spirited away, grave of fireflies, anime
On sunday there was Spirited Away, Miyazake’s latest (the top-grossingest film in Japan!), and it was a thing of beauty. Flux and transformation everywhere, framed through the experience of a young girl, to whom everything indeed is going to change. Of course it’s fantastical – there are giant babies and radish spirits and dragons and eight-legged old men – but it’s great to see a film where the fantasy has a heart, and avoids typical pop sentiment, pap treacle, and all the usual cliches. Last night, then, there was Graveyard of the Fireflies (good article here). No giant babies, just bombs and hardship and hunger and pain, pain, pain. Quite an astounding film, really, and based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka.
The question of the moment, then: when will anime break through to the North American audience? I think it has already (Pokemon). Teens these days, I tells ya, watch a whole boatload of anime, whereas in my day we didn’t watch jack. But the real issue isn’t anime, it’s Asian culture, and its ascendance on these shores has only just begun. I’d love to see a stat regarding the percentage of videogame content consumed in North America that is of Japanese origin – 90%, maybe? And let us not forget Pocky, and bubble tea, and Hello Kitty, and the beautiful beautiful cars.
What’s really exciting is that all the kids who are being brought up with all these japanese cartoons are actually learning all the seemingly bizarre semiotics of anime ie stink lines=angry, big tear drop of blood coming out of a nose=embarrassment or whatever, so that they’ll be totally literate in all that stuff and take it as a given, whereas adults watching the same programs or movies just get freaked out and confused and end up adopting this dismissive stance, like > and they miss all this neat shit. Right?
What’s really exciting is that all the kids who are being brought up with all these japanese cartoons are actually learning all the seemingly bizarre semiotics of anime ie stink lines=angry, big tear drop of blood coming out of a nose=embarrassment or whatever, so that they’ll be totally literate in all that stuff and take it as a given, whereas adults watching the same programs or movies just get freaked out and confused and end up adopting this dismissive stance, like “those fucking japanese people are so weird” and they miss all this neat shit. Right?
Response to ilovedavematthewsband’s comment
And that’s a GOOD thing? Dude, Japanese cartoons bite the big one. The less influence it has on kids, the better.
I did cry a lot when i watched Grave of the Fireflies. I picked the movie by chance because i like watching animes. But the movie touched me in a special way, so deep that i would never forget it. It was special since the beginning, the way the author used to narrate the story, began with “Septemer 21. 1945. That was the night I died.” Then the whole story was a flash back of the ghost of a little boy, Seita, a sad story but it touches the heart of the audiences so well. This is absolutely a 5-star movie to see.
Actually, the blood from the nose indicates arousal. It’s seen on not only anime but in movies or tv shows as well. Blood rushing from the head…you get the picture.
Currently, Cartoon Network is trying to branch out into the serious side of anime as indicated by the recent showing of Neon Genesis Evangelion. If only it wasn’t for the egregious dubs or cuts they’re making for the viewers, there might be something there…
Anime is…just still undergound. ;D
Sorry, forgot to leave the info above ^^
I have never seen evangelion on cartoon network but if they show it hat would be asum becous no one right now knows about it. i love that show