03-15-2006, 03:31 PM
Wow. The comments about YamiFan are pretty brutal. (Not that I know WTF he's talking about ...)
My two cents ...
Re swmaxxx: Rather than lambasting people's tastes, you might've argued that [xyz] anime is really great, thus enlightening us all. Also, assuming people "go straight to Adult Swim" for their anime is not too kind. (Myself, I don't even have cable TV.) The beauty of anime (to me) is its freedom to, say, confound critical norms. So what if Inuyasha gets long? And maybe some people view Rurouni Kenshin in a broader way, considering the OAV and the manga. Maybe people simply love the characters. I mean, lighten up?
Plus, if you're trying to judge anime as a film critic, well, any film critic knows that plot is only one element of a story, and that character-driven stories can make for valid art. Try out some of Truffaut's writing on film; he's fun to read, not stuffy. Or at least tell us what is "good" anime.
Re Beethoven: I don't mean to get heavy about this, but he was "classical" because of the musical structure he worked within and, ultimately, advanced. (That structure was the sonata form.) He's probably as vital today as he was in the early 19th century, if not moreso. His 9th symphony is still really meaningful and timely. For instance, it was blasted by students during the Tiananmen protests and a big part of the rejoicing when the Wall fell. Less profoundly, it's in Eva and shows up in other anime and films. A lot of Beethoven's music is still so great. If he had lived in more recent times, who knows? I tend to think he'd be Marilyn Mason. But then, I'm kinda addled ...
My two cents ...
Re swmaxxx: Rather than lambasting people's tastes, you might've argued that [xyz] anime is really great, thus enlightening us all. Also, assuming people "go straight to Adult Swim" for their anime is not too kind. (Myself, I don't even have cable TV.) The beauty of anime (to me) is its freedom to, say, confound critical norms. So what if Inuyasha gets long? And maybe some people view Rurouni Kenshin in a broader way, considering the OAV and the manga. Maybe people simply love the characters. I mean, lighten up?
Plus, if you're trying to judge anime as a film critic, well, any film critic knows that plot is only one element of a story, and that character-driven stories can make for valid art. Try out some of Truffaut's writing on film; he's fun to read, not stuffy. Or at least tell us what is "good" anime.
Re Beethoven: I don't mean to get heavy about this, but he was "classical" because of the musical structure he worked within and, ultimately, advanced. (That structure was the sonata form.) He's probably as vital today as he was in the early 19th century, if not moreso. His 9th symphony is still really meaningful and timely. For instance, it was blasted by students during the Tiananmen protests and a big part of the rejoicing when the Wall fell. Less profoundly, it's in Eva and shows up in other anime and films. A lot of Beethoven's music is still so great. If he had lived in more recent times, who knows? I tend to think he'd be Marilyn Mason. But then, I'm kinda addled ...