Americanime

Article About Americanime

2009-06-04T13:39:00.004-04:00

Hey there, folks. It's been a long while since I made a post here, but I finally found something pertinent to the subject of this blog. During a random foray into the internet, I happened to find this PDF of an article about Americanime. She actually mentions Totally Spies, Teen Titans, and Avatar, too, so the topic is unmistakable. She seems to have a pessimistic tone though, saying that businesses are just trying to capitalize off the Pokemon craze, and that American anime will never be as popular as anime. Well, of course not. It's the same old argument again, that American businesses are just greedy, but I can't exactly disagree with her. It's just that the few honest artists out there are unheard voices.

Anyway, here is the link to the article. Scroll to page 20 of the magazine (page 11 of the PDF). The magazine is Tanuki, and the article is called "When Anime Attacks" by Kathryn Ortland. Enjoy.

Anime-style Music Videos and Movies

2008-12-01T18:33:00.007-05:00

Apparently singers and rappers get in on the action, too. Aaliyah, one of my favorite R&B singers, had an anime-style commercial circa 2001:

Britney Spears used anime style in her video for "Break the Ice," as well:

Linkin Park's "Breaking the Habit" is also an anime sequence:

Others jumping (or who have been riding) on the anime gravy train are Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and even Daft Punk apparently.

On the flip side, we have movies. Please note, when I say movies, I don't mean live-action movies that have been adapted from anime or based on another existing property. I mean movies with original anime (or anime-style) sequences. I remember watching Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror movie last weekend, and it seriously reminded me of Tales from the Hood. The opening of the movie is a long anime sequence, and shorter anime sequences transition between the three tales in the movie. It can't be embedded anymore, so you'll have to watch it on Youtube:

Another well-known one is from Kill Bill, the narration sequence is from O-Ren's life:

I will add more here as I learn of them and find them. Stay tuned!

Anime-style Commercials

2008-12-01T16:40:00.013-05:00

I've been wanting to discuss this for a while. For the past few years I've been seeing more and more U.S. commercials drawn in anime style popping up. One of the most notable ones I remember is a commercial for the Benihana food chain. This is one understandable as it is a famous Japanese cuisine restaurant.

Here are two others for Skechers shoes--Z Strap (for boys) and Elastica (for girls). Fast forward to 1:07 in the first video. Notice how in the first one the main character transforms in a sentai-style sequence and acquires special armor. Heck, even the cel-shading is animesque. (Look, even the speed lines are there!) The second one is way too obvious. It has mahou shoujo (shows like Sailor Moon) written all over it. Observe:

One more Skechers for good measure...this one is Hy-Top, a girls' shoe.

Recently there was another anime-style commercial I saw for a toy, and for some reason the kid in the commercial looked like some kind of shounen anime hero. If I find it, I'll post it here, but I can't remember what the advertisement was for at the moment. In fact, there's a lot commercials like these I can't remember at the moment. I'll update this post as I find them.

UPDATE 1/4/09: I have a channel on my cable called MTV Hits, and one of their programs is called Playlistism. This is one of its commercials. Look at the virtual girl at the very beginning. Very anime-esque, wouldn't you say? Big eyes, small pointy nose, funky hair color....

Spotlight: BlackCat Aurore

2008-11-20T14:56:00.003-05:00

Here's another spotlight for you. BlackCat Aurore is a published French manga artist, well known on the internet for her CG and pixel art. Her premier published title is called Pixie (available in French, Spanish, and soon in English), and her art will be featured in an upcoming book called Kookaburra Universe. You can visit her website here.

I first found out about Aurore long, long ago when I was still in high school. My brother had saved several of her artworks on our computer, back before she was published. I had no idea she was going to blow up the way she did, but over the years I could definitely track a change in her art style, I would daresay improvement. Apparently, according to her site, she has also done published fanzines and doujinshi (fan-comics of established properties).

Aurore does artwork and inking, but she doesn't write the stories of any of her credited works. This is largely how OEL manga are in the States, as well, since much of the Tokyopop manga here are collaborations between writers and artists--seldom do I see a OEL title in which a person does both. A mangaka (comic book artist/writer) in Japan is more likely to both, however, but many have assistant artists or circles to help them with patterns, backgrounds, and textures. You know, the stuff no one really wants to draw. Alas, since they are just assistants, they don't get the fame or credit of the main mangaka. (Just kidding.)

Nevertheless, I'm glad to see someone is getting somewhere with their work. I have no idea how much it pays over there, but...oh well!

Spotlight: Marathon Studios and Nirvana/DiC

2008-11-20T14:06:00.010-05:00

The production of anime-inspired shows doesn't seem limited to America, it seems. Some of the most well-known (and despised) shows of this genre aren't even American in origin...though lesser informed viewers tend to think so. Not everything attempting to "copy" anime originates from the United States.

A major instance of this confusion happening is with the infamous Marathon Studio shows Totally Spies and Martin Mystery. Many haters of Americanime tend to blame these two French cartoons for starting the "trend;" thus, they tend to attract a lot of heat. Make no mistake--these shows are by no means "good." But they are targeted at young children and make use of societal stereotypes to appeal to them (glamourous "valley girls" and a Scooby-Doo-type detective team respectively). Most importantly, they're marketable. At least, I know Totally Spies is. I saw dolls of the lead characters during my forays in Toys R Us, much to my surprise.

Many other foreign fauxanime shows go back to the conundrum introduced in Christopher Macdonald's ANN editorial “Is It Animé?” I've referenced this article before, but it's still relevant to this topic. If you'll recall, he listed several situations in which the lines between Japanese and foreign animation are blurred:

A TV series made for an American company where the animation is subcontracted to a Japanese studio.

A TV series made for Japanese viewing, where the animation is subcontracted to a Korean Studio.

A TV series animated in North America by a group of Japanese animators from Japan.

A TV series animated in Japan by a group of Americans who have been working in Japan.

The first category can include childhood favorites like Transformers--which was actually inspired by a line of action figures--and Inspector Gadget, a show that almost everyone knows. Inspector Gadget was conceived by an American, a French, and an Italian for DiC and Nirvana Inc., but most of the animation was contracted out to a Japanese studio. According to many, anime is any animation that was animated in Japan. So is Inspector Gadget anime even though the property didn't originate there?

Ehh...this is iffy. This may anger the anime purists, but I think it kinda is. Of course, my saying "kinda" doesn't help matters much, but if anime is strictly limited to shows conceived, produced, and marketed in Japan, then no. However, many "Japanese" anime have animation subcontracted to Korean (DR Movie is a major one) and Taiwanese studios. So then that would make those anime...not actually anime. They'd be Korean/Taiwanese anime-style cartoons. Quite the brain teaser, isn't it?

Shows conceptualized in Japan but contracted to Korea. Shows conceptualized in the Americas but contracted to Japan. It appears that the country of origin is determined not by the place of animation but the place where the idea/story was created. Problem solved. Or is it? What about John Oppliger's point of view?

Spotlight: SakuraPakk and RumblePak

2008-11-11T03:08:00.006-05:00

As I was browsing Wikipedia, preparing a proposal for my essay, I came across two interesting-looking graphic novel anthologies. SakuraPakk and RumblePak are two OEL manga anthologies featuring artists and writers from around the world (but primarily America). The anthologies are released bi-monthly, and both are paperback. They are made available by EigoMANGA, a media production company based out of California. They started as a web comic distributor, so that should give some hope to some of you web artists out there!

SakuraPakk focuses on shoujo OEL manga, or manga that is directed toward a young female audience. They feature romance, historical drama, comedy, and fantasy among other genres. According to the website, in SakuraPakk you also get drawing tutorials and primers on Japanese customs, holidays, and language. Several volumes have already been released for this one. The fifth appears slated for 2009.

On the flip side, RumblePakk showcases shounen OEL manga, or manga that is directed toward a young male audience. It features themes most commonly represented in shounen manga, such as action/adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, cyberpunk, and comedy.

I haven't gotten my hands on one of these yet, but from the previews on the sites they're looking pretty good. Much of the art is beautiful though the art styles represented range from amateurish to I-can't-believe-it's-not-manga. The stories of each artist/writer are another thing. I won't be able to tell if they're any good or not until I read one.

I would imagine these two anthologies are particularly hard to locate. SakuraPakk's website says it is only available through Amazon, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, and Google, and RumblePak's was even more vague, saying only it was available in comic book stores. I tried searching for SakuraPakk on Barnes & Noble, but it brought up no results, so I'm guessing folks are gonna have to resort to Ebay or buying directly from the source: the eigoMANGA Shop Online website. (I'm a bit worried though: the website also sells merchandise, and Sakura Pakk is spelled differently on the peraphernalia than on the actual book. Whoops!)

These anthologies are a good way to get your name out there if you're interested in the world of manga and you're a non-Japanese. If you're purely a fan, you can catch one of these rarities for a mere $10.95. So come on, folks! Let's support these OEL manga artists!

"Improving" American Anime: A Word of Caution

2008-11-11T02:07:00.008-05:00

Perhaps to appeal to the older, more serious fans, the otaku of America (and probably other countries as well), American anime-style cartoons should stick more closely to the format of Japanese anime (if possible). I believe this is actually what otaku are looking for. For instance:

Improve quality of stories: Make characters develop and have real depth. American anime is often clumped together with a stigma of thin storylines, cliché characters, and low-quality production. (For that reason, many fans believe Avatar: The Last Airbender is a step in the "right direction." Unlike most anime-style shows, Avatar has "cross-over appeal" to different demographics due to its evolving storyline and multi-dimensional characters--something most kids' shows lack.)

Improve animation quality: No Saturday morning cartoon choppiness though we have thankfully passed beyond that point already.

Wider audience range: Not just for kids. Teens and adults, too! Though mature American manga exists, mature American anime has yet to find a niche in TV in and movies. (Adaptations of American franchises don't count, like The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight.)

TV Show structure: This may be more difficult to accomplish, due to the standards set by American television stations and time constraints. But we need Eyecatches. Opening/Ending sequences. Advancing storylines may be the biggest problem. Too many fillers, no real plot development...until the season finale. If it ever comes. (To be fair, many Japanese anime suffer from the filler problem, too. Cough, Naruto, cough.) It needs to feel familiar to get otaku's attention.

At the same time, be careful about reliance on Japanese aesthetic: Teen Titans was criticized in the webcomic VGCats for overreliance on "overused anime expressions" like the sweatdrop, the pulsing vein, and many of anime's unique facial expressions. Even I cringed a bit when Avatar aired those cheesy shorts. Observe:

It didn't feel like Avatar; it felt like the creators (Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko) were basking in their fame and giving themselves a bit of leeway to "sell out" to the anime fans. It felt like watching a fanart/fanfic in action. Careful. That may please the younger fans, but it may have turned off older, disillusioned ones who once praised Avatar for not relying too heavily on anime clichés. In a way, it loses some of Avatar's "credibility" for daring to be different.

"Improving" American Anime: Otaku Pleasers

2008-11-11T01:06:00.003-05:00

Otaku (hardcore anime fans) are the key to success. Anime is still a fledgling market in the States (and elsewhere), and the only way it is going to succeed here is to appeal to both the mainstream and them. They brought it here; they grounded it here. The same applies for American anime. If it is to be accepted as a mainstream genre, it must first be accepted and praised by the underground. Only otaku can validate it at this point because it is underground. To the mainstream American anime still seems like a fad or a parody. That is reflected by even anime fans' refusal to accept it. Win the fans, win the U.S.

That's how I see it anyway. Feel free to disagree.

Negativity and Criticism Part III: Style, Genre, or purely Japanese Animation?

2008-11-11T00:04:00.015-05:00

I'd like to clarify something I stated in my previous essay. Going by the English definition, American anime falls into one of two categories: aimed for anime fans by older anime fans, or aimed at anime fans by executives who view anime's popularity as a fad. Acclaimed critic John Oppliger explains this thoroughly in his "Ask John" column entitled "Why Do Some Fans Think of Anime as an Art Style Instead of Japanese Animation?" Fans of anime like myself who draw and write in an anime-influenced style tend to label our work as "anime"--though by Oppliger's definition they are most certainly not. He believes anime pertains to animation produced in Japan, end of story. Anything else, no matter how indisguishable it is from Japanese animation, is simply "anime-influenced." Seemingly Wikipedia does as well.

When we (non-Japanese artists and writers) use the words "anime" and "manga" to describe our work, we most certainly do not intend to use it definitively. Mainly, calling our own work anime allows us more effectively to enter the mindset of creating works that resemble it. I apologize, but whenever I think of the word "cartoon" something like Camp Lazlo comes to mind, and that most definitely not what I intend to make (not that there's anything wrong with that show). We don't literally mean our shows/stories/artwork are true anime and manga...at least, I'd like to think we don't. (And by "true" I don't mean it's any better than non-Japanese products. That's a distinction many fans make on their own.)

In most cases we use the word in a casual setting anyway, and in Oppliger's view that's fine...though it may be muddling the meaning of the word in broader context. But anyone in his right mind making a professional product had better not actually refer to his show as anime--unless he wishes to be scorned by legions of critics. That's why, despite its nearly complete resemblance to real anime, the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender never once refer to their creation as anime. Not only is it technically not true, they know better.

"Improving" American Anime: Better Soundtrack

2008-11-06T15:08:00.013-05:00

I can't express this enough. Toys and T-shirts sell kids' properties, but what about shows with older intended audiences? Even children's anime in Japan has movie-quality music for some reason. Why are American animes lacking in the sound department? Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer of Lion King fame recently made the soundtrack to Blood+, a Japanese anime. If we're exporting musical talent, surely we should be able to import some. Ryuichi Sakamoto is pretty major in the American indie scene. Japanese pop group Puffy Amiyumi made the theme to Teen Titans:

Even Yoko Kanno composed the theme to Oban: Star Racers, a French anime.

That's not to say the music can't be in-house. In addition to movies, American TV shows often have CD soundtracks released. Smallville and The O.C. have extremely successful soundtracks. (Imogen Heap was launched in the States thanks TO soundtracks!) Sadly, unless we're talking a Disney movie, cartoons rarely ever have "serious" soundtracks released. The most we Americans get are "novelty" albums like sing-alongs and parodic themes made for animated comedies (Dexter's Laboratory comes to mind. And don't get me wrong. Dexter's Lab is one of my favorite cartoons ever.) Some more dramatic cartoons like Justice League have soundtracks released, but they don't nearly get the exposure that soundtracks of live action shows do.

Folks. Come on. If American anime is to be taken seriously, it can't have those same cheesy theme songs with embarrassing lyrics. You know. The ones that shame you as an American. (I am staring right at BEN 10.) The fact that it's a children's show is irrelevant to me, and yes, my judgment is subjective. But here:

Top is a show aimed at young preteen to teen boys in America...

And here is a show aimed at young preteen to teen boys in Japan (despite the show touching on very adult themes). You be the judge.

The difference may have something to do with the fact that in Japan many voice actors (seiyuu) sing on anime soundtracks, as well, and unlike here in the States they're treated much like celebrities. Nevertheless, usually the only cartoons that get noteworthy musical attention here are established properties, and everything else sounds like it was slapped together by an elaborate corporate nightmare.

Let's get some star power going. Two distinct vocal themes, one for opening and ending sequences. Vocal insert songs as many live action dramas have. Even reality shows have them...come on! But most importantly, American anime needs an actual score. Not studio library tracks or royalty-free music but an ACTUAL SCORE. This will take the novelty out American anime as well as provide a new means of gathering income for production.

Negativity and Criticism Part II: Animé: Redefining the Genre

2008-11-06T14:44:00.014-05:00

This may come as a shocker, but I actually attempted to do some scholastic work on this topic. I think it is very relevant to this blog, so I won't hesitate to post it up here. I hope you find it an interesting read:

Ahh, who doesn’t remember the Saturday morning cartoons of the 90’s? Many of us have grown up watching them; though Marvel and DC heroes mostly dominated the roster, I of course made time to watch my own personal favorites (The Centurions and King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, anyone?). Incidentally, another breed of Saturday morning entertainment soon superseded these shows: Japanese animé imports. This was fine; I also grew up watching the dubs of Sailormoon and Robotech, which sparked my interest in animé.

Then the new millennium set in. I don’t remember where I was when I first saw the TV advertisement for the Teen Titans cartoon, but it was then that I realized…we are at the end of an era.

An era of what you may ask? For most animation enthusiasts like myself, the answer is simple. With the decline of the American comic book and hand-drawn animation industry, a new superpower has come forth from our neighbor to the east—and that superpower is our beloved animé. It has pervaded everything from Bratz dolls to Hollywood action flicks to Metalocalypse fanart. Any and every form of art you can imagine, animé has had some influence in its contemporary evolution the world over. This, in turn, has “converted” thousands of fans to the big-eyes, small-mouth style. Dreamy-eyed artists practiced drawing the unique-looking characters, cranking out animé fanarts by the bushel. Naturally, a fraction of these fans—including me—sought to continue this art style and hopefully break into the animation world wielding it. Inevitably, cartoons such as Teen Titans, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and Totally Spies appeared on the small screen. There was just one problem. In general, animé fans hated and still hate American animé. In fact, they generally hate anything that remotely resembles animé if it didn’t originate from Japan. Their reasons covered a large spectrum, but this presented a large problem for me (and any others interested in professionally producing in this genre). How would we overcome the stigma that non-Japanese animé has acquired? Is it possible? And why does it exist? Just what exactly is animé, anyway?

Animé is usually defined as a Japanese art style, unique and instantly recognizable. In A Handbook to Literature, 10th edition, animé is described as being “drawn with extreme stylization and asymmetrical design” and with “most of the figures [having] large eyes, unkempt hair, and exaggerated anatomies.” These are the artistic signposts most people outside of the genre recognize and stereotype. (Not all animé has big-eyed characters with blue hair, you know!) Most dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster, claim animé in its present form originated from Japan. However, in Japan animé is a catch-all term representing all forms of animation from every country. (The word itself came from the word “animation”—makes you wonder what exactly happened there). Looking beyond the usual visual aspect, animé also differs in terms of storytelling technique and animation. Whereas animated Western storytelling is traditionally plot-centered and episodic, Eastern animé storytelling tends to be more character-driven and auteur-conceived. Animé tends to employ more looping and panning (which some purist animators would consider “cheating”) and wide-expressive shots to convey mood. The conception of animé is more closely related to live-action movie making, I would dare say, and in Japan it is a medium that is watched by and targeted for all audiences, not primarily children as in the U.S. Tipatat Chennavasin (understandinganime.com) states that the main target in Japan is the same as the target for American comic books, but animé certainly exists in a wider variety of forms than American cartoons. The X-Men and Batman comics cover some mature subjects, but their animated cartoons rarely ever venture past the rating TV-Y7. Nevertheless, comics in Japan, or “manga,” are most commonly adapted into animé, and their animé most frequently retain the mature subject matter and complexity of their manga counterparts.

Are Americans just copying the animé style? Not necessarily. In fact, I’d like to point out that animé may in fact be doing the reverse. Cite any history of animé, like that written by critic Michael O’Connell, and you’ll find that the first Japanese comics were influenced by American newspaper strips and movies. Early manga artists like Rakiten Kitazawa and Ippei Okamoto had been using Western comic strips as guidelines. Further, Osamu Tezuka, the father of animé, based his character designs on classic Disney animation. He used cinematic techniques adopted from European cinema. Thus, I think this is an irrelevant issue, but people enjoy arguing this side anyway.

In the popular “Ask John” column on the Animenation website, one reader once asked, “How Should the Word Animé Be Defined?” John Oppliger, a highly respected analyst in the field, says simply that animé should be defined solely as “Japanese animation” for analytical purposes, and any other animation that resembles it should be called just that: animé-influenced. He gives several reasons, all valid: critics and scholars need a solid, specific term for use in studies of Japanese animation, and foreign artists who draw in the style rob animé of its “cultural identity” by referring to their own work with the same word. As I suspected, the problem of animé is a problem of semantics; the word “animé” seems to carry too much weight to foreign fans of the genre. John states that in casual use the word animé can refer to anything resembling Japanese animation, but in more serious circles (scholarly discourse, professional analyses) its use as a catch-all term is “counterproductive.”

Christopher Macdonald, the co-editor-in-chief of Animé News Network, wrote an editorial on this very issue called “Is It Animé?” Their website houses a huge database of animé titles, but they also include titles from Korea. He poses this question to readers: is animé animation produced in Japan or animation that shares a style of content? He poses some interesting brain teasers, too. What if the cartoon was:

A TV series made for an American company where the animation is subcontracted to a Japanese studio.

A TV series made for Japanese viewing, where the animation is subcontracted to a Korean Studio.

A TV series animated in North America by a group of Japanese animators from Japan.

A TV series animated in Japan by a group of Americans who have been working in Japan.

Is it still animé? I believe so, and apparently the “romantic” in Macdonald does, too. So then why isn’t American animé considered
animé?

According to Living with Art, Eighth Edition by Mark Getlein, art and artists serve several purposes. The purpose I find most fitting here is that artists “refresh our vision and help us see the world in new ways” (10). He states in his first chapter: “Our modern ideas about art carry with them ideas about the person who makes it, the artist, and the people it is for; the audience. We take it for granted that the artist’s task is to pursue his or her own vision of art; to express his or her own ideas, insights, and feelings; and to create as inner necessity dictates” (24). Getlein makes the example of Pablo Picasso in his book. Art changed in the 20th century; nonrepresentational art rose to the forefront as a response to the popularity of photography. Now abstract and stylized art has become a mainstay in Western civilization; compare this to the purely naturalistic, representational aesthetic that previously dominated the Western view from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. In other words, people disliked “modern art” at first, and some still do not consider it art by Western standards, but now it is mostly accepted and a mainstay in the international art community. Cubism may have looked like a bunch of blocks to onlookers at first, but now it is a highly respected, valid artistic movement. I agree with Getlein—art style is invariably linked with the period in which it is formed, so similar artists and tastes can later be grouped together by culture, history or school. This is all common knowledge, but I believe the fluidity of art can be applied to the animé conundrum, as well. Animé is well rooted in the world now, and our Net Generation is growing up with constant exposure to it. With emphasis on the global community growing, cultural aspects from our neighbors will influence our ways of thinking and seeing the world. America is supposed to be a melting pot, isn’t it? Since our styles of drawing and storytelling are already influenced by the cultures of other countries, so I don’t see why animé feels different to other people. I don’t think it should. In fact, I think all art is art, and style is a subset of art, so art and style together should be universally accepted and appreciated.

There. I said it.

Now hopefully some of you animé fans out there will listen! Non-Japanese animé artists are not out to get you or subvert your favorite genre. We are all fans, just like you. In the end, our “perversion” comes down to mere semantics. When our writing style connects to the medium, then perhaps you’ll be satisfied. Until then, we ask that you be patient, and give us writers and artists a chance. If you think it could be art, then it is art. If you think it could be animé, well, I don’t know, maybe it could be.

Negativity and Criticism Part I: "Fake" Anime

2008-09-04T14:10:00.023-04:00

One thing I continually hear from anime fans and haters alike is that American anime is "fake"--that is, it's just a lesser version of the "originals." Here's a pretty good summary of what such naysayers tend to spout. Now, in this face of this review I'd have to agree. Shows like Kappa Mikey tend to send me hurtling toward despair. I see what they were trying to do--in the wake of all the Americanime shows, create a parody that would appeal to these naysayers--but ultimately I'm going to have to agree with Blackstar and say Larry Scwartz failed. Why?

That, children, is a story for another day (and another series of posts).

I would actually like to focus your attention to the two posts below the first one. Now, granted this is a forum, and forums are filled with outsiders to the industry, in the end, these fans are the consumers and consumers are what make products float. The consensus is that USanime is both "fad" and a marketing ploy being used by the Big Bad American Corporations. Given the Pokemon craze, it's easy to see how many companies are actually falling into this trend.

Take a look at a Bratz doll. Or a Barbie, even, particularly of the My Scene brand. Notice something...odd? Yeah, that's right. Humongous, disproportionate heads and huge eyes. I would go so far as to say that Barbie copied Bratz, which picked up on the current fascination with anime. (I think Mattel is actually being sued for that.) Look this up on Google: Bratz World Destination 1 Tokyo-A-Go-Go and Bratz Tokyo-A-Go-Go Kimono Dolls. I believe I saw the packaging of one of these dolls once when I worked at Toys R Us. The box said something about the Bratz girls having their own "anime" look & hair braids. ...Eh? Supposedly these particular Bratz dolls have anime eyes and bodies. I can sort of see it...maybe. Some people would say all the Bratz look the same, however. Papa2hapa comments about these dolls here too. (I've got nothing against dolls, by the way. I think the Tokyo-A-Go-Go Jade doll is kind of cute.)

But ladies and gentlemen, this is exactly what I'm talking about. This is why some people pigeonhole all American character designs that clearly show anime influence as "fake." Comikaider Halliday lists a few shows on the air that have a bit more cred among otaku than other shows simply because the animation was produced out of country. IGPX: Eternal Grand Prix, Oban: Star Racers, and Avatar: The Last Airbender had animation produced in Japan and Korea, and Oban even had a theme song created by famed anime composer Yoko Kanno. Perhaps visual fluidity and semblance to "real" anime restores credibility to American anime shows. I never would have known IGPX was produced by Cartoon Network if the commercial hadn't stated it outright.

Even the storylines are "superior" in these foreign-produced shows. Watch Ben 10 and Three Delivery and compare. Again, that's a story for another day.

This is part of a series of articles. Stay tuned for more posts to be added to this series.

Grand Opening!

2008-08-22T16:32:00.008-04:00

My professor wanted us to post an entry, so here it is.

First post! All right. After pretty much editing this template all day, this blog is finally set up and ready to go. I'll be preparing my first real post soon, so this is just an official announcement to commemorate the opening of the blog. Therefore...

Everybody dance now!!!!

...I guarantee you that won't happen again.