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Hey, Answerman! [2010-02-19]


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Kayu1111



Joined: 17 Dec 2008
Posts: 21
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:04 pm Reply with quote
I'm sorry, I just don't know what kind of asshat can take a look around the world of contemporary animation and NOT appreciate Miyazaki. I really, really, really don't.
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machetecat



Joined: 06 Jan 2010
Posts: 396
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:11 pm Reply with quote
Your response to the "almost" flake of the week had me rolling.

Edit: I can kinda see where the Miyazaki hater is going with this, but there are a few films he's done that I think disprove their argument. Whisper of the Heart is very much about finding your talent, and I don't really remember the girl in Only Yesterday doing a bunch of chores. Also, did The Cat Returns have any pro-earth messages in it? I had only seen it once a few years ago.

I wouldn't call Miyazaki a genius myself, I watch movies strictly for enjoyment, not to find a message, but I do think the ranter needs to look through a few more of his movies. I like the quiet, calm feel that many of his films provide. I think it's quite refreshing.


Last edited by machetecat on Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:46 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Yuki_Kun45
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 26 May 2008
Posts: 725
Location: U.S.A.
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:17 pm Reply with quote
I don't like a lot of MADHOUSE's works. Half their stuff is done in Korea anyway and half their shows look like they were made by a group of emos from HotTopic. There's a few of their shows I like but most of them just aren't appealing.
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:20 pm Reply with quote
It is a drunken wish of mine to jam out to Asian Kung-Fu Generation on Rock Band. Then my neighborhood can thank me for tearing apart some random foreign song they never heard of before with my horrible drunk singing instead of ruining classics such as White Rabbit, Ballroom Blitz, and Helter-Skelter, which they already have to put up with on the weekends.

The rest of "the band" probably wouldn't approve, but I'm sure once they've had enough beer they'd go with it.
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Hardgear





PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:21 pm Reply with quote
I own quite a few Miyazaki movies and got nothing against him, but damn that guy is right. It is like he just keeps remaking the same 2 movies over and over.
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Sorraffy



Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 157
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:36 pm Reply with quote
Good read until the rant about Miyazaki. Read the first few sentences but then skipped the rest because I knew what it was turning into. That just really killed my mood for finishing the rest of the article.. so I skipped the last half.
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lkmjr



Joined: 21 Jun 2008
Posts: 68
Location: Austin, Texas
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:38 pm Reply with quote
That guy.... just trashed Hayao Miyazaki. I'm trying so, SO hard to resist the temptation to start flaming him right now.

Well, just let me say one thing: That guy totally missed the point of Nausicaa. Yeah, she's trying to protect the Toxic Jungle (or Sea of Decay, if you want to call it that) from humans who were trying to destroy it. Yes, her valley is protected from the jungle's poison (mostly; enough made it past the forrest and sea winds to slowly paralyze and eventually kill its people as they got older). But she still had a damn good reason for doing so other than "it's the environment, it has to be good": destroying the jungle would have effectively destroyed the world. The jungle is toxic because the soil beneath it is polluted, not because of the plants themselves, which are perfectly harmless in normal soil. And those plants are decomposing into sand, which will eventually replace the polluted soil and render the jungle harmless, saving the rest of the world in the process, plus burning down the jungle would have royally pissed off a whole lot of gigantic insects who not only make the jungle their home but exist solely to protect it. In short: you kill the jungle, you kill the people. Miyazaki also portrayed his villains very sympathetically; they do not know what Nausicaa does and think what they are doing is best, and he made sure the audience knows it. Princess Kushana in particular we get to know very well.

And as far as who Nausicaa thinks she is: She's the princess of the Valley of the Wind, and as of the death of her father its ruler, and the one who knows the most about the Toxic Jungle. She has every right to try and defend her country, as well as the jungle itself now that she knows its secrets.


Whoops... I ended up ranting any way. Sorry 'bout that.
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DavidShallcross



Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Posts: 1008
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:45 pm Reply with quote
In the past, the other contact many Japanese have had with Americans has been with US servicemen at the various bases we have had in Japan. I understand we are now moving a Marine base from Okinawa to Guam. I haven't noticed much effects of this on the presentation of Americans in anime, however.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:52 pm Reply with quote
I think C.J. missed the point of Princess Mononoke. It wasn't outright condemning progress. The Iron Town folks were portrayed as being just as sympathetic as the wolf tribe and the wolf tribe ever the more brutal as the Iron Town folks at times. Nature was shown as important, but so was humanity.
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AkiraKaneda



Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 61
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:11 pm Reply with quote
machetecat wrote:
Edit: I can kinda see where the Miyazaki hater is going with this, but there are a few films he's done that I think disprove their argument. Whisper of the Heart is very much about finding your talent, and I don't really remember the girl in Only Yesterday doing a bunch of chores. Also, did The Cat Returns have any pro-earth messages in it? I had only seen it once a few years ago.


Um, all of these are Studio Ghibli films, but none of them are by Miyazaki. Sorry to burst your bubble...
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s.alsa-man1991



Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Posts: 137
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:27 pm Reply with quote
Baccano's portrayal of western culture wasn't bizarre and misdirected. The show was about crazy murderers, stylish mafia and immortal people during the great depression. And Isaac and Miria. Man, those two stole the show.
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funny99man



Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 5
Location: Colorado Springs
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:39 pm Reply with quote
I must agree on Hayao Miyazaki Laughing
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Julia-the-Great



Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 328
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:50 pm Reply with quote
I like Hetalia's portrayal of America. Very Happy

As for Miyazaki, I like his movies, but I can kind of understand where the one answerfan is coming from. However, I disagree with the sentiment that he only does two types of movies.

I'd like to point to Castle of Cagliostro and Porco Rosso. Neither of them are "Pro-Nature" or "Slice of Life." Lupin is a world-class thief and the main character of Porco Rosso is a pilot-turned-pig. Cagliostro is pretty old, yes, and Porco Rosso is probably not as well known as, say, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, or any of the other movies the Answerfan brought up... But they're still Miyazaki, so it's unfair to have a blanket statement about what kinds of movies he makes.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:52 pm Reply with quote
AkiraKaneda wrote:
Um, all of these are Studio Ghibli films, but none of them are by Miyazaki. Sorry to burst your bubble...


Yes, this is true. Well, Miyazaki did the screenplay for Whisper of the Heart, but he wasn't the director. Out of the seven Miyazaki movies I've watched, only The Castle of Cagliostro stood out for me as being great. I believe I rated it as Excellent. The others were merely okay.

On the other hand, Isao Takahata has done some fabulous work, although he did work closely with Miyazaki on a lot of the Ghibli movies I don't much care for. I will always respect Takahata for directing Only Yesterday and Grave of the Fireflies, both of which I rated Masterpiece.

Then there is Yoshifumi Kondō, who not only worked on the same two movies but also directed Whisper of the Heart, the other Ghibli movie I have rated as Masterpiece. It is a shame he died so young and so tragically.

C.J., if you are reading this post then I want to tell you that I largely agree with your critiques of the first type of Miyazaki movie you hate. Miyazaki's pro-environmental messages not only distract from the story (themes should not eclipse the story like he makes them do), but they also show him up to be a complete luddite who hates humanity. He has mellowed a bit with age, thank goodness.

As for the second type of movie you hate, the one that just shows little girls doing slice-of-life activities, I do think that you miss the point a little. Those movies are feel-good affairs designed to entertain a certain audience for a couple of hours. Anyone who claims that the movies have any deeper meanings than that are deluding themselves. So my point is that because the movies have no point but to entertain (despite what some die-hard fans might say), you shouldn't bother to watch them if you aren't one of those people who likes slice-of-life. I mean, not liking Kiki's Delivery Service (for example) is perfectly fine. But hating it is a bit extreme, don't you think?


Last edited by dtm42 on Fri Feb 19, 2010 9:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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poonk



Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 1490
Location: In the Library with Philip
PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 8:03 pm Reply with quote
Whenever I think of how Americans are portrayed in anime I always think of episode 14 of Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro wherein a seemingly harmless if overenthusiastic American guy enthralled with Japanese culture, when Neuro (via Yako) reveals spoiler[him to be the murderer, turns into a big (like, phallically-long)-nosed psycho brandishing a gun (another phallic symbol) and reveals his true nature-- which was the desire to dominate, as demonstrated by his treatment of a Japanese woman he was pursuing. He was a very "nice guy" on the surface but actually wanted to control her and was angry that she wouldn't submit. ] It's not a very flattering portrayal but I personally didn't find it offensive because I saw it as more of a metaphor for a type of American rather than Americans at large. Though reading through this, you could also argue I'm reading way too much into a shonen detective show.

But I have to agree with Julia-the-Great, America in Hetalia is pretty good. As with all the countries' characters, a nice balance of stereotypes but done more in the spirit of a good ribbing and not maliciousness.
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