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Hey, Answerman! [2009-05-22]


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sunflower



Joined: 04 Sep 2005
Posts: 1080
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:09 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Shojo series, on the other hand, tend to present their heroines as being either passive, limp-wristed and meek, or as being dumb, flighty and constantly in need of rescue from situations caused by the aforementioned dumbness and flightiness (examples: Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket, Tail of the Moon.)


I'd agree with you there on Fushigi Yugi, but strongly disagree on Fruits Basket. It's all in how you see strength though. From my point of view, Tohru is the strongest character in Fruits Basket, but her strength comes from a distinctly feminine tradition. It doesn't involve fistfights and dominance, but rather a strength of purpose and character and love that allows her to not only change all the other characters and bring them together, but to face herself and change that as well.

Shoujo tends to focus on this inner kind of nurturing strength for women, and while I can't admire some of the heroines because they put up with so much I would not, I can see where the mangaka was coming from by creating such characters.

Edited for tags
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The Human Spider



Joined: 19 Jan 2007
Posts: 334
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:14 am Reply with quote
The_Libertarian_Otaku wrote:

How could you hate Angel Cop and MD Geist? Those two are UNDISPUTABLE CLASSICS, and anyone who says otherwise is 100% wrong and biased!


If I had seen ANGEL COP or M.D. GEIST(or MAD BULL 34 since that was also mentioned) back when they were first released, I would have become a hardcore anime fan a long time ago. "Classic" OVAs are the best.
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prime_pm



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 2333
Location: Your Mother's Bedroom
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:27 am Reply with quote
Assuming we actually have a significant other...
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Shirogane



Joined: 02 May 2009
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:38 am Reply with quote
My husband already was into anime, but not really manga.

That changed when I picked up the first volume of the Death Note manga and showed it to him. So now we read several series together, like Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, xxxholic, Black Cat, and Chibi Vampire (might seem out of place, but still very good).

But, if he wasn't into anime, I would have showed him the Paprika movie and Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl. Paprika had nice music, good animation, and an intriguing storyline that I think would capture a non-anime fan's attention. Jubei-chan's a representation of the lighter side of anime, but with a great deal of action/swordfighting splashed in.
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StarOpal



Joined: 19 Sep 2008
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:48 am Reply with quote
sunflower wrote:
Quote:
Shojo series, on the other hand, tend to present their heroines as being either passive, limp-wristed and meek, or as being dumb, flighty and constantly in need of rescue from situations caused by the aforementioned dumbness and flightiness (examples: Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket, Tail of the Moon.)


I'd agree with you there on Fushigi Yugi, but strongly disagree on Fruits Basket. It's all in how you see strength though. From my point of view, Tohru is the strongest character in Fruits Basket, but her strength comes from a distinctly feminine tradition. It doesn't involve fistfights and dominance, but rather a strength of purpose and character and love that allows her to not only change all the other characters and bring them together, but to face herself and change that as well.


I have to agree with sunflower on Fruits Basket. Tohru is strong. Plus I've always liked how the other characters in the show tell her it's okay for her to look out for herself every once in a while. Kinda contrasts with all those shows that seem to have a submissive heroine (to the point of having a martyr complex) and think she should be nothing more.

Twelve Kingdoms has quite a few strong female characters. Escaflowne, Ouran High School Host Club, or Princess Tutu. You just haven't been looking at the right shojo. I was going to say Shurei from The Story of Saiunkoku/Saiunkoku Monogatari, but I think that's technically josei.

Not to mention I think there's a cultural divide going on here too about what/who a girl from Japan (the creative originating country) would be able to relate to.
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SalarymanJoe



Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 468
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:54 am Reply with quote
I'm glad that there were other people before me to jump on the whole SpaceToon thing. The whole proposal is ludicrous; Brian deserves kudos for not ripping into the requester. I know that if I were Answerman, that post would have immediately been filed under "Flake".

Though, on the other hand, maybe I should bring suit against RTL for violating FUNimation and DiC's copyright for those episodes of Dragonball, Sailor Moon and Lupin der Meisterdieb I saw in Germany ... Rolling Eyes


TFA wrote:
no matter how you we look at it there's something Illegal about this since Ova's never get broadcasted on TV,


Oh, the chuckle this quote gave me... it's going to be a good day!

malik_chan wrote:
They never play OVAs on TV? Toonami played the Tenchi OVA back in the day and Adult Swim and Toonami have played the Inu Yasha movies, Blue Sub No.6, and the Escaflowne movie.


Honestly, I'd forgotten about those broadcasts but I immediately thought of the first "season" of Legend of Galactic Heroes being broadcast on TV to help stimulate video sales in Japan.

OAV was a marketing tool, not some legal barrier that kept cartoons on magnetic tape or analog discs on shelves of retailers, rental stores and fans.

Ah, papers about anime... I'm guilty of it. Probably the worst offense was a paper I wrote for a high school British literature class noting Shakespeare's influence in Japanese popular media by comparing one of the Shakespeare works we read to Rurouni Kenshin. That, or a paper describing Kenshin under Joseph Campbell's monomyth ideals for a sophmore World Lit class at University. Fortunately, as the fluffy classes stopped, so to did my writing about anime in any academic sense.


Last edited by SalarymanJoe on Fri May 22, 2009 9:21 am; edited 1 time in total
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irishninja



Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 344
Location: Seattle-ish
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:56 am Reply with quote
The_Libertarian_Otaku wrote:
--The Steel Angel Kurumi cosplayer: "Spendy"? Someone must be from the Pacific Northwest!


Wait. What? Is that some kind of weird slam against the Pacific Northwest? Confused If so, could you please explain it so I can pretend to be offended or something? Wink

StarOpal wrote:
I have to agree with sunflower on Fruits Basket. Tohru is strong. Plus I've always liked how the other characters in the show tell her it's okay for her to look out for herself every once in a while. Kinda contrasts with all those shows that seem to have a submissive heroine (to the point of having a martyr complex) and think she should be nothing more.


Another voice of support for this. Tohru is a very strong person, particularly when contrasted to the Sohmas, most of whom are really quite fragile.

...

On another topic, your website looks like something I'll need to explore throughout the day. Laughing
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starbits



Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:10 am Reply with quote
Ack, had to register to reply to the confused fellow there. I mean, before he/she goes and embarrasses him/herself.

Spacetoon/Power doesn't licenses animes in the Middle East. No channel licenses animes, in the first place. If it was founded in 2000, then how come we've been getting our daily fixes of anime 30 years earlier? Here's how:

1. Dubbing Studios. They're the ones who own the rights to animes -- they dub and then distribute it in the Middle East, but of course, Spacepower is the ultimate target.

2. At the opening and ending credits of each anime, the dubbing studio shows off its logo for a good whole minute. They've been around since forever and as Paploo nicely pointed out, we have a long history when it comes to dubbing animes. We're not that desperate to go and leech off Funimation/Viz (especially Funimation -- who would?).

3. The Arabic subbers! Dubbing studios are against them and stuff, since some of them sell off their "work". Spacepower doesn't run after them because again, it's the dubbing studios that own the rights. They are the ones that do the running.

And, excuse the LULZ (and caps), but: 4. THIS IS THE MIDDLE EAST. Not the States, you know? Doesn't Funimation/Viz only operate over there? It's not like the animes are aired in English with Funimation/Viz dubbing, or using their subs -- that, that is called stealing/leeching. They're aired in Formal Arabic, decently (sometimes not-so-decently) dubbed by the dubbing studio that owns the rights. Again, refer to #1.


And, man, Detective Conan? D: We've been watching that before Funimation even licensed it. It's highly popular over here, of course they're going to air the OVAs! People demand it.

So -- yeah, that's how it works, Been Licencing Anime Before Funimation/Viz, or something. I mean, he/she can still go and contact Funimation or Viz, but they'd only waste their time.

(Sorry, Brain! You're absolutely right. Just felt a Middle East anime fanatic had to fill in. And I'm not as snappy as I sound, I'm just highly amused by all of this. I deeply apologise for interfering/rambling.)
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Veers



Joined: 31 Oct 2008
Posts: 1197
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:18 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Shojo series, on the other hand, tend to present their heroines as being either passive, limp-wristed and meek, or as being dumb, flighty and constantly in need of rescue from situations caused by the aforementioned dumbness and flightiness (examples: Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket, Tail of the Moon.)

Well, looks like some folks beat me to it, but here's to chipping in anyway. I strongly disagree with the listing of Fruits Basket as something with flimsy characters. While I can agree with you that some of the female characters in Furuba do exhibit the characteristics you're taking issue with, Tohru is not one of them. She, and characters like her, may be a bit too kind-hearted to be completely believable, but she's not limp-wristed, dumb, or flighty. She is meek though. But for the record, meek != weak. Meekness is patience under fire, controlled strength of will, and is a virtue that anyone could and should exhibit.

StarOpal listed some other good examples of strong female characters from non-shounen shows. Twelve Kingdoms being among my favorite, with honorable mention to Princess Tutu (can't say I was much of a fan of Ouran, but that had nothing to do with Haruhi, who was likable).
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rikchik



Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:27 am Reply with quote
I don't think there's a universal answer to "what to show your non-anime-loving S.O." since it entirely depends on what kind of non-anime movies/tv they like. If they love the Matrix, show then GiTS SAC. If they love Merchant Ivory films, show them Emma. Trying to come up with something that will convert anyone is a fool's errand.

That said, the R.O.D. OVA will work for most everybody. Very Happy
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Colonel Wolfe



Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 370
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:50 am Reply with quote
I found the first question in Answerman to be somewhat ridiculous. First, companies like Funimation, ADV, Bandai, Media Blasters only have the exclusive license to sell or distribute the anime, they don't hold the license on broadcast rights.

The only way that Funimation could prevent a television station from broadcasting an anime series that they release on DVD is if they had negotiated for the broadcast rights as well. This means that Funimation could prevent a television or cable station from broadcasting a particular anime series that they held the license to.

However, what an anime distributor like Funimation cannot do is re-license that anime to another company or television station because they are not the licensor of that anime.

If Funimation has an exclusive license to a particular title or series, that means that they have "all distribution rights to the anime" but they cannot license the anime out to another company or to a television or cable station unless they operate their own broadcast channel.

The said company can only grant permission for that station to broadcast that anime.

Remember, anime distributors in the United States that sell anime on DVD can only sell that anime in North America or Canada or the Region 1 area for DVD distribution. Different regions have separate licensing agreements. If Funimation wants to shut down that Middle Eastern channel, then they would need to license that anime for that region.

The way it works is that anime licensing is divided. There are different licensing involved:

a. Home Video or DVD/Blu Ray Licensing
b. Broadcast Licensing

If a company has an exclusive license, that means that they have complete rights to home video sales and broadcasting. However, they cannot turn around and license that anime title out to a television or cable station that is not operated by that company. If they did, they would be violating their licensing agreements with the licensing company that negotiates the agreements for the anime the U.S. Company licensed.
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LordPrometheus





PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:02 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Sorry, Brain! You're absolutely right.


Poit! Narf!
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ryogasasaki



Joined: 15 Dec 2008
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:05 am Reply with quote
I...


I think I like your drawing of yourself...

I mean..
I REALLY like it... Embarassed


I think I might draw myself doing things to your cartoony-self... Twisted Evil
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3489
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:07 am Reply with quote
In regards to the question on Peacemaker...
The anime is "meh." It's not necessarily bad, but they really only had enough material for about 16 episodes, and in order to fill up the full 24, they attempted to merge parts of the sequel manga Peacemaker: Kurogane into the original series, so there are arcs that go absolutely nowhere. The core story with the guy who killed Tetsunosuke's parents, and the famous Shinsengumi raid was worth watching, though. It's just there was so much extraneous material...not to mention the bizarre choice of music for ED, which was especially awkward after the more dramatic episodes. ("You got to fight for your money"/"How you feeling Jimmy?"...with a dancing pig!)

As for the manga, I've yet to read it, but I've liked Peacemaker: Kurogane so far through the first three volumes (they started releasing the sequel before the first series, for reasons unknown). I don't know if that makes it worth reading the first series or not, though.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:35 am Reply with quote
I'd have to say my experience with female characters in the shows I've watched is just the opposite of Answerman's. Miyazaki has no monopoly on plucky or strong-willed heroines. Here's just a few off the top of my head:

Mizaki in Angelic Layer
Shion in Shion no Ou
Shurrei in Saiunkoku Monogatari
Chizuko in Nijuu Mensou no Musume
Nina Fortner in Monster
Isako, Fumie and (even) Yasako in Dennou Coil
Murasaki in Kure-nai
Erin in Kemono Souja no Erin
Balsa in Seirei no Moribito
etc.

I'm not a big fan of Fruits Basket, but I don't think of Tohru as weak either; if anything, just the reverse.

I don't know which of these qualify as "shoujo" and which would be considered "Josei" or "seinen." I don't really pay much attention to any of these labels since they're just marketing categories that reflect the publications in which they are published. Content is king; marketing is, well, marketing.
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