Forum - View topicAnswerman - Not That Kind of Resolution
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Paiprince
 Posts: 593 |
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I would say that "maturity" you have determines how cynical you've let yourself become of the medium.
There are those who've stuck with anime since day one and can still go back to their firsts with full appreciation of what they are, barring any nostalgia goggles or how badly they've aged. Hardly anyone hears of them since they're not as vocal as the rest. The true anime connoisseur: a truly dying breed in the Western scene. |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4570 |
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I'm really hoping that most of the earlier series I watched still hold up today (mainly because I wound up spending money on most of them...), but I think I benefited in that I only really started watching anime about a decade ago, when I was in college. I was (theoretically) past that "oh man that show was soooo awesome!" childhood nostalgia stage. There are a few series like Inuyasha which can still give me the warm fuzzies even as I can objectively see them as generally mediocre.
Now if we're talking about American cartoons, I definitely owe it to myself to never revisit stuff like the original Ninja Turtles or TaleSpin or Darkwing Duck, because I don't want to ruin those memories in any way. 
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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'Connoisseur' means 'an expert judge in matters of taste'. What you're describing sounds like someone whose taste does not evolve or change over time at all, which isn't the same thing. |
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Black_Kendoka
 Posts: 18 Location: Cincinnati, OH |
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I've gone back to many shows that I've watched while growing up, both Anime and American cartoons and, just like everyone else, realized that some have withstood the test of time and others make me wonder how these projects were green lit.
The thing is, for the shows that haven't withstood the test of time, while I know I don't like said show now, it doesn't ruin the memory of liking it for me. Whatever show I watch, game I play, or activity I do has shaped me into the person I am today in various degrees. When I think about my enjoyment of something as a kid, it's more than just doing the activity, but it's a reflection on my life at the time and how much simpler it was when my only concern was making sure my room, bathroom and kitchen was clean and getting to school every day. |
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Paiprince
Posts: 593 |
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Eh, not the best vocabulary to describe the term now that I think about it, but saying that person has stagnant taste doesn't sit well either. I'd rather put it as "established" or something. Not everything that changes is for the better anyways |
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Kougeru
 Posts: 5526 |
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Nostalgia really does suck. But more often than not for me, if I rated something an 8 or higher i will either like it just as much as the first time, or MORE than I did originally. I've found that high quality works very often are deeper than what can be seen in one viewing. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2512 |
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For Mr. Sevakis, My resolution is about the same, except that I "nibble" continuously and definitely need to lose weight. I'll bet you do too!
For rewatching, old titles like Inuyasha and Naruto sort of didn't hold up only because of the endless repetition and spiral of ever more powerful enemies and "immortal" characters. However, I still think of them fondly as the core concepts are still attractive. Like some sequels that severly disappointed me like Eureka 7:AO and Last Exile:Fam I only re-watch the original <50 episodes and pretend the rest didn't happen. Like mgosdin, I grew up in the '60's loving anime and "Little Norse Prince" holds a special place in my heart. I re-watched it a few years ago, and while it doesn't make me cry as it did then, it is still a good show and I appreciate it even more now knowing it's connection to Studio Ghibli. Get/Keep those old shows on DVD and re-watch then when you get in the occasional mood (like I do). I'll bet you don't hate them. |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4469 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Not mentioned in Justin's reply: many of us own shows on DVD that we wish to repurchase on Blu-Ray. When The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya gets the Blu-Ray release, it will rocket to the top of my anime "must buy" list (whenever I have enough money to spare). I also have Lucky Star and Cowboy Bebop on DVD but I'm fine with the DVD quality of both. However, there are other anime I would indeed re-buy on Blu-Ray if I had a non-import option, like Kamichu (unlikely) or Strawberry Marshmallow (very unlikely), plus the Urusei Yatsura movies (unlikely). There are also shows that I don't own on DVD that I would buy if there was a re-release, even just on DVD. (Top of that list: Kimagure Orange Road; I just didn't have the money for the AnimEigo sets when they came out and I never saw the singles locally in Ottawa.) |
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se37
 Posts: 229 Location: Annapolis, Maryland |
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That one about going back to old anime that I use to love when I was younger. I recently tried to watch Love Hina again. It was one of the first series that got me into anime and was the first that I have the original box and dvds. I watched the series 2 times in the day, in English and Japanese.
I couldn't get past the 4th episode because it was just the same joke repeated over and over again and not in a good way. That being said, I kinda knew that it would happen since I started to really think about it (of course, I'm not going to get rid of the DVDs since they belong in my "firsts" list). That being said, I also went back and re-watched Super Mario Bros Super Show & Teenage Mutest Ninja Turtles from the 80s and those were ok and watchable. I knew what to expect and was happy I re-watched it. |
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RestLessone
 Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
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I've been rewatching some non-anime cartoons I watched as a young kid recently. It's kind of fun. Some are definitely thinly written, able to get away with it because they're aimed at children. Others, though, are still fun to watch and have jokes/references I more fully understand now that I'm older. I'm glad that I re-visited them and know they still hold up.
It's good to go back and watch, I think. You hear lots of people say "Cartoons were better in the 90s" and whatnot, but in truth, we're only just remembering a sliver of the output. No one ever talks about how amazing The Brothers Flub was. Lots of awful cartoons were released in the 90s, lots of awful cartoons are released today. I can still appreciate certain 90s family films, despite their cheesiness and bad effects. I haven't gone back and watched my first anime series, mostly because I've only been into anime/manga for about 9 years. Looking back, I think the first few volumes of Naruto may hold up; those felt really unique, at least at the time. As for my resolutions...Lose some weight and read more. Non-graphic novel books have taken a back seat to my studies, music, and browsing the Internet, which is a shame because I really do love reading. Also, I was swimming lots and, for the aforementioned reasons, sort of stopped a few months ago. Lost all my muscle mass and gained some weight, so... |
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Tenchi
Posts: 4469 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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I'm 40 and have been seriously into anime for 21 years this spring. I would say my tastes I would indeed say that my tastes in anime have changed since I was a 19 or 20-year old, renting anime on VHS from this one local video store and then getting into an anime club where I was exposed to VHS fansubs, but I wouldn't say that my taste in anime/manga today are really all that more "refined", "mature", or "sophisticated" today compared to what they were as a young adult.
I think the biggest difference between my tastes in anime then and my tastes in anime now is that the cute girl slice-of-life anime/manga (i.e. K-On!, Non Non Biyori, and the not-so-cute-but-still-kinda-counts-for-the-purposes-of-these-parentheses-examples Watamote) that is the majority of what I watch/read today didn't really exist, at least not in the numbers that exists today. I seriously believe, had those anime existed two decades ago, I would probably have been into them back then, and, going back even further in time, had K-On! existed, been dubbed, and syndicated for afterschool children's television alongside, say, Jem and the Holograms in the mid-1980s, I think I would have appreciated it on some level even as a tween. There are some anime that I enjoyed back in the mid-1990s that I still enjoy today, especially Urusei Yatsura, Sailor Moon (classic only), Project A-Ko, Mobile Police Patlabor, and Kimagure Orange Road. For non-anime cartoons I enjoyed as a kid/teenager, I still enjoy the hell out of Lorenzo Music-voice Garfield, especially the primetime specials, which I own on DVD and a lot of them hold up great. |
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tangytangerine
 Posts: 439 |
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Look up Vol. 6 & the Complete Collection of Lucky Star and the 2 collections of both seasons of Haruhi Suzumiya on Amazon to see if they're reasonably priced. Justin has it right in the response. If it's out of print or out of their price range, they'll pass on it. License-rescues renews interest in the show along with getting current owners to double-dip to buy the Blu-ray. |
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2544 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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Thank you so much for answer my question about game licensing, Justin. I had a feeling anime companies being involved in games licensing was generally a dead thing for a while (exceptions notwithstanding), but so many people still believe to this day that any company that licenses an anime is going to be a problem when it comes to games being brought over, even though none have any proof of that being the case today.
As for another subject...
I'm going to have to disagree with this one, Zac, much like how I disagree with Justin's use of:
At the very least, that's only half of the equation & won't (or even can't) apply to everyone. I'd say the other half of that would be "Being able to accept enjoying childish things is what it means to be mature." I can't find the exact quote, though I think it may have been from Twain or another writer like him, but I remember seeing a quote that essentially asked what's more mature: One who thinks he's "too old" to enjoy certain things or one who knows he's "too old" yet still enjoys them? A good example of that would be in one of the game show ANNCasts, where Zac pretty much admitted that Nintendo was having the best games at the moment, yet sounded like he hated to say that. It came off like, to Zac, Nintendo is too "kiddy" for his "mature" self, ergo he shouldn't be thinking of their titles in the same vein as the more "mature" stuff he plays, yet the fact that something like Mario Kart 8 (just for an example) was better than many of those other games seemingly goes against his ideals. I'm not saying that what Justin said is wrong, or that Zac's conclusion can't be correct, but as someone else stated in this topic it also comes down to how cynical someone is. Zac & Justin are both admittedly very cynical, so to them stuff that's more kiddie/family-friendly isn't going to resonate with them anymore; in fact, they may hate their younger selves for actually enjoying that kind of stuff (how much hate depends on the specific title). At the same time, another person may still enjoy those kinds of titles, but the reasons they enjoy such titles is because they aren't cynical like Zac or Justin. It also comes down to what exactly someone is looking for in the stuff he/she is watching/playing/etc. Justin & Zac come from a film critiquing/film appreciation point of view, where they tend to want more depth & though-provocation from what they're watching, because that's how they have grown as people, and that's where Justin's likely coming from with his quote above. The fact of the matter, however, is that not everyone is going to follow that same path as someone like them. Other people are going to grow into those who look for other factors in titles. There will obviously be some overlap between these various types of people, and there are always titles that someone will like when they normally shouldn't, but there will be differences, and that's where conversation (or, like some people seem to prefer, "objective" arguing) comes from. Personally, my biggest factor is going to be entertainment. Sure, I'll appreciate & even love titles that feature greater depth & maybe even some thought-provoking themes (Paranoia Agent was awesome & I loved Fantastic Children, for example), but that doesn't mean that I can't find enjoyment, appreciation, or even love for titles that Zac & Justin will likely wave off & treat as crap just because of what they are. To me, being mature is acknowledging & accepting who you are & why you enjoy the things you do, even if they may be childish. Were some of the things I enjoyed as a child crap? Sure, but there's still plenty that I enjoyed back then that still hold up well, and I may even appreciate them in new ways because I've matured & can find those new ways that I likely never realized as a child. Still, this is likely because I'm not a cynical person (if anything, I consider myself a realist), so I know that everything I said will probably be taken apart & argued against by someone else. C'est la vie, I guess. |
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whiskeyii
 Posts: 2245 |
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Man, I recently re-watched Rurouni Kenshin since I hadn't seen all the episodes back in the late-afternoon Toonami days (dub; couldn't get used to the sub voices), and while there were definitely parts that I cringed at, I remembered cringing at those same parts when I was younger. Hopefully that just means my younger self was smart enough to pick up on filler episodes. ^^; The dub, sadly, hasn't really held up; it's quite stilted in places. Having sad that, certain episodes that I remember fondly still fill me up with warm fuzzies, so I guess that counts for something.
However, I can definitely feel that my tastes have changed. I strongly feel that if Sword Art Online came out when I was in middle or high school, I would've been all over that. Same goes for Guilty Crown. But I winced and tore my hair out during SAO's first episode, and painfully slogged through Guilty Crown praying it would get better (it didn't). I've also found my interest in modern shoujo stuff to be waning over the years, with a smattering of exceptions, though thankfully vintage shoujo has managed to fill that void. But yeah, if you're waffling on whether or not to revisit old shows, maybe look up some reviews online. Kenshin's central arc episodes still seem fairly well-regarded among anime fans, which is a nice indicator that it's mostly stood the test of time. Now if only someone would remaster it. *sigh* 
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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C.S. Lewis: “Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” |
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