Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! [2007-07-20]
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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The assertion is made so much more patently ridiculous by the simple fact that NOT ALL JAPANESE TV IS ANIME. In fact, less than 1/6 of Japanese TV is anime. Most of it is: - Cooking shows. Seriously, flip on the TV in Japan and you are more likely than not going to encounter several shows involving noodles of some kind. - Indescribably boring talking head debate shows sandwiched by poorly produced and inflammatory news pieces - "Variety shows" that usually consist of celebrities running relay races while bouncing on giant balloons, or similar. Fun the first time you see it, by the 30th time you feel yourself getting dumber. - TV Dramas - Okay, these can be pretty good. But just as often, they're really over-produced, sterile unions of bad acting and worse writing. So comparing ANIME to American TV is... well... stupid, because you're comparing a genre in one country to a medium in another. Then there's also the fact that you're not even seeing the worst anime because nobody fansubs the really infantile and truly awful stuff, and certainly nobody's licensing it (anymore). Honestly, American TV might even have the edge over Japan. The crap-to-quality ratio is about the same, but I find our "mediocre" more watchable than theirs. BTW, glad to see so many other Whitest Kids fans here! 
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 291 Location: Georgia |
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You seem to be implying that are best RATED shows are crap. Thats an entirely different argument then our TV is crap. This is more of a problem with our TV industry structure then a merits argument. Though we lose great shows year after year and it sucks consider this. Even the greatest of anime's usually end with less episodes then most american TV shows.
Highest rated cartoon on Nick is Avatar. Kim Possible was so popular Disney brought it back for a fourth season (breaking a cardinal 3 season rule). I miss the demise of the great Saturday morning cartoons of my youth but there are still plenty of non-anime cartoons for the kiddies. My main problem with this argument or any argument that compares anime to American TV is that it's an apples and oranges argument. If you want to compare anime to american cartoons fine. But TV as a whole, I don't think it's fair. I watch A LOT of asian TV not just anime but live-action and even variety shows. Probably as much asian TV as US TV and I do not favor one over the other. They both have plenty of crap to weed through (You wanna talk about random killing of characters to get a rise!--Watch the Japanese Drama Cheap Love). The very best shows often get the worst ratings (Cancellation of a planned show is VERY rare in Japan though). Both have their plusses and minuses. However both offer enough variety that there are good shows out there no matter your taste. It's is certainly ok to favor anime in your otaku fanboy mode but if you look hard enough you will find brilliance in US tv too. |
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sabriyahm
Posts: 291 Location: Georgia |
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Call me crazy but most of these shows your mentioning aren't cartoons. |
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UtenaAnthy
 Posts: 694 |
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Disclaimer: all the mini reviews and favourites lists are subjective opinions, I don't think you are wrong to love Family Guy.
1. I don't like any country. 2. If the flake doesn't like whatever show fine, the problem is really the presumption that everyone feels the same way and if they don't they are an idiot. Oh how I miss Firefly and Andy Richter Controls the Universe. 3. First of all the "You're not American, you're not even wearing a flag on your head!" crowd is as bad, second: 24 I haven't seen Lost was awful Prison Break I haven't seen Family Guy I can't stand (same goes for American Dad) I've seen the spiderman cartoon from the 90s, it was mediocre, the animation was underwhelming and the storytelling unimpressive X-men cartoon, I can't remember if I've seen it or not If I was gonna list my great american cartoons I'd go with BTAS/Batman Beyond and Gargoyles, also Invader Zim and Futurama and a bunch of others which I won't list because of teh rules.
I love Spongebob Squarepants, so I disagree. I also rather like Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, on the comedy side of things. |
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Cowpunk
Posts: 168 Location: Oakland - near the Newtype Lab |
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What people have time to watch US Tv?
A sure sign you are not watching enough anime, or don't have a day job. <grin> |
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Berserkfury819
 Posts: 229 Location: Detroit Mi. Spider-Man is dead. R.I.P. |
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I think some people forget that anime is a medium and not a genre, so while series like Cowboy Bebop and GitS are masterpieces, you also get things that suck. Negima for instance, at least in my opinion. America has some great shows. Lost and Battlestar Galactica are the two best shows on televison, 24 is great, but I've only seen a few episodes, and Dog the Bounty Hunter is my favorite reality show. Evan some of our animated shows are great, South Park, Simpsons and Family Guy.
It goes the same for comic books. I have heard some people talk about how they only like manga because all American comics are about superheroes. Not true, yes most American comics are about superheros, but there are some amazing comics for adults out there. Fables, Y the Last Men and Ex Machina can all hold their own with titles like Hellsing and Berserk. Oh yeah, America Rocks! |
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Roy9076
 Posts: 286 Location: California |
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Ha ha. Best ending for a Harry Potter book! Sure will get the yaoi fans in excitement!
@TV vs. Anime: Awesome response there Zac! Wait, Venture Brothers made it on your list? Super cool! What about House or 24? Needs some more FOX love! @ con treatment: That's pretty far off to exaggeration. Out of all the cons I been to, AX 07 was the worst, but not the worst convention. The Westin security were rude and sure wasn't funny when threating jail time on attendees for ''accidently'' sleeping. :/ Well, longer you act respectful, then you have no problems. @ flake: LMAO! Way to go in style! @ rant: Interesting... |
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undeadben
 Posts: 1212 Location: West Texas |
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It's a Cake song: "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" I also don't agree that American TV is completely horrible. Sure there is an awful lot out there that is utter crap but not every anime is exactly a masterpiece either. |
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Mid-Boss
 Posts: 71 |
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I hate it when people say anime is better than American TV. I think the best American shows are better than the best anime, but that might just be me. I wonder if the Japanese think American TV is better than anime...
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The Shade
 Posts: 36 |
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Regarding anime being better than US tv. When I really got into anime, I had the same feeling. The only anime shows I was watching were the best ones. At the same time, the US TV shows that I watched started getting really bad, so it only reinforced that belief.
Once I started watching some of the more mediocre anime shows, I quickly realized that not all anime is good. At the same time, I "discovered" some US TV shows that had already been running for a while that I now really like (Battlestar Galactica & CSI: Crime Scene Investigation). Right now, I find I watch more US tv than anime by about a 60-40 margin. |
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Strephon
Posts: 177 |
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To speak to the question about con staffers: One thing it's important to remember is that any individual staffer probably doesn't know everything about the con...and unless it's relevant to the area they're working in, they don't necessarily have any more information than the congoer.
I've mentioned before that I'm on Video staff for a major Midwestern con. Since the video room staff are stationed outside the rooms, in an area of the hotel that doesn't otherwise have staff visible, they're often treated as surrogate customer service. The proper responsibility in this situation is to be helpful, give what information one can, and direct congoers to the proper place if one doesn't know. However, the video room staff isn't likely to have memorized the panel programming schedule (or vice versa) or know the fine details of how one obtains concert tickets. They often only have access to the same sources of information the congoers have. (For myself, I make a point of obtaining the con program and schedule at the beginning and hanging onto them like grim death.) The perception that staff "never seem to know what they are talking about" may well be a result of asking the wrong staff, in other words. If you went into Sears, would you go into the clothing department and start interrogating the staff about the fine details about a sale in the hardware department? It's an analagous situation; unless it's a very small con, the staffer's responsibility is to serve the con through serving their department, and unless the department is one that's supposed to be on top of everything (customer service or con ops, for example), having unreasonable expectations of what they can be expected to know off the tops of their heads doesn't help anybody. (This is not to say that I mind giving directions or helping people figure out when and where events are; just that you need to bear with me while I'm looking at the schedule or the map.) |
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britannicamoore
 Posts: 2618 Location: Out. |
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I mentioned more as I went on. I should have put both American Cartoons as well as other programming. Whoops. 
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The Naked Beast
 Posts: 1028 Location: A Blue Planet |
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Roy9076, I, myself, am a big fan of 24 and House. I just could not resist, but here goes: There are two hands that can beat a royal flush. Jack Bauer's right hand and Jack Bauer's left hand. These days, I end up watching more TV shows than anime. These shows, in no particular order, include, Law & Order: Special Victims, 24, House, CSI: Miami, Dirty Jobs, Man vs. Wild, Xiaolin Showdown, Spongebob Squarepants. I even own some of these shows on season box sets. Yes, Spongebob is on the list. I am such a kid at heart. Now that I think about it, TV box sets cost less than a normal 26-episode series. For example, a season of 24 would cost around $50-$60. Meanwhile, a normal four episode DVD costs about $30 MSRP. A whole season of 24. Four episodes of an anime. The choice is obvious for me. I still look forward to new anime releases every month. But now, I also look towards box sets' releases as well. August 2007 is going to hurt me a lot. Why? House Season 3 and Heroes Season 1. I am not stating that TV shows are better. I just want to say that there are good shows and then there are bad shows. The way I got into some shows was a out of the blue super sale. I got into House since Borders had a two day sale on DVD box sets for $20. The choice was obvious for me, go to a Borders and buy it. Usually, I try my best not to "judge a book by its cover" and it has rewarded me with awesome shows. |
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Omega13
 Posts: 78 |
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While true, this has nothing to do with show quality, but rather with the nature of the show production. The majority of American TV shows are highly episodic; whatever issue/event/action the particular episode focuses on, it's resolved by the end of the episode, or at worst, continued into the next episode and resolved then. Most anime is more like 24, and has a main/intertwined storyline(s) across the entire season/series which eventually comes to a conclusion. At that point, there's little reason to continue unless you're going to start off with a completely new storyline for the next season. Last edited by Omega13 on Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Drowning_Wolf
Posts: 193 |
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Yeah, I too was blinded by my new discovery of anime in the beginning. But I have given local television a chance, and today, I can't possibly say that anime is better than what we got here. Though cartoon-wise I personally think that Japan is the leader, (many will agree) I have to say that we still got a lot of good stuff and even those cheesy/action-hero series have an undeniable charm. Go eighties cartoon!
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