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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 17, 2016 1:19:03 GMT -5
Episode 1: Introduction to AnimeWe see that there are two guys sitting at a desk. Behind them is a screen, and on the desk is a couple laptops and a few other items which will be discussed in due time. But for right now, here's the hosts of this presentation, Frank, and tug. "Hello everyone, Frank here, and with me is my good friend Tug. How are you doing today?" "Doing fine Frank. I think we should get right into it; don't you?" "Indeed I do. Today we're going to talk about a topic that interests the both of us: anime. Why don't you tell everyone what it is Tug?" "Gladly. Anime is a term that refers to animated cartoons that come from Japan. But believe me, there's a whole more to it than just having a different country of origin. Anime in itself has a very distinct appearance from what we would consider "western animation" if you will. Hey Frank, any way we can show them the difference?" "I think so. In fact, there's actually a Western Cartoon that perfectly shows the difference. Take a look at the characters from the 2006 Nicktoons show, Kappa Mikey..."Now, Mikey is the character in the center; notice how his animation style is different compared to everyone else. Among other differences, Mikey's western style animation depicts him as having a thicker, more pronounced outline, a rather rigid structure, particularly with how "pointed" his elbows are, and having a "flat" overall appearance. But if you look at all the others, notice how in anime, the style could not be more different. The outline is nonexistent, they look very much more human in terms of body proportions, detail and they even have more "depth" to their appearance. But that's not to say that all anime and western animation follow these exact patterns. For example, take a look at Astro Boy from the early 60s... "...in some ways, you could argue that this anime character has some elements from western animation in his design. Namely, his human proportions aren't quite right, and he doesn't have as much "depth" to him compared to other anime characters. Meanwhile, let's also look at western animation from Avatar: The Last Airbender"In many ways, one could argue that this is an example of anime-styled western animation. Though purists will tell you that this is not anime because it didn't come from Japan, it is clear that Avatar's visual style has more in common with anime than western animation. Say Tug, anything you want to add before we move on to our next topic point?" Frank asked.
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Post by Tug on Nov 17, 2016 1:32:45 GMT -5
"Just wanted to add another example, the anime "The Adventures of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt" is a heavily western influenced anime that parodies such shows as South Park, Invader Zim, Transformers, and many more, it's basically Japan's take on our style of our adult humor, even the art style is Western: But, back to you Frank..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 17, 2016 2:12:12 GMT -5
"Thanks Tug. So yes, anime not only is very distinct, but it is also very... repetitive" Frank said with a sigh towards the end of the sentence. "Repetitive? What do you mean?" Tug asked. "Well, if you look at anime as a whole, it's clear they all follow the same patterns. Now the combination can and does vary, but the patterns are distinct and obvious. First, it takes place at a high school. Second, it involves a main character boy that somehow gets surrounded by various girls, whether accidental or intentional. Third, the boy is either an intentional or accidental pervert, and always finds himself in embarrassing situations involving the girls. Fourth, there's some sort of supernatural, extraterrestrial or magical characteristic about one of the main female leads. Fifth, there's always an episode that involves a beach, just so we can see all the female characters in swimsuits. Sixth, the lead boy tends to be some loser who finds out he has extraordinary powers, or that there is something extraordinary about him that attracts the female characters that would not otherwise give him a second glance. Seventh, the ending is always extremely unsatisfying. And eighth, the main character lives alone either because the parents are dead or are "away on business" and in some cases, the lead girl finds herself living with the protagonist. "Frank, I think you are exaggerating. You can't just generalize all anime like that" Tug pointed out. "Oh really? Watch me" Frank said as he began pulling up pictures " The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, an anime that takes place in a high school, whose main character is a boy named Kyon, that gets roped into a club where the three girl members each have some supernatural aspect about them." "... The World God Only Knows, an anime that takes place at a high school where the main character is a dating sim gamer, that finds himself in a contract with a cute female demon from hell to help capture lost souls from girls by having them fall in love with him, just like his dating sims." " High School DXD, an anime about an ordinary, peverted boy who finds himself turned into a devil after being killed by a fallen angel, and finds himself roped into the same high school club as the school's idol and her group of devils that also dwell there. Most of them are females by the way." "Ok, Frank, you can't base all of anime off of three that aren't even mainstream, and..." "... Campione! An anime about a high school boy that somehow gains divine powers as a God-slayer and attracts the attention of several girls despite being rather unremarkable himself." "... Invaders of the Rokujyoma?!" An anime where the normal boy character gets an apartment, only to find that a ghost, a magical girl, an underground person, and an alien all want the apartment for their own various reasons. Then they transfer to his high school and in some cases try to win him over, oh, and the ending isn't that satisfying." "Frank, I think you need to stop and..." "... Is This a Zombie? An anime about a normal human boy that ends up being turned into a zombie, albeit an intelligent one, and winds up living with a magical "garment" girl, a necromancer and a vampire ninja. Yes, that's not a typo, a vampire ninja. While they don't go to his high school, he often finds himself in perverted situations with at least one of them. "... To Love-Ru, an anime about a loser boy that somehow winds up engaged to an alien princess that even transfers to his high school, and yet he still gets surrounded by other girls, and that's just the tip of the iceberg!" "Frank, you're forgetting about..." "And this is just a small sample. But you know what all these animes have in common. They're in high school, the main character is a boy that somehow gets surrounded by girls, there's supernatural and/or extraterrestrial elements to them, and don't even get me started on..." *WHACK Frank has a cartoon bump on his head and is knocked out cold, slouching on the desk. "Sorry about that folks, but I had to stop him. Now, let me tell you the truth about anime..." Tug began
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Post by Tug on Nov 25, 2016 2:43:17 GMT -5
"There's a bunch more types out there, just let me list a few of my favorites!" Fullmetal Alchemist - an anime telling the story of two broken boys, Edward and Alphonse, who, with their knowledge of alchemy, go on a journey to repair their bodies and minds of the ordeal of trying to resurrect their dead mother by trying to find the Philosopher's Stone... Gurren Lagann - an anime telling the story of two boys, Simon and Kamina, who find an ancient mech buried beneath the earth, and after an encounter with a 'surface girl' Yoko, use their mech, named Lagann and later on another mech named Gurren, to try and take back the surface world from the Beastmen and their mechs called Gunman... My Hero Academia - Midoriya, a boy born powerless in a superpowered world, meets his Hero, the Number 1 Hero All Might, and after discovering the 'secret' of his hero and hearing his warning of the dangers of being a hero, he goes to prove himself in All Might's eyes to be trained to become the next hero, and MHA is Midoriya's Origin of becoming the greatest hero in history... Ouran High School Host Club - Haruhi, after breaking a priceless vase in the Host Club in a school of children belonging to high society, is forced to join to repay the debt cause because Haruhi is just a 'commoner'. It is discovered that Haruhi is a girl, and a host club, being a club that enamors girls' needs, this is not allowed, so the other members go to great lengths to protect Haruhi's true gender! Samurai Champloo - The story of a girl named Fuu who recruits two rogue samurai, Jin and Mugen, to help her look for a 'samurai that smells of sunflowers' after breaking the two out of prison. Their trek across Edo Era Japan is fulled with craziness, as well as a good rap track... Ranma 1/2 - The story of a boy named Ranma who, after training in a cursed spring in China along with his father, has now been cursed to be turned into a girl whenever exposed to cold water and back into a man when exposed to hot. He returns Japan with his father so he can marry one of his Father's friend's daughters after they made an arrangement when the children were young. Ranma, disliking his new fiance Akane, decides to try and find a way to lift his curse while fighting with rivals he meets along this path to cure his curse... And finally, one of my all time favorites: One Piece - At his execution, Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, left behind a great treasure named One Piece that he challenged the world to find, creating the Great Pirate Era. 22 years later, Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body turns to rubber after eating a mysterious fruit called a Devil Fruit, sets out to become the next King of the Pirates by recruiting his very own Pirate Crew and find the One Piece, this is the story of his adventure to find the great treasure... So there, there are more than just 'Harem' Animes Frank, they have animes about action, adventure, comedy, or even all three or more! There's even adult animes, but that's a subject for another day...
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 9, 2016 0:56:56 GMT -5
(Episode ends with Tug typing on a laptop, and Frank holding an ice pack on his head) Episode 2: History of AnimeFrank and Tug are shown sitting at the same desk from last episode. "Hi everyone, and welcome to episode two of Frank and Tug Talk about Anime. I'm Frank" "And I'm Tug. Last time we gave a brief overview of what anime is, and this time, we're going to talk about history. Frank, want to start us off?" Tug asked. "Sure thing. Anime can be divided into various generations and eras. The "first generation of anime" if you will was during the 1900s and 1910s, and mostly featured film strips that were only a few seconds long. The first anime... is actually unknown, but many scholars believe it was a three second strip called Katsudō Shashin, or "Moving Picture The film is actually so old, no one knows when it is from; though there are estimates that place it around 1907. There were three prominent figures in Japanese animation during this time: Ōten Shimokawa, Jun'ichi Kōuchi, and Seitarō Kitayama. Collectively, these three are referred to as the "fathers of anime" and... oh... uh..." "What's wrong Frank?" "Tug... there seems to be very little information on anime history prior to WWII... and come to think of it what is here doesn't really resemble what anime as we know it looks like. Should we skip ahead to an era where we have more information available?" A confused Frank asked as he frantically searches for information on his laptop on the desk.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Dec 17, 2016 4:17:59 GMT -5
"Hey," said Diesel 11 popping in randomly. "What the hell are you doing here?" asked Tug. "You've been silent for about three weeks, give or take. Time for some action," said Diesel 11, taking Tug's computer away from him. "Now let's see, anime before WWII... oh. Crap. I see little. Can we drag out what's here?"
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Post by Tug on Dec 31, 2016 22:40:56 GMT -5
Tug then fires D-11 off in a Anime-style Mecha's giant cannon arm, never to be heard in this thread, probably, again...
"Back to the History, shall we?"
"During WWII, Japan made many animated films to increase the moral of their war efforts, showing the might of the Japanese Empire, like Momotaro's Sea Eagles. They were rather 'demoralizing' to the West, but again, these were war propaganda films so that is to be expected, and still did not have the style we're all familiar with as 'anime'... Eventually the war passed and America occupied Japan for a time, and a big event occurred in 1948, the founding of Toei Animation, a big studio that today is known for animating shows like Dragon Ball, One Piece, and many others. Tori produced the first colored anime film, The Tale of the White Serpent..."
"Anything you would like to add Frank?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 31, 2016 22:49:03 GMT -5
"Sure. Released in 1958, it proved to be so successful Toei went on to produce a new project on an annual basis. "While we are talking about them, Toei is also credited with creating what is known as the "money shot" in anime. Say Tug, you want to explain this one or should I?"
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Post by Tug on Dec 31, 2016 22:52:34 GMT -5
"I'm not quite sure Frank, so why don't you go right ahead..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 31, 2016 23:00:38 GMT -5
"All right. Put simply it was a cost cutting technique developed to place emphasis on certain shots. Some parts of a film would be animated with more detail than others, which actually worked out quite well." "Ah, I see" Tug replied. "Now we come to the early sixties, where we finally start to see anime as we know it evolve. A man named Osamu Tezuka left Toei and founded Mushi Production, which went on to produce some of the earliest anime TV series, such as... Kimba the White Lion and... "... Princess Knight. But by far, the one that really stands out from this early round of anime was a series called Tetsuwan Atomu..."
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Post by Tug on Dec 31, 2016 23:12:33 GMT -5
"Or as we in the West call it..." ASTRO BOY! "Based on the designs of Disney Characters, Astro Boy here along with other anime like Sally the Witch, Lupin the Third, and Mazinger Z, and Space Runaway Ideon, and many more, that established the style and genres of anime we all know and love today!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 31, 2016 23:19:38 GMT -5
"Indeed, many of today's animes can be derived from series that debuted in the 1960s. Sally the Witch for example... ... is credited with being the anime that created the Magical Girl genre. Many consider it to be the first "shojo" anime, and many series owe their existence to Sally, including the iconic 90s hit, Sailor Moon.
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Post by Tug on Dec 31, 2016 23:29:06 GMT -5
One final show of the 60s-70s Era we have yet to talk about is Speed Racer, a cult classic that has spawned many fans in both the East and West... Now we move on to the 80s where we can talk about some little known shows like Hokuto No Ken and Doragon Boru...
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 31, 2016 23:35:33 GMT -5
"But we will get back to those in just a moment. First, let's briefly mention Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam. In fact, if we are going to start anywhere, it should be here, because it was the theatrical release and success of Mobile Suit Gundam and Space Battleship Yamato that directly caused the anime boom of the 1980s. From here, the popularity of anime exploded, and yielded some of the most popular shows and iconic characters to date"
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Post by Tug on Dec 31, 2016 23:52:44 GMT -5
"Those two series soon kicked off the Mecha Genre of Anime but only a few years later did the Shounen Genre emerge the the release of these two series: Dragon Ball (Which would later become the famous Dragon Ball Z) And... Fist of the North Star The two series defined generations to come and were inspirations to how to write action/adventure anime, or Shounen as the Genre is called, to come, these series are heavily revealed in Japan, and laid the foundations for what was to follow in the 90s, but we'll get to that soon enough... There's one more show we should mention, and that probably is Doraemon, mind taking that one Frank?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Dec 31, 2016 23:57:39 GMT -5
"I'll give it a try. Doraemon tells the story of a robotic cat from the future that came to the past to aid a pre-teen boy. Of course, the significance of the series is quite important, isn't that right Tug?"
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Post by Tug on Jan 1, 2017 0:01:15 GMT -5
"Well it's a beloved series in Japan that basically everyone knows of, he's like Japan's Mickey Mouse, so no matter where you are in Japan they will know who you're talking about, he's a cultural icon that defines the Japanese's generations to say the least..." (Also first post of 2017 )
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 1, 2017 0:15:33 GMT -5
"Indeed. Before we leave the 80s, it is not so much a series we need to discuss, but a company as a whole. During the 80s, a small production company began its reign as one of the most prominent anime production companies in Japan, and has gone on to produce some of the greatest anime features of all time. I am talking about... Studio Ghibli"
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Post by Tug on Jan 1, 2017 0:21:22 GMT -5
"With classics like Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Castle in the Sky are all classic 80s films by them that are beloved by fans all around the world, hearing the Ghibli name usually has people think of these and other films by the studio in the 90s and 2000s, and with that I think it's good enough for a transition, how about you start Frank with the work of the 90s?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 1, 2017 0:27:20 GMT -5
"All right. Normally, I don't like starting in the middle, but for the nineties we need to start in 1995. You see, the anime industry was in decline at this time, so a man named Hideaki Anno wrote what he described as the "ultimate otaku anime" in an attempt to revive the industry. Eventually, it became a critique of said culture. That anime was... Neon Genesis Evangelion
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