo" or "e" are reliable general rules. I'll keep that in mind.

Yes, the rules aren't hard and fast (and in some cases vowel length might have an impact). You're right, Misao can be a girl's name; though it is sometimes given to men! Japanese is very complicated.

The "ko" is the most reliable; it's a suffix meaning "child", and features in a lot of very common girl's names like Hanako, Setsuko, Fumiko, etc. One the other hand, with the example you cite of Sanosuke, "ke" and "e" are different, because the Japanese kana alphabet is syllabic; every sound has to be either a vowel or consonant-followed-by-a-vowel, and with the exception of the nasal "n" at the end of a word, there are no consonants without vowels attached.

Actually a number of the names ending just with "e" are historically unisex, eg, Yoshie, which was used as a man's name quite often a century ago, but which these days is mostly used for women. Endings with "suke", like Sanosuke, are I think always masculine; apparently it derived from a time when the term was used for a deputy governor! These names sound rather old-fashioned and were more popular in the 19th century, like my user name, Teinosuke, which is borrowed from a Japanese film director born in 1896.

Originally posted by Teinosuke
Yes, the rules aren't hard and fast (and in some cases vowel length might have an impact). You're right, Misao can be a girl's name; though it is sometimes given to men! Japanese is very complicated.

The "ko" is the most reliable; it's a suffix meaning "child", and features in a lot of very common girl's names like Hanako, Setsuko, Fumiko, etc. One the ...[text shortened]... me, Teinosuke, which is borrowed from a Japanese film director born in 1896.

You're spot on. The anime that "Sanosuke" came from was set during the Meiji eraj, so it would make sense that this name is from the 19th century.

You really know your stuff. I wish I could've taken your class.

Originally posted by vivify
You really know your stuff. I wish I could've taken your class.

Thanks!